Would you know what number to dial to find help with childcare? What about the number for an organization that helps with transportation? Who do you call when you need help paying a utility bill?
For Hoosiers in need of assistance, finding the right resources can be tricky. It’s not easy to track who provides what services or who qualifies for them. That’s why
Indiana 211 is working to connect Indiana residents with resources they need but may not be able to locate on their own.
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Jaimie Ferren, deputy director of operations for Indiana 211“Navigating resources can be hard, and a lot of communities have great resources that people don't know about,” says Jaimie Ferren, deputy director of operations for Indiana 211. “211 is an easy way for people to connect to community navigators who can help them along the way.”
Indiana 211 community navigators connect residents to resources and social services, eliminating the hassle of locating widespread assistance. It provides simplified access to local and government programs so individuals can receive the help they need.
Prior to 2020, there were 92 independent contact centers across the state. The 211 hotline considers its first call to have come in 21 years ago at United Way in Fort Wayne. United Way began in the early 1980s following the close of International Harvester. It connected Fort Wayne residents in need to resources and services available in the area. Since then, United Way has continued to answer calls and connect individuals with resources.
In 2020, Governor Eric Holcomb consolidated the contact centers across the state as part of his Next Level Agenda and Indiana 211 became a state-wide service and was incorporated into the
Indiana Family and Social Service Administration (FSSA). The change was intended to make resources more accessible and easier to navigate for Indiana residents.
“Our mission is to improve the quality of life for Hoosiers by promoting equity and connecting people to health and human services," says Ferren.
Community navigators can direct callers to health care, clothing, household needs and seasonal resources. They offer connections to various types of assistance, including transportation assistance, substance abuse resources, and child care and safety resources. Additionally, 211 can connect Indiana residents to other helplines, such as the mental health or domestic violence helplines. They also keep a full list of available resources on their website.
“We have a team of 57 individuals who are experienced in social services,” Ferren says. “They're responsive, compassionate, and they receive three weeks of intensive training. They are able to utilize their active listening and their problem solving to help people find the best referrals that might meet their needs.”
The three-digit number makes it easy to remember and access, but individuals can also reach a community navigator by calling 866-221-9966 or texting their zip code to 898211. The community navigators will ask the individual questions to get acquainted with their needs.
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Kevin Evans, deputy director for Indiana 211“There's quite a few resources that we have that we're trying to make sure that people have access to,” Deputy Director Kevin Evans said.
In 2023, the hotline received the most calls concerning housing, utility assistance and food. The hotline received over 150,000 calls between January 2024 and November 2024 and community navigators connected individuals with more than 620,000 referrals during the same period. .
Local organizations like
Brightpoint, are listed as providers in the Indiana 211 database, meaning community navigators will direct callers to the organization when applicable.
Lesa Cassel, the family support services manager at Brightpoint, says when individuals reach out to Brightpoint, employees can connect them with resources, whether that be transportation assistance or child care assistance. They offer assistance online, as well as in-home case management programs.
“We identify what [an individual’s] situation is and what programs best suit their needs, and then get them started on that process,” says Cassel.
Many of the applications Brightpoint receives are from people who face having their utilities disconnected or need childcare assistance.
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Lesa Cassel, the family support services manager at BrightpointCassel says Indiana 211 often works both ways, as they often direct clients to utilize Indiana 211 to help locate services or resources they may not be able to provide.
Previously, organizations were more reliant on their own lists of available resources or localized call centers, which required upkeep and management. The consolidation of the call centers in 2020 allows resource and service providers to focus more on what they can provide, rather than working to track down services outside of their scope.
The Indiana 211 team includes six resource curators and two community engagement curators who are responsible for keeping the database of resources up to date. The curators check in with each service provider annually to ensure that their information is up to date. The curators will also do partial updates throughout the year when service providers notify them that their information has changed.
Indiana 211 has an inclusion policy through which service providers, like Brightpoint, can be entered into their database. Once service providers fill out the online inclusion policy form, Indiana 211 will review the form and enter the service into the database.
In 2025, Indiana 211 hopes to expand their technology to make finding resources even easier.
“We really hope to be able to enable some chat features,” says Ferren. “We currently don't have those, but [we’re] working towards that, as well as some ability for people to text and get responses using AI to kind of understand their need.”
This story is made possible by Brightpoint.