West Virginia 211 Hotline Receives 150,000th Call

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WCHS) — West Virginia 211 is a helpline that connects people with resources for a wide range of needs, ranging from rent assistance to mental health. The line is available 24 hours a day and answers calls from people across the Mountain State. The helpline recently answered its 150,000th call.

The helpline has been a collaborative project of United Way since March 2019.

“When we started in 2019, our call volume was relatively low because we were new. But when COVID hit the next year, our call volume increased three to four times what it was the year before,” said April Knight, executive director of West Virginia 211.

According to Knight, more than half of calls to the helpline are for assistance with utilities.

“And over 70 percent of those calls are specifically for electrical assistance,” she said.

Knight said the hotline averages about 100 calls a day in West Virginia. Knight said 97 percent of the nation is covered by 211 service.

“Compared to states our size, I would say we’re average,” Knight told Eyewitness News. “There are states with a population size about the same as West Virginia that take half the calls that we do, and there are states that take twice as many calls as we do. So we’re right in the middle of states of similar size.”

West Virginia 211 called the 150,000th call “a testament to the community’s trust and support.”

“It’s just an amazing feeling to be able to connect people with resources that you know will make a difference in their lives,” Knight said.