Eric Sternad, executive director of Interface Children & Family Services, gave the City Council an overview of 211 Ventura's role and local call statistics, emphasizing the service's 20-year history and its reach in Santa Paula.

Sternad said 211 Ventura fields a 24-hour contact center that residents can reach by dialing 211, texting ZIP code to 898211, or visiting 211ventura.org. He told the council the service catalogs the county's health and human services database, and helps callers with housing, income support and utility assistance among other needs. Sternad reported roughly 663 calls from Santa Paula in the reported year and said about a third of those were first-time callers.

Why it matters: Council members and staff were reminded that 211 acts as a single, countywide entry point for residents seeking services and that local promotion of the number can connect people faster to help. Staff noted 211's bilingual capacity; Sternad said about "80% of our 211 staff are bilingual, bicultural." He encouraged council to use city social media to publicize 211 and to coordinate outreach for special needs such as power-shutoff planning and disaster information distribution.

Council response: Council members asked about trends, COVID-era call spikes, and transportation assistance; Sternad said housing was consistently the top need and that over the pandemic the mix of needs shifted. He also said 211 provides special projects including power-shutoff coordination with utilities and a transportation trip-planning service called 211 Rides.

Next steps: Councilmembers agreed to coordinate with staff to promote 211 via city communications and to request rack cards and materials for local distribution.