ASHLAND — Ashland County commissioners approved a contract Thursday that allowed the county to continue its relatively new 211 service.
The one-year contract allocated $15,000 from the Ashland County Department of Job and Family Services.
211 is similar to a hotline and is designed to serve as a hub of local information related to housing, utility or financial assistance, among other needs such as health care, disaster service, or even employment opportunities.
The service, implemented in March 2020, runs in conjunction with Richland County’s 211 service, whose call center is located on West Third Street in Mansfield.
That means that when someone in Ashland County dials 211, a call attendant based in Mansfield picks up and learns about the person’s needs and the caller is then either referred to a local agency or given basic information.
The Samaritan Hospital Foundation stepped up to fund the program from 2020 through the end of 2022 through Associated Charities of Ashland County, which contracts with First Call of Richland County.
The $15,000 contribution from Ashland County JFS ensures the program continues in Ashland County, said Terry Carter, the information & referral coordinator for First Call 211 of Richland County. Carter presented commissioners with information about the program’s first couple of years.
From March 2020 to now, Ashland County residents have made a total of 13,636 calls to 211. The majority of those calls came in 2021, when thousands of residents called to ask questions related to the coronavirus pandemic.
Carter assured that all conversations via 211 are confidential. The call center does not utilize call tracing to track the caller’s whereabouts like other hotlines such as 911 or 988.
Instead, Carter said call attendants direct callers to the appropriate entity if a person is experiencing an immediate emergency.
