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2-1-1 INFOLINE - Help Starts Here
In 1976, the State of Connecticut and United Ways throughout the state formed a unique public/private partnership to create a comprehensive information, referral and crisis intervention service that is accessible toll-free from anywhere in the state by dialing a simple phone number that has evolved into 2-1-1. Connecticut later became the first state in the entire country to make the 2-1-1 phone number available 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Jointly funded by the State of Connecticut and local United Ways including the Valley United Way, the service is the most comprehensive listing of health and human resources in the state.
Access to the service is as simple as dialing 2-1-1 from any phone, or computer users can click here to search the 2-1-1 INFOLINE database directly from any computer.
In the one year period ending June 30, 2005, requests from Valley residents amounted to 8,439. There were calls requesting help and information about a wide variety of services, but the top ten areas that people inquired about were:
| Information Requested | Requests |
| Substance Abuse Services | 672 |
| Housing/Shelter | 642 |
| Utility Assistance | 560 |
| Legal Services | 456 |
| Food | 396 |
| Government Income Programs | 315 |
| Outpatient Mental Health Care/Counseling | 302 |
| Health & Human Services Information | 265 |
| Health Insurance | 238 |
| Information Services | 214 |
Usage statistics from the five towns serviced by Valley United Way show the following usage:
| City | Requests |
| Ansonia | 3,256 |
| Derby | 1,635 |
| Oxford | 391 |
| Seymour | 1,106 |
| Shelton | 2,051 |
Though requests from the Valley mirrored statistics from across the Valley in many ways, it is interesting to note that the state-wide the top requested information was for housing/shelter which was a close second in the Valley.
