OWENSBORO, Ky. — United Way of the Ohio Valley wants to remind the community it offers a free direct service for the citizens of each county it serves called the Green River 211 Resource Directory. UWOV serves Daviess, Hancock, McLean, Ohio, Union and Webster County in their territory.
Green River 211 is a vital service where clients every day can dial 2-1-1 to access free and confidential crisis and emergency counseling, disaster assistance, food, healthcare and insurance assistance, stable housing, utility assistance, employment services, veteran services and childcare and family services.
No matter the situation, the specialists at Green River 211 listen, identify underlying problems, and connect people in need with resources and services in their community that can improve their lives. When a Green River 211 specialist enters a client’s zip code, they link the client to multiple resources available in their specific area.
Green River 211 does more than just “patch people through” to agencies. Instead, Green River 211 specialists are trained to identify the root causes of a client’s problem and connect them with a wide range of available resources that can meet the underlying needs, not just the one that may have prompted the call, text, or email.
UWOV pays for these services to be offered in their counties because this resource program has its “finger on the pulse” of the community’s greatest needs. It’s a vital part of United Way’s efforts to build stronger communities and fight for the health, education and financial stability of every person in every community. Green River 211 makes the social services ecosystem/network more efficient by ensuring people in need are connected to the local agencies that can help them.
“United Way of the Ohio Valley pays for this service because it is an investment to the citizens of our community, to the agencies who provide the direct services, and most importantly to the community as a whole. 211 services can free up calls that may go to other emergency lines such as 911 or one particular agency and in real-time link the caller to various resources to address their immediate needs,” said Vicki Embry, UWOV’s Director of Community Impact and Investment. “This Green River 211 service is helping to lighten the load for our community to help give a hand up to our citizens in need and provide this service to our community 24/7, 365 days a year, free. “
Embry also shared that reports are available to show what the greatest needs are for a specific community by the number of calls received in specific areas.
“It further helps that specific community have a pulse on the needs of their community and any unmet needs,” Embry added.
A person in need of assistance can dial 2-1-1 or text their zip code to 898211, visit www.GreenRiver211.org, or download the App “Greenriver211” to reach an operator 24/7.
If you need more information, please feel free to contact Embry at UWOV at vembry@uwov.org or 270-684-0668, Ext 25.