| | History of Great Rivers 2-1-1
Great Rivers 2-1-1 began as First Call For Help in October 1977 as a project of the Medical Social Services Department in Gundersen Clinic. The initial focus of the project was to develop a directory to be used by the Social Services staff in planning and meeting the needs of Lutheran Hospital patients.
In 1979, the project transferred to Lutheran Hospital and was opened for use by the public. In order for public use to be possible, the following occurred:
- The service was made available on a 24 hour basis.
- It was decided that services would be made available to residents of the 19 county Lutheran Hospital service area in western Wisconsin, southeast Minnesota and northeast Iowa.
- In order to serve residents in outlying counties, toll free lines were installed.
- It was decided the line would offer telephone counseling and crisis intervention services in addition to information and referral.
During this same time period, an application was made and approved by the United Way of the La Crosse Area, to use the trademark name “First Call For Help.” First Call For Help is a trademark issued to those services that meet the national standards for comprehensive Information and Referral services established by the United Way of America.
In the first year or two of operation, focus was placed on information collection in the 19 county service area as well as refinement of various systems such as updating, logging and indexing.
In 1981, First Call For Help began providing message relay services to hearing impaired individuals. Staff at First Call For Help are trained not only to be proficient in the use of a TTY but also to be sensitive to and understanding of needs and concerns which are unique to hearing impaired individuals.
Around this same time, First Call For Help began providing after-hours telephone back up services for various agencies which provide services in the areas of sexual assault, domestic violence and substance abuse. First Call For Help, during this period, began acting as a contact point for information on numerous support groups in its service area.
In 1982, First Call For Help added the following services:
- The Runaway Bridge. The Runaway Bridge is a crisis intervention program designed for runaway youth and their families. Services include: telephone counseling, message relay to family members, temporary shelter with parental consent, and individual and family counseling.
- Health Line/Teen Line. Health Line/Teen Line is an automated tape service which provides over 450 taped messages which address a large variety of health related issues. In addition, a number of tapes address issues related to teenage concerns including problems at home, substance abuse, physical health and sexuality.
- Carrier Alert. Carrier Alert is a free service offered in conjunction with area post offices to older adults and people with disabilities who may have difficulty reaching vital services in the event of an accident or sudden illness.
In 1994, First Call For Help expanded beyond its original 19 county service area to begin operating the Maternal and Child Health Hotline for the state of Wisconsin. This hotline provides information on programs and services for pregnant women and young children such as Healthy Start, WIC, HealthCheck, and Prenatal Care Coordination.
In August of 1995, First Call For Help began operating the Wisconsin First Step Hotline for the state of Wisconsin. This hotline provides information on programs and services for children with special needs and their families.
In August of 1998, First Call For Help contracted to provide after hours back up services for First Call Minnesota. First Call Minnesota is a statewide project that provides information and referral services to citizens throughout the state of Minnesota.
In January of 2000, First Call For Help contracted to begin operating two additional hotlines for the state of Wisconsin:
- Women’s Health Hotline. The Women’s Health Hotline provides information and referral on a variety of women’s health issues and services including: the Well Woman Program, substance abuse, eating disorders and domestic violence.
- Services Hotline for Women, Children and Families. The major objective of this effort is to publish and produce a statewide directory of services available for women and children.
In October 2004, Great Rivers 2-1-1 became an active 2-1-1 call center for the tri-state area. 2-1-1 is the national telephone number for free access to health and human service information.
Great Rivers 2-1-1 currently has a database of over 4,200 agencies and 20,000 services as possible referral sources to callers. Each year, the Information and Referral Center (which includes Great Rivers 2-1-1, The Maternal and Child Health Hotline, and Wisconsin First Step) receives over 43,000 calls a year from callers. |