Press Room: Victorville Daily Press
Victor Valley residents call for help: 211 help line flooded with requests
Brooke Edwards, Staff Writer
May 26, 2009
Victor Valley calls for help with basic needs, such as paying bills or putting food on the table continue to outpace the rest of the county.
Local cities account for roughly 28 percent of all calls made in San Bernardino County last month to the informational help line 211, according to a report released by the United Way call center.
And even as requests to the national program continue to climb, resources available to help those in need are getting harder to come by.
“For many of the requests in April we were not able to give a referral,” said Gary Madden, director of 211 for San Bernardino County. “Agencies’ funds are exhausted. The support system in San Bernardino County, which is fractured and delicate, is strained beyond reason.”
A call to the free line connects residents with 24-hour, personalized help from a live specialist with details on all kinds of community resources, from an employer seeking drug treatment programs for workers to a family reporting financial scams against an elderly grandparent.
Out of 58 cities and regions tracked in the county, Victorville has ranked second behind the City of San Bernardino in terms of 211 calls for months straight. While the city holds just over 5 percent of the county’s population, it accounts for 13 percent of all calls for help.
Hesperia comes in fifth in the county followed closely by Apple Valley, both of which outpaced larger cities such as Rialto.
And even though Adelanto has a population just over half that of Yucaipa, Adelanto residents made exactly double the calls for help last month.
“The Victor Valley is over-represented,” Madden said. “Part of that is because United Way and the utilities are doing a good job of advertising 211.”
Another factor is the area’s high foreclosure rate. Requests for foreclosure assistance from county residents made one of the highest jumps percentage-wise over the last few months, up 630 percent since February.
In April of last year, foreclosure assistance wasn’t even a category tracked by United Way.
Madden said operators frequently hear from residents who are saying things like, “I've worked hard all my life” and “I've never had to ask anyone for help like this before.”
With resources thin, he said they are trying to help callers seek alternate ways of solving their problems, such as showing them how to research their own resources.
“We want to encourage neighbors to help neighbors,” Madden said. “We can’t expect the government to always help.”
And while local cities are over-represented in terms of 211 calls, Madden said residents of the Victor Valley stand a greater chance at getting help from a neighbor in times of need.
“There’s a great sense of community up in the Victor Valley,” Madden said. “If someone is looking for food, for example, the chances that they’ll get it are greater in the Victor Valley than in other areas.”
Brooke Edwards may be reached at 955-5358 or at bedwards@VVDailyPress.com.