Economy Project: 2-1-1 Update

By Sam Baker, KERA Morning Edition Host

Dallas, TX –

During our Economy Project, KERA is partnering with the 2-1-1 referral network. The 24-hour service connects people in need of help with a variety of agencies and organizations. When the Economy Project began over the summer, 2-1-1 had just begun receiving calls for assistance with mortgage payments or avoiding foreclosure. Sam Baker talked with Vicki Mize, who manages 2-1-1 / United Way in Tarrant County about what the service has encountered since.

Vicki Mize: We had over a 108% increase in requests for mortgage payment assistance and about a 62% increase in requests for mortgage counseling. However, I did check the statistics for October and that has decreased a little.

Navigate the recession with KERA! Get tips on avoiding foreclosure, access job resources and more at kera.org/economy. Sam Baker: If you say you had more than a 100% increase in calls at one point about the mortgage crisis, what does that mean then for the agencies that you refer people to.

Mize: They are over burdened actually and there never is enough financial assistance. But the beauty about the mortgage issue is, there's a lot of things that can be done on mortgage payments, possibly helping somebody refinance and things that don't require a whole lot of upfront dollars. So by referring people for mortgage counseling they can work with a professional to try to help them reduce their payment or work a payment plan out, not necessarily providing financial assist. But the agencies that we're referring for rental assistance, they're having a tough time keeping up.

Sam: What about other issues related to the economy? Is anything else showing up on your radar screen now that maybe wasn't there a few months ago?

Mize: Yes, indeed. We've seen a huge increase in requests for medical assistance, public clinics, vaccinations. People, of course this year much more than last, wanting to get their children immunized and themselves as well. But the outpatient clinics - people are without work so they're without insurance and increased calls for mental health which was a surprise. That was a 65% increase. It's hard to say for sure whether or not it's related to the economy but one could assume that it could certainly be.

Sam: How much of a toll is it to take these calls?

Mize: It can be pretty draining. It's tough especially when there isn't a resource to send somebody to. We spend a lot of time trying to help people be creative in how they might be able to stretch their dollars or access resources that they might not have thought about. It's tough. When you're talking to over a thousand people a day, it is hard. But they're trained to be compassionate and caring. That's what they love to do and hopefully that's reflected when they're speaking with these people in need.

Sam: In this downturn economy, 2-1-1 is an agency of the United Way, and you're dependent upon the public's generosity there. How has this downturn affected 2-1-1 and /or United Way?

Mize: Well as far as the United Way goes we did not reach our goal and we are hoping that we will reach it this year because of a lot of generous people in the community, when they're not working that affects us . Fortunately with 2-1-1, we are also in partnership with the state of Texas. We do receive funding from the state of Texas. Although funding was stagnant and I wasn't able to hire new staff, we are in partnership now with the Department of State Health Services with the H1N1 response. So 2-1-1 is the number for people to call for information about H1N1 and funding did come with that, the grant ends in July. After that I'm not sure what well do. People are having to wait longer . Typically, when people call us their call is answered immediately and now they're having to wait several minutes before they can speak to somebody. We don't like that but that's just how it is right now.

Sam: On the other hand we are hearing a good deal of media reports about signs of recovery with the economy. Is that reflected at all in the calls you are getting?

Mize: Not yet but it will be. I really think it takes several months for us to see that. Right now we're still getting the calls everyday. Right now, holiday assistance people are requesting for their children. It'll be several months before I think we'll be able to notice.

Vicki Mize manages 2-1-1 Texas United Way in Tarrant County. You can find more about 2-1-1 and other economy related issues at kera.org/economy.