2-1-1 Hotline

2-1-1: A Lifeline for Those in Need

Dial 2-1-1 for assistance in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. Find assistance when you or someone you know needs help. There are thousands of health and human services programs available to assist you -- from child care, jobs, health care, and insurance -- to emergency services to help you in times of disaster or emergency.

To Find Help When You Desperately Need It

If you don't have any food and need to feed your family - Dial 2-1-1
If you can't pay your utility bill and are afraid the power will go off - Dial 2-1-1
If you need to find care for a disabled child or adult - Dial 2-1-1

Click here to access our directory of services

Dial 2-1-1 To Find Help When You Desperately Need It

2-1-1 is a lifeline for people in trouble who need support, but can't find someone to point them in the right direction or provide access to services that can help.

It's the place to go when you just don't know who to call.

Due to the loss of jobs and downturn in the local economy, the number of people seeking basic services is growing. The biggest need in our region is financial aid.

In response to this problem, United Way NCA is establishing a Basic Needs Fund to assist agencies that provide their constituents with food, shelter, rent and utility assistance.

Specially Trained Professional Operators

The 2-1-1 call specialists are trained to deal with people in crisis and available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 2-1-1 operators wade through the maze of service agencies and streamline the process so people can get the help they need right away.

Specially trained operators get to the root of the problem, uncover related opportunities for assistance and if needed, provide multiple referrals to provide the help needed.

Operators speak over 200 languages from around the world including Welsh, Indonesian, Thai, Swahili and many regional dialects.

Through 2-1-1 you can access information about a wide range of community services. Some of the most requested include:

Health care
Housing and/or utilities payment
Income support
Legal, consumer and public safety
Substance abuse
Domestic violence
Many other basic needs

2-1-1 is lending a hand and improving lives one caller at a time.

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Did You Know

The Capital Area Food Bank reports more than 641,000 residents of the Washington region are experiencing or at risk of hunger, including more than 100,000 in Fairfax County alone.

Residents in Ward 8 have to travel far to gain access to a public library. This distance can make it hard for residents to continue to succeed in their education.

Residents in Ward 7 have to travel far to gain access to a public library. This distance can make it hard for residents to continue to succeed in their education.

Residents in Ward 5 have to travel far to gain access to a public library. This distance can make it hard for residents to continue to succeed in their education.

In Ward 8, over 40% of single-family home and condominium sales resulted from foreclosure completions or owners selling under distress.

45.0% of residents living in Ward 8 receive food stamps.

In Ward 7, over 40% of single-family home and condominium sales resulted from foreclosure completions or owners selling under distress.

35.0% of residents living in Ward 7 receive food stamps.

5.0% of residents living in Ward 2 receive food stamps.

9.8% of residents in Ward 4 are unemployed.

3.2% of residents in Ward 3 are unemployed.

6.0% of residents in Ward 2 are unemployed.

In Ward 1, over 40% of single-family home and condominium sales resulted from foreclosure completions or owners selling under distress.

12.0% of people living in Ward 1 receive food stamps.

6.0% of people live below the poverty level in Prince William County.

9.4% of students in Prince William County drop out of high school.

More than 130,000 residents in Prince William County do not have health insurance.

8.9% of students in Montgomery County do not graduate high school.

In Montgomery County, 1 in 6 children under 18 is at risk of hunger.

6.7% of people live below the poverty level in Montgomery County.

13.9% of students in Prince George's County do not graduate high school.

7.8% of people live below the poverty level in Prince George’s County.

In Prince George's County, approximately 1 in 4 children under 18 is at risk of hunger.

30,000 children in Northern Virginia live in poverty.

In Northern Virginia, 1 in 6 children under 18 is at risk of hunger.

In seven out of the eight wards in the city, residents are closer to fast food restaurants than large grocery stores, which could have a negative impact on residents’ health.

17.2% of residents in the District of Columbia live below the poverty level.

19.0% of residents in the District of Columbia receive food stamps.

11.9% of residents in the District of Columbia are unemployed.

22.0% of students in the District of Columbia do not graduate high school.

32% of children live below the poverty level in the District of Columbia.

In the District of Columbia, nearly 1 in 2 children under 18 is at the risk of hunger.

12.5% of residents living in Maryland do not graduate high school.

9.2% of people live below the poverty level in Maryland.

Last year 2-1-1 Maryland answered 240,000 calls around basic needs such as food, shelter, eviction prevention and financial assistance for prescriptions

Ward 8 public schools have the lowest average share of students testing at required standards, only 33% in reading and 32% in math.

Over 28% of residents living in Ward 8 are unemployed.

Nearly 20% of people living in Ward 7 are unemployed.

67% of children living in Ward 6 are below the poverty level.

15.8% of people living in Ward 5 are unemployed.

There are more than 40,000 uninsured residents living in Loudoun County.

6.1% of students living in Loudoun County drop out of high school.

Nearly 8,000 people in Loudoun County live on an income of $20,000 to support a family of four.

10.6% of people in Fairfax County do not have health insurance.

5.6% of people live below the poverty level in Fairfax County.

7.9% of students living in Fairfax County drop out of high school.

10.5% of children in Arlington County live below the poverty level.

9.4% of students in Arlington County drop out of high school.

More than 3,000 people in Northern Virginia are homeless, 10% of these live in Alexandria, Virginia.

In the past year, 2-1-1 has answered approximately 632,000 calls from the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia from residents seeking services.

Last year 2-1-1 Maryland answered 240,000 calls around basic needs such as food, shelter, eviction prevention and financial assistance for prescriptions.

In Northern Virginia, 1 in 6 children under 18 is at risk of hunger.

In Prince George's County, approximately 1 in 4 children under 18 is at risk of hunger.

In Montgomery County, 1 in 6 children under 18 is at risk of hunger.

In the District of Columbia, nearly 1 in 2 children under 18 is at the risk of hunger.

Kids who attend a high quality preschool are more likely to graduate from high school and have higher lifetime earnings.

Every $1 invested in high quality early childhood education saves taxpayers $7.

Upon entering first grade, the average middle-class child has spent 1,000 to 1,700 hours of reading time with picture books; a low-income child averages just 25 hours.

Food stamps last an average of 2 1/2 weeks.

By age three, middle-class children have a vocabulary of about 1,100 words compared to 525 words for low-income children.

According to the Partnership for America's Economic Success, if 50 first graders enter school with reading problems, 44 of them will still have difficulties reading in the fourth grade.

The 2009/2010 official federal poverty level for a family of four is an annual household income of $22,050. 185% of poverty is $40,792, a level at which people still struggle with hunger.

The Rand Corporation states that 90% of a person's brain growth happens before the age of 3.

More than 130,000 residents in Prince William County do not have health insurance.

Our Impact

Success Stories

Autism Society of Northern Virginia: De la Cruz Family Finds Hope through Connection

Kolette De la Cruz tells in her own words how the Autism Society of Northern Virginia helped her family find a ray of hope through connecting with a supportive community.

"I became a member of the Walk shortly after my son was diagnosed with autism. I have two lovely children, Logan (3) and Grace (19 months). My son, Logan was diagnosed with regressive autism at 21 months of age (meaning that he had normal development and then lost all language, communication and social skills). We as a family were devastated. We had just given birth to our daughter when we noticed our son had somehow slipped away from us."