Oklahoma's 211 System Is A Year Old

Oklahoma's 211 system is celebrating one year of service. <br/><br/>211 is a supplement to 911. It focuses on non-emergency social problems. Operators help with things like housing assistance, cooling

Tuesday, July 11th 2006, 10:59 am

By: News On 6

Oklahoma's 211 system is celebrating one year of service.

211 is a supplement to 911. It focuses on non-emergency social problems. Operators help with things like housing assistance, cooling and heating help, healthcare needs.

The Tulsa 211 call center averages 5,300 calls a month and is taking some of the load off of 911.

211 chairman Jerry McGee: "You hate to think someone's back at the 911 center talking to someone about rental assistance while your house might be on fire. So this really increases the effectiveness of both the social community and the emergency community.â€

Oklahoma is the 33rd state to implement the 211 pilot program.