Vermont 211 reevaluates flood recovery role while managing funding woes

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – We told you this week that leaders at United Way, which operates Vermont 211, say the organization is chronically underfunded—leading to a reduction in staff a week or so before last month’s flooding.

Governor Phil Scott responded, saying United Way should have better communicated its staffing challenges and that lawmakers may need to reexamine who administers the service.

United Way says since Vermont 211 began in 2005, last month’s flooding was the largest weather event they’ve handled, surpassing the call volume of tropical storm Irene.

If you call 211, one of seven staff members should pick up the phone. During last month’s flooding, volunteers were brought in to yield a record number of calls.

“We received between 500 and 700 calls a day. We took over 3000 calls, which exceeded the month of June,” said Elizabeth Gilman of United Way.

Gilman adds that they received thousands of damage reports and Vermonters looking for information on food, shelter, and water.

Unfortunately, the storm came at a difficult time for the program. Starting July 1st, the state reduced funding for 211, leading to reduced hours and staff.

That led to long wait times and a backlog during the flood as employees were inundated with calls.

“We’ve just been all hands on deck. Staff have really stepped up we have some amazing volunteers,” said Gilman. And the hard work proved to be critical.

Vermont Emergency Management says 211 was a connecting point for situational awareness and subsequent data collection to help get Vermont attention from FEMA.

So far, more than 4,500 residents have applied for FEMA assistance leading to the approval of about $11.6 million in federal funds.

“As it relates to individual assistance and determining whether or not we think that we’re going to hit those thresholds, once we think we might hit those thresholds based on the data from 211, We can then work with FEMA to put some boots on the ground,” said Vermont Emergency Management Executive Director Eric Forand.

Forand also says this is the first event where 211 was utilized as a data point for systems and damage, and spreading the word about 211′s role in assistance in addition to data is a goal moving forward.

“Educating the public on the next time, just call them up, get that information out there. We push that information and that messaging a lot. When it becomes ingrained in people’s mentality, we can get the information quicker and then utilize it to dedicate resources to the best of our abilities,” said Forand.

Back at the 211 headquarters, Gilman says as the state attempts to transition to recovery among the seemingly constant rain. The call volume has lessened, but there are still Vermonters in need.

“We continue to do our day-to-day job helping Vermonters with information referral and connection to health and human services, as well as providing our after-emergency housing and support for economic services,” said Gilman.

As for the back and forth about the amount of funding and staffing for Vermont 211, Gilman says staff are trained to handle these calls and do so everyday. She adds that United Way is uniquely situated to continue to make 211 services successful.

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