Every hour of every day, someone in San Diego County searches for services, from substance abuse treatment to care for a child or aging parent, food, housing or financial assistance and military and veteran services. With more than 6,000 health and human service programs available in San Diego County, finding help can seem insurmountable. 2-1-1 San Diego can help.

2-1-1 San Diego serves the entire population of the San Diego region, connecting people with community, health and disaster services through a free, 24/7 stigma-free phone service and searchable online database.

By dialing 2-1-1, residents are linked to a live, highly-trained Client Service Representative (CSR) who helps them navigate through their situation by assessing their needs and then matching them to the best and closest resource in their community. Assistance is confidential and offered in more than 200 languages and dialects. 2-1-1’s highly trained CSRs, the majority of whom are Alliance of Information and Referral Systems (AIRS)-certified, provide a wide range of immediate resources to local individuals and families.

In collaboration with the Live Well San Diego Central Region leadership team, 2-1-1 San Diego created an interactive mapping tool to help link residents with local services.  The tool includes information and links to need-based services in four zip codes in the Central Region:  92102, 92113, 92105, and 92114.  The interactive map and resource guide is designed to be used by case workers to identify support services for their clients, including directions on how to get to local clinics.

“2-1-1 San Diego is very excited about this mapping tool collaboration with the Live Well San Diego Central Region Leadership team,” said John Ohanian, 2-1-1 San Diego’s Chief Executive Officer. “The tool was created with direct input from residents living in the Central Region, and the information is reflective of their needs for easy-to-access information about available services.”

2-1-1 also hosts a community events calendar.  Local organizations can submit information about public events directly to 2-1-1 San Diego to share on the calendar.

While externally 2-1-1 San Diego’s mission is to provide people with the services and information they need to build and sustain healthy and happy lives – in alignment with the County of San Diego's Live Well San Diego initiative – 2-1-1 San Diego’s internal mission is to ensure that 100-plus staff and volunteers have a healthy and strong organization to work within. Over the past two years, 2-1-1 has embraced the Live Well San Diego strategies by promoting employee health and wellness in the workplace, including:

• Providing healthy food options
• Wellness courses and long term programs
• Offering Pilates and other exercise programs and initiatives
• Establishing “self-care” rooms designated for mental health breaks
• Development of a “mother’s room” specifically designed for those mothers who are nursing and need to pump their milk while at work
• Creating a “staff lounge” complete with a healthy food option vending machine, ping pong and pool table, computer lab and couches for relaxing and reading, and
• Providing monthly team building outings with healthy and physical experiences like hiking and bowling

2-1-1 San Diego believes that in order to put critical resources at the fingertips of thousands, the organization must provide a safe, healthy and thriving work environment as well. Due to these efforts that have been built into 2-1-1 San Diego’s strategic plan, the organization was presented a Live Well San Diego recognized partner proclamation by the County of San Diego Board of Supervisors on April 9, 2014.

Visit 2-1-1 San Diego’s website to learn more >>