By Cynthia Grau/WJEZ News

So many people know they you need to dial 911 or even 411, but under what circumstance is 211 needed?

Executive Director of the United Way of Livingston County Deb Howard said so many people aren’t aware of the existence of 211, and explained that it is a health and human services hotline for people to call in times of crisis.

“It helps people reach out in times of crisis to find local support and services, and that can be anything from a mental health issue to ‘my lights are shut off’ to ‘I have no food for my kids’ to ‘someone is abusing the neighbor next door’ to ‘I know an elderly person who has no slippers.’ It can be anything, and they can direct you to agencies in your area that can help you with that stuff,” Howard said.

Howard was a guest on a recent Community Forum, which can be found at WJEZ.com.