About 211
About Our Organization
Serving the entire population of our region, 211 Broward connects people with community, health and disaster services through a free, 24/7 phone service and searchable online database. Using the power of technology and innovation, we connect people to the help they need. Learn more about our services below.
What is 211?
211 provides every person in our community with a place to turn when they need answers to life’s challenges, big or small. 211 is a free, anonymous, 24-hour helpline offering listening support, information, referral, and crisis services.
Our professional, degreed staff connect people in need with nearly 3,800 programs and services that are available to help them. Bilingual staff and telephone interpreter services make sure that callers can talk with us in the language of their choice.
Our Mission
211 Broward is the live, 24-hour comprehensive helpline to provide all people with crisis, health, and human services support and connect them to resources in our community.
Did you Know?
Established as a 501(c)(3) in 1995, 211 Broward is the only 24/7 comprehensive agency in the county that provides individuals and families with all of the critical connections to health and human service services they need in just one call, chat, email, or text. This 24-hour helpline is available to every individual and family in Broward County!
Every hour of every day, someone in Broward is searching for help or services. Knowing where to go is the first step to getting the help you need.
The Value of 211
Residents
- Contributes to the overall well-being of participants, their families, and their communities
- Delivers compassionate, respectful, and quality services to all people
- Offers an easy to remember and easy to use three-digit number (2-1-1)
- Connects you to help in your preferred method: call, chat, email, or text
- Provides crisis and suicide support to keep people safe and offer hope
- Holds the most comprehensive and up-to-date database of community, health, government, and social services
- Links new residents to the community and helps them access services
- Eliminates confusion and frustration about where to go for help
- Time saved for individuals and families by having a one-stop helpline center for a variety of services
- Improves access to health and human services
- Provides information about emergencies services pre, during, and post disasters
Residents
Businesses
- 24 hours a day, 7 days a week service for employers, their employees, and their loved ones
- Reduced time spent by employees on researching resources for themselves or their families during work hours, thereby improving productivity
- Provides managers and human resource professionals with a tool to help employees experiencing personal issues that impact their work and well-being
- Provides a central resource to assist employees with issues such as child and older adult care assistance, resulting in a decrease in absenteeism
- The ability to offer laid-off employees a source of information and support
- Provides a significant resource in support of Employee Assistance Programs
- Information, support, and resources before, during, and after a disaster
Businesses
Municipalities
- Offers 24-hour access to support all city residents
- Helps minimize the effects of homelessness and crime on your neighborhoods
- Improves community planning – call statistics, unmet needs, gaps in services
- Helps to reduce expensive non-emergency calls to 911
- Provides assistance and information to residents before, during, and after disasters
- Provides information about vital municipal services
- Improves productivity and reduces absenteeism among city employees
- Provides relief on city employees who accept calls from residents in need
Municipalities
Nonprofits
- Connects clients to their programs by sharing the agency information with 211 participants
- Includes agency information on the 211 Community Resource Portal for community-wide access to all agency’s services
- Avoids inappropriate calls to agencies that use staff time; 211 refers clients based on the agency’s eligibility standards
- Delivers information and referrals to their staff that help them serve their clients
- Offers emotional support and counseling to their clients when the nonprofits are closed
- Provides an easy to remember number to inform clients to call when faced with issues
- Collects feedback/data from agencies reflecting community needs and shares with funders
- Offers the most current up-to-date community resource directory where staff can customize resource information, create resource guides, and email clients community resources
- Shares customized data reports to help with planning, agency referrals, grant applications, and much more
- Provide specialized training for staff, such as customer service and crisis intervention
Nonprofits
Pillars of Excellence
211 Broward has adopted six pillars of excellence as the foundation for delivering extraordinary services to the community. Our organizational values and guiding principles.
Accreditations
211 Broward is accredited by, and meets the rigorous standards established by, several oversight bodies, including:
Nationally accredited as a 211 Helpline by the Alliance for Information and Referral Systems (AIRS).
Authorized to operate as a 211 provider in the State of Florida by the Florida Alliance of Information and Referral Services (FLAIRS).
Nationally accredited as a Crisis Center by the American Association of Suicidology (AAS).
Certified Lifeline Network Crisis Center by the National Suicide
Prevention Lifeline.
