Author: Rachel Garg

Why are tax assistance requests lower in 2021?

Requests for help preparing tax returns are down. From January 1st to March 30th requests to 211s for tax assistance are 12% lower than the same period in 2020.

Year 1 of COVID-19: Needs rise 59%

Over a full year of COVID-19, requests to 211 jumped 59%, led by needs for food and housing assistance. Requests for food assistance such as food pantries and home-delivered meals were up 97% and housing requests such as rent assistance rose 42%.

Volunteering requests rise as COVID worsens

At key moments in the COVID-19 pandemic, 211s saw a rise in volunteering and donations. Although most 211 calls are from those seeking help with social needs such as rent, food and utility payments, people also call to offer help – volunteering and making donations. We examined 79,767 of these requests received by 211s in […]

Unique program boosts food requests by NY seniors

Home-delivered meals for seniors just got a big upgrade. In Rochester, NY, adults 60 and older who could not travel to get food during the pandemic are able to order free meals from selected restaurants in the city.

NBC news story creates surge of 211 calls

On January 13th, NBC Nightly News aired a story on how to get a COVID vaccine appointment. In the story, viewers were encouraged to call 211 for help. It worked.

Preventing eviction? The St. Louis case for starting with 211

Communities trying to prevent eviction during COVID-19 might be wise to work with 211. New analyses show a near perfect correlation between the number of calls to a 211 helpline for rent assistance in a given ZIP code, and the number of eviction filings in that ZIP code.

DATA VIDEO: Month-to-month needs, Escambia, FL

We examined 34,671 requests received by 211 in Escambia during 2020 and plotted them month-by-month. Press the play button to set in motion a video graphic displaying these changes over time.

Year in Review: Rent requests up 43% in St. Louis

St. Louis ended 2020 with its busiest month of the year for rent assistance requests. 211 of Greater St. Louis received nearly 2,500 requests for rent assistance in December from across the St. Louis metropolitan area, a whopping 92% increase over the same month in 2019. For the year, rent assistant requests were 43% higher […]

Year in Review: landlord-tenant requests up most in the Carolinas

In the south, requests to 211 helplines for assistance with landlord-tenant issues were 18 times higher in South Carolina in 2020 (orange line in chart) compared to 2019 (blue line). Large gains were also seen in North Carolina (+818%) and Florida (+93%).

Year in Review: Needs soar during COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic had an immediate and lasting impact on community social needs across the U.S. in 2020. Reviewing 10.5 million requests received by 211 helplines in 28 states during 2019 (blue line in chart) and 2020 (green line), the effect of COVID-19 is clear.

Tennessee: Rent assistance drives end-of-year rise in needs

Requests to 2-1-1 in Tennessee increased steadily in the final quarter of 2020, driven by growing demand for rent assistance. Since early October, 2-1-1s in TN have received 1,191 total requests per week, up 41% from weekly averages in the 3rd quarter, and up 50% from pre-COVID-19 weekly averages).

Mental health needs follow COVID trends in TX

In Texas, requests for mental health services rise and fall with COVID-19’s impact. The charts below show nearly identical patterns in the average number of daily requests to 2-1-1s in Texas in 2020 for COVID-19 information and assistance (top chart) and mental health services (bottom chart).

Up most in November: Connecticut, Maine, Wyoming, Iowa

States with the largest increases in 2-1-1 requests in November share one thing in common. 2-1-1s in Connecticut (requests up 139% from October to November), Maine (+26%), Wyoming (+25%) and Iowa (+14%) have all been designated as the COVID-19 helpline in their states.

Rising water: 12 big trends in 2020

Housing needs are still increasing. Public transportation requests are lower, but bike requests are higher. Fewer Americans are asking for help with prescription medications, but more need assistance paying water bills. Housing needs are still increasing. Public transportation requests are lower, but bike requests are higher. Fewer Americans are asking for help with prescription medications, but more need assistance paying water bills.

Show-Me: Holiday meal needs in Missouri

During COVID-19, food needs in the two biggest cities in Missouri have been strikingly similar. Until Thanksgiving, that is.

November Needs: Food, COVID-19 requests grew fastest

From October to November, requests to 2-1-1 for food assistance and COVID-19 information increased more than any other needs. Of the 10 needs for which requests increased most during November (blue bars in chart), half were food-related.

Requests for testing surge as COVID-19 cases keep rising

Requests for COVID-19 diagnostic testing are surging as new cases rise. Connecticut 2-1-1 reported 377,558 testing inquiries to its web service in the first 15 days of November, including over 50,000 requests in a single day, November 13th.

Rent and mortgage requests hit record levels in MA

Two powerful forces are driving requests for rent and mortgage assistance to all-time highs in Massachusetts. The peak in mid-October was over 200 requests per day, more than ten times the pre-COVID rate.

House the young, feed the old

COVID-19 has younger Americans seeking help with housing while older adults are looking for food assistance. Regardless of age, women more likely than men to seek help with housing, food and utility payments.

Missouri: 2-1-1 calls increasing in high-COVID counties

In Missouri, counties with higher rates of COVID-19 infection have seen larger increases in calls for help to 2-1-1. The top 10 counties experiencing the largest increases in 2-1-1 requests from pre- to post-COVID-19 all had high COVID-19 rates.

In Ohio, resources reveal need

Among the many lessons learned about 2-1-1 requests during COVID-19, here’s one of the most important: availability of resources helps reveal community needs.

Where is COVID-19 impacting non-health needs most?

Setting aside the health impact of COVID-19, where has the economic impact of the pandemic been the greatest? According to new analyses of requests to 2-1-1 helplines across the U.S., counties in Florida, California and Hawaii top the list.

Rising water: STL requests up for water bills

With water and sewer bills coming due, a record number of St. Louisans are calling to 2-1-1 for payment assistance. From August 21st to November 2nd, totals requests are 116% higher in 2020 than 2019.

Holiday meal requests drop in 2020

Last week we reported on a recent surge in requests for holiday meals in Broome County, NY. But elsewhere in the U.S., holiday meal requests to 2-1-1 are actually lower than in 2019. We excluded Broome County and examined 24,773 holiday meal requests received by 2-1-1s in 25 states during 2019 and 2020. As the […]

Trending in October: COVID, clothes, holiday meals

Requests for holiday meals, COVID-19 services, and clothing grew fastest in October. COVID-19 requests to 2-1-1, which include those seeking information about testing, jumped by 73% in October. Clothing needs grew by 30%. But the biggest October increase was in requests for holiday meals at 153%.

15 counties with the biggest jumps in 2-1-1 requests

The largest increases in 2-1-1 requests are coming from counties hardest hit by COVID-19. Requests from Polk County, IA (Des Moines) increased by 274% from pre- to post-COVID.

Holiday meal requests coming earlier in 2020

Voting isn’t the only thing people are lining up for earlier than usual this year. There’s also turkey. Every year, tens of thousands of low-income Americans call 2-1-1 for help finding food to make a Thanksgiving meal for their families. In some communities, those requests are piling up already, weeks sooner than usual. We examined […]

Needs top 100,000 in STL

Calls for help in St. Louis just topped 100,000 for the year. The largest pre- to post-COVID-19 increases have been in requests for assistance with getting personal hygiene products such as diapers and toilet paper (+96%), electric bill payment (+77%), gas bill payment (+56%), water bill payment (+51%), food pantries (+43%) and rent assistance (+37%). The chart shows these and other needs that have grown during the pandemic.

PART 2: Out of the valley

Not all needs increased with COVID-19. In fact, many dropped sharply when the pandemic hit. Seven months later, nearly all of these needs have returned to pre-COVID levels or higher.

Fall peak in utility needs comes earlier, is bigger in 2020

Requests for help paying utility bills always rise in the fall. In 2020, that increase came earlier and rose higher than usual. Overall, we found that after COVID-19 was declared a pandemic on March 11, utility requests have been 45% higher in 2020 compared to 2019.

PART 1: After the initial shock

The arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 sent requests to 2-1-1 skyrocketing for a wide range of needs. We identified four distinct patterns that followed the initial burst of requests to 2-1-1, and they vary by type of need.

Rent past due: landlord-tenant issues rise

As the COVID-19 pandemic enters its eighth month, no need has increased as steadily and consistently as landlord-tenant issues. At 2-1-1 helplines across the U.S., requests for help with landlord-tenant issues have nearly tripled since the pandemic began. These requests capture property owners and renters seeking assistance with legal issues, as well as – during […]

Pandemic or hurricane?

With Hurricane Sally striking Alabama on September 16, we had a rare opportunity to compare the impact of a pandemic and hurricane in the same state and same year.

Childcare needs back to pre-COVID levels

After nearly 7 months in a pandemic, childcare needs have returned to pre-COVID levels. This may reflect some combination of parents returning to work and partial or interrupted school openings.

At-home schooling drives food needs higher in Seattle

As summer drew to a close and students in King County, Washington prepared to start the school year at home, food needs grew steadily. Up to 30,000 students who would have received free or reduced-price lunches at school would not be receiving them, at least in the usual way.

COVID-related health plans in CT drive insurance requests higher

COVID-19 and a slate of creative new state health plans are driving big increases in requests for health insurance in Connecticut. Since the pandemic began, requests to Connecticut 2-1-1 for health insurance are up 48% compared to the same dates in 2019.

September’s fastest rising needs: Internet access, utility bills

As a new school year began with millions of American children learning remotely at home, requests to 2-1-1s for internet assistance rose 40% in September. Utility payment assistance needs also rose sharply, with requests for heating fuel (+29%), utility payment plans (26%), water (+22%) and gas (+14%) all among the top 10 in percentage increase (see chart, in blue).

Interest in 2-1-1 needs data up 200%

As requests to 2-1-1s have soared during COVID-19, so too has use of 2-1-1 data on community needs. Since the pandemic began, web analytics show there have been nearly one quarter million clicks on 211 Counts.

2-1-1 helping school kids in Philly get internet at home

With Philadelphia public schools online through at least November 17, assuring internet access for all was essential. The City and School District of Philadelphia launched PHLConnectED, part of a $17 million digital equity plan, to provide free access to 35,000 student households.

CARES = calls at 2-1-1 in Ohio

When Summit County, Ohio turned to 2-1-1 to help deliver COVID-19 relief, the demand was clear instantly. Summit County CARES, a program to help families affected by the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic pay their rent and utility bills, launched on July 6th.

California fires drive 2-1-1 to near-record usage

California wildfires pushed 2-1-1 call volume back near peak levels set in the first month of the COVID-19 pandemic. A closer look at 2-1-1 requests during the CZU fire showed a dramatic increase in disaster-related calls seeking assistance with housing and shelter.