App developed by Utah County’s United Way tells residents what services remain open
United Way of Utah County has updated its "211 Utah" mobile application, which is used statewide, to include information about which services are closed due to coronavirus-related restrictions. The app was updated on Friday, March 20, 2020.
Stephanie Anderson, center, director of United Way of Utah County’s EveryDay Learners program, and Autumn Holmes, store manager of the Orem National Product Sales Store, sort through donated books for children at the NPS Store on Friday, Oct. 25, 2019, in Orem. Isaac Hale, Daily Herald
United Way of Utah County is working to find innovative ways to direct residents to emergency and nonprofit services — and to let Utahns know which services are closed due to coronavirus-related restrictions.
Two years ago, United Way of Utah County developed a mobile application, ”211 Utah,” to provide residents information about legal, mental health, medical, employment, education and domestic abuse resources, according to President and CEO Bill Hulterstrom.
“Having a resource directory of standard services in the community is useless if some of those services are now closed because of the virus,” Hulterstrom said.
United Way employees spent the last week updating the app, which is available for download on both Google Android and Apple iOS devices, Hulterstrom said. As of Friday, the app was updated to include information on “what services may or may not still be available because of the current crisis that we’re in.”
The updated app will also inform Utahns which service providers are still open but require calling in ahead of time or are moving toward telehealth services, the United Way of Utah County CEO said, adding that the app serves as “a critical step in alleviating fear from many whether they can still get the help that they may need.”
The app will be continually updated in “real-time,” Hulterstrom said, to help residents who need various resources, from groceries to assistance paying rent or a utility bill.
Additionally, Hulterstrom said the organization gave 25 employees full-service phones that they can use while working at home “so they can keep answering phones and referring people” who call the United Way 211 Information and Referral helpline.
Sofia Palomo, a community connections specialist at United Way of Utah County, said in a press release that she recently assisted a single mother of two who was laid off from her job as a waitress.
“Many people who have called in this week are desperate for help,” Palomo said. “They have never been employed and they feel lost and unsure of the future. They don’t know if they will lose their house or where their meals next week will come from.”
Hulterstrom said United Way “has always seen itself having a critical role when it comes to unusual challenges or situations in the community” and that a public health crisis is one of those challenges.
“It’s one thing to be afraid of getting the illness, which is a very legitimate fear,” said Hulterstrom. “The fear of a single mom’s ability to feed their kids or pay rent is a whole different kind of fear that we’re worried about as well.”
He added that the economic impact of coronavirus-related closures will likely lead to an uptick of Utahns in need of nonprofit or emergency services.
“The number of hourly people who are going to be out of work will continually increase, and the pain of that being out of work will increase with the number which are out of work,” Hulterstrom said. “So we are absolutely worried about the pressure on our systems to be able to handle what we anticipate is a fairly large surge of people needing help.”
United Way’s 211 helpline is free to use and keeps information confidential. Utah residents can get connected to services by calling 2-1-1, texting 898-211 or visiting 211utah.org.
