Let me introduce you to my nephew Jag, and tell you the story of 211.  By Claralyn Hill

In 2001, my little nephew, Jaganoth, arrived from India to join my sister and his three other siblings, who had also come from India. It had taken longer than we hoped to get him here. By the time he came, he was already three years old, spoke Bengali and no English, had parasites and lice from the orphanage, and had been so spoiled by the massis at the orphanage that his older siblings were having a hard time adjusting to his demanding ways. The head lice quickly spread to the whole family before they were detected. My sister, who was totally prepared for his substantial physical handicaps, was overwhelmed by everything else that hit at once. She called me, wondering where to begin to address all the problems. I felt overwhelmed too. How could I help her? Then I thought of United Way 211. 

For years, I had served on the Board of United Way of Utah County, and on its executive committee, overseeing community services and ensuring they were made available and accessible to the people of Utah County who needed them. While I was on the board, United Way developed a state of the art web page through which anyone can volunteer to help in the community. We also initiated the 211 telephone system. This is a simple phone number, 211, which anyone can call to find out about community volunteer opportunities and also to access community resources. I like to think of it as the give and take center of the community. You can call 211 to give of yourself. Or you can call 211 to receive help. I called 211.  

Immediately, I was put in touch with someone who helped me brainstorm the kinds of help available for my sister and her little ones, who were so deserving of help. I made a list of things we could do for her and called her back. We talked about her options. Just knowing how much help existed in our little community helped me to know that my sister would get through this crisis. She immediately went to work to solve the problems one by one. 

Since then, Jag has grown into a bright eyed young 10 year old, who still gives his siblings grief from time to time, but fits right into the family. We love him and are so glad that he and the other children have taken their places in our family. He still prefers crawling on all fours to using his wheel chair, and he can crawl faster than anyone I have ever met. In 2002, a special friend of ours arranged for him to go to the Paralympics, a highlight for him.  After only three months after Jag arrived his English had improved tremendously.   My sister took him to the airport to see the planes coming in. “Oh, Mom,” he said, “I remember when I came here in a plane! You couldn’t talk very well then. You just said, blah blah blah blah! Now you can speak!” 

I frequently think of how much that 211 call meant to me and how much I wish I could find a way to share the number with my neighbors and friends. So this is my chance. The number is there for all of us to help us connect with our larger neighborhood. Please feel free to use it as I did.

I completely support private community initiatives for people to work together outside of government to solve personal & community problems.

If you want to volunteer or are looking for resources in Utah County, go to www.unitedwayuc.org.