By Carol Borsa

Sharon Carlton is a determined, loving and hard working mother of three children. Her life has been filled with many challenges, and she has relied on her inner strength and faith to get her through. One October morning several years ago, Carlton needed that strength when she learned that her 4 year old son had been hit by a car and was on the way to the hospital. In the emergency department later that day, Carlton learned that her little boy was going to need surgery to remove his severely damaged leg and was going to walk with a prosthetic leg from that point on.

The support Carlton and her family received during their days in the hospital helped get them through that difficult time. When her son left the hospital, Carlton was determined to give him the best care possible and to take control of the life she and her family were living – she was ready for a change.
Carlton took the initiative to pursue a different career, one in which she could make a real difference and give back to the community that had given her so much. In 2002, she started that new journey by accepting a job as a telephone counselor with a local crisis hotline. Since that time, she has been promoted twice and is now a senior counselor and supervisor for the local 2-1-1 program.

What is 2-1-1?
By dialing 2-1-1, Rochester area residents receive free, confidential, multilingual services created to provide an easy way to connect with resources in the community. 2-1-1 is a national program initiated locally through the United Way of Greater Rochester, the Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired (ABVI)-Goodwill Industries of Greater Rochester, and the 2-1-1 Finger Lakes Collaborative. The program was established in Rochester in 2005 and was the first community in New York State to have this service.

“Every hour of every day, someone in our community needs essential services, from finding substance abuse assistance to securing adequate care for a child or an aging parent,” explains A. Gidget Hopf, Ed.D., president and CEO of ABVI-Goodwill. “While New York State is blessed with a rich infrastructure of services, finding out about those services can often be a challenge for the average resident. Faced with a dramatic increase in the number of agencies and help lines, people often don’t know where to turn. In fact, in many cases, people end up going without these necessary and readily available services,” adds Hopf.

A Call for Help
2-1-1 can help. 2-1-1 provides 24-hour, 7 day a week access to trained counselors ready to provide information and referrals to human service agencies and programs throughout the area, connecting callers to local organizations and resources that can best meet their needs.

While services that are offered through 2-1-1 vary from community to community, 2-1-1 provides callers with information about and referrals to human services for every day needs and in times of crisis. For example, 2-1-1 can offer access to the following types of services: support for children, youth and families, including child care, after-school programs, Head Start, family resource centers, summer camps and recreation programs, tutoring, and protective services; basic human needs resources, including food banks, clothing closets, shelters, rent assistance and utility assistance; physical and mental health resources, including health insurance programs, Medicaid and Medicare, maternal and children’s health, medical information lines, crisis intervention services, support groups, counseling, and drug or alcohol intervention and rehabilitation; employment support, including financial assistance, job training, transportation assistance, and education programs; assistance for older Americans and persons with disabilities; volunteer opportunities and donations; and many others.

Holiday Stress
Holiday time is a particularly active one for 2-1-1 programs, responding to calls from individuals having a difficult time adapting to their personal situations at a time that may not be as festive for them as it is for others. It is at these times that the experienced, highly qualified 2-1-1 telephone counselors are at their best by offering support, compassion and professional guidance to callers most in need.
Through her job at 2-1-1, Carlton is able to make a difference in the lives of other people in the community. Her own personal experiences give her greater insights into the variety of calls she answers daily. Sharon’s guidance to 2-1-1 callers is more than just words – it’s sincere support, encouragement and empathy from a woman who knows what it was like to be on the other end of that phone.
“My career here at 2-1-1 allows me to give back to a community that was there for me when I needed it,” says Carlton. “When I answer a phone call and the caller is in a situation that I can relate to, I believe I can offer not only the professional information and referral services to best direct them to the community resources that can help, but I can also share my faith that they can turn things around and change their lives, just like I did.”

Carlton relied on her community, her family and her faith for the support she needed at a difficult time in her life. Now she uses her own personal experiences to provide callers to 2-1-1 that same support by directing them to the community resources available to best meet their needs.
So, when you need help but don’t know where to turn, just dial 2-1-1!

Carol Borsa is Director of Business Services at ABVI-Goodwill in Rochester