National 211 Day

Tomorrow (2/11) is National 211 Day in honor of 211 service. The Helpline Center and Volunteer Sioux Falls is seeking 211 volunteers tomorrow in a daylong project helping kids, adults, seniors, military members, people who have mental health concerns, veterans and military families. Janet Kittams-Lalley, executive director of the Helpline Center, and Sara Carothers, volunteer services coordinator, are leading efforts to make the 211 program statewide. Through the years, the agency was formalized with staff, grew to 24 hours/7 days a week service, and was the first location west of the Mississippi River to begin 211 service. The Helpline Center serves thousands of people every year by connecting individuals to resources and support, providing child care referrals, providing local agencies volunteers, offering hope to individuals with thoughts of suicide and connecting families in need to resources for the holidays. The Helpline Center is supported by United Way, city and county government allocations, grants, corporate donations and private donations. Kittams-Lalley and Carothers talked about the project happening tomorrow.