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2‑1‑1 coordinator outlines local services, data tools for Benton County
Summary
Shannon Rose of 2‑1‑1 Info told the Benton County Board how the 24/7 nonprofit connects residents to housing, food, child care and health resources, described bilingual staffing and funding sources, and offered county‑level data access and follow‑up support.
Shannon Rose, community engagement coordinator with 2‑1‑1 Info, told the Benton County Board of Commissioners that 2‑1‑1 provides round‑the‑clock, bilingual resource navigation for residents across Oregon and northwest Washington.
"We are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week," Rose said, explaining callers connect with a live person able to refer them to local programs for rent, utilities, food, health care and child care. She said the program staffs about 50 people statewide, trains staff with roughly four weeks of instruction before they take calls, and maintains language capacity beyond Spanish including Hungarian, Chuukese and Samoan, with telephone interpreter support for other languages.
Rose described 2‑1‑1’s funding mix as primarily state and local government contracts for specific services, supplemented by health‑care contracts, grants and donations. She said Benton County has 58 agencies listed in 2‑1‑1’s resource database and encouraged county staff to use the service’s online data dashboard or to request tailored county‑level reports.
The presentation highlighted specialty lines and programs: a dedicated child‑care line; a maternal and child health line; a SNAP‑assistance specialist who can clarify benefit notices and translate documents; seasonal programs (holiday and back‑to‑school resource coordination); and a coordination center that offers light case management for callers needing more follow up.
Rose told commissioners that 2‑1‑1 records “unmet needs” — requests for services for which no referral exists — and that the data are publicly accessible by ZIP code and by month. She invited county staff to email for help extracting localized data and to request outreach or presentations to service provider groups.
The board responded with requests for follow‑up: commissioners asked how 2‑1‑1 shares trends with county homelessness and emergency‑services partners; Rose said community engagement staff pass relevant observations to local provider meetings and can participate in monthly homelessness service provider calls. The presentation closed with an offer to assist county departments and community partners in using 2‑1‑1’s data and outreach capacity.
