Every hour of every day, knowledgeable and caring Community Resource Navigators (CRNs) answer phone calls and online inquiries for 211, our region’s resource and referral system, connecting neighbors to a network of more than 7,000 community services. In 2023, United Way of Greater Kansas City’s 211 team responded to 358,099 contacts in our 23-county service area.
To highlight the work of our incredible 211 team, we’re sharing highlights of some of the calls CRNs take each month. Here are a few call highlights for the month of September 2024:
An individual in Lee’s Summit was seeking rent assistance, but it was a complex situation related to her Section 8 voucher. She had received a notice from her landlord but it wasn’t a typical three-day letter or eviction notice.
Instead, it was a notice to terminate tenancy under her Section 8 voucher. Our Community Resource Navigator was very thorough with open-ended questions to assess the situation and explained with great detail that she wanted to understand what type of letter the individual was dealing with to provide the proper referrals per different agency restrictions. This showed a great deal of due diligence and established a genuine layer of trust between the navigator and caller.
Additionally, the Navigator was honest and transparent about what she referrals and information she could provide without making any guarantees, so the caller understood what to expect when going through the process. The navigator’s empathy was genuine; she truly worked to understand what the caller might’ve been feeling and going through. By the end, the caller had an optimistic outlook on what she could do for herself with the information and referrals given.
“At 211, we may not always get direct praises from our caller, but knowing the caller understood clearly what service 211 could provide and what type of power the caller had within herself through the information provided to move forward is a reward itself,” said Kristen Engelbrecht, United Way of Greater Kansas City 211 director. “Even though reaching out to an agency may not always directly solve a problem, it may stimulate other sources of power through the connections within the community services or personal networks as well as gives us back control in turbulent situations. And it all can start as simply as someone on the end of the line having a gentle, honest and caring conversation with us.”
A caller from Independence, Mo. who turned to 211 was crying and feeling overwhelmed while trying to describe their situation and needs. Margrite, a tenured Community Resource Navigator at United Way 211, learned the caller was struggling to keep up with bills and was several months behind on their rent. The caller was very worried about their children. Margrite’s tone in response to this was delicate and thoughtful. She was intentional about her approach, asking questions in a very clear manner, which allowed the caller to further describe their needs to help Margrite clearly assess the situation and provide the right referrals. Margrite helped the caller understand the resources available and answered their questions supportively, helping the caller feel heard and comforted. With a high level of professionalism and care, Margrite assisted the caller in feeling more empowered and hopeful about their situation with the provided referrals that may be able to assist them.
An individual called into 211 to share her appreciation. At the start of a call, the caller shared, “I called you guys last week for some assistance, and you guys really came through for me on one of these. I mean it’s awesome. I don’t know how you guys did this so quick.” The caller explained a referral we provided them last week was able to provide payment assistance on their gas bill, which the caller stated, “saved my life”. The caller was grateful and shared she wanted to send 211 a thank you card. Toward the end of the call, the navigator asked about other needs the caller may have and was able to provide additional referrals to hopefully address those needs. The caller was grateful for the support of 211.