United Way of Dane County seeing increase in 211 calls
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By Nicole HerzogPublished: Oct. 31, 2024 at 9:45 PM CDT
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MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) – Calls to United Way of Dane County’s 211 helpline are increasing, and local organizations like Second Harvest Foodbank are also seeing the rise in demand.
United Way’s 211 helpline is a free and confidential service that connects people to hundreds of resources, from legal assistance to mental and physical health services.
“People are living on the knife’s edge in a lot of situations,” 211 Director Ed Wall said. “So they’re looking for help, they’re looking for resources to help them get by and we’ve seen substantial increase in our call demand looking for things like food, like rent, housing and utilities assistance.”
This year, calls for housing and food assistance are up 80% compared to last year at United Way.
Second Harvest Foodbank, which partners with United Way, is seeing that demand in action, according to Second Harvest Media and Public Relations Manager Kristopher Tazelaar.
“Food insecurity in Dane county right now is at its height. we’ve got almost 130,000 people right in our in 16 counties right here in Wisconsin who struggle with hunger,” Tazelaar said. “Over 40,000 of those are kids. so hunger exists, hunger is in your neighborhood. hunger is in your church, in your school, at your grocery store.”