Mayor Announces Dial 211 for DC Social Services Information

(Washington, DC) Mayor Anthony A. Williams announced today that District residents can now dial 211 to receive social services information and referrals through the Department of Human Services' (DHS) Answers, Please! telephone social services information and referral call center. The DC Public Service Commission approved  DHS's application to operate a model 211 social services information and referral call center last year, making the District the first jurisdiction in the Washington Metropolitan region ready to activate and launch the three-digit 211 dial code number to call  for social services information and referrals.

"Many DC residents don't know where to call to find help they may need in a crisis," said Mayor Williams. "Now our citizens can simply dial 211 to get food and medical care and to find out about government agencies and nonprofit, community-based organizations with helpful programs and services."

The Federal Communications Commission designated 211 as the national abbreviated dialing code for free access to health and human services information and referral. Established 211 call center systems are already in place in many regions of the United States.

According to DHS Director Yvonne Gilchrist, the Department's Answers, Please! social services information and referrals call center is seasoned in handling calls from District residents in desperate circumstances.

"Answers, Please! has been operating since 1999 handling calls from residents grappling with poverty, substance abuse, physical abuse, mental illness, homelessness, and other major crises. District residents previously needed to dial a typical seven-digit number to reach Answers, Please. Today they can just quickly dial 211," said Yvonne Gilchrist.  "We are grateful to the DC Public Service Commission, the DC Office of the People's Counsel, and to Verizon for helping us to implement Dial 211 for Answers, Please!. Verizon, Pepc