Vermont celebrates 211 Day

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - Saturday, February 11 is 211 Day, celebrating the go-to, one-stop resource, Vermont 211.

The free and confidential hotline took over 42,000 calls in 2022 for services ranging from housing, health, human services, job training, and food resources.

There were over 24,000 referrals to those resources, something officials in the network say is huge.

An area of concern for 211 is housing. Calls related to housing and shelter made up almost 40% of their call volume in 2022, marking a dramatic increase compared to 2021.

211 Day is meant to raise awareness for the phone service, and celebrate its success since starting in 2005.

“It’s an opportunity to look toward the future, to think about how important 211 is and how integral we are in the wider system of making sure people don’t fall through the cracks,” says Elizabeth Gilman of United Way Vermont.

Gilman says this year, they want to focus on lowering even more barriers for Vermonters looking to access the resources the hotline can refer you to.

They also say creating an even easier database of services for Vermonters is on their priority list

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