North Chicago Residents-Do You Know About 211 Lake County?

211 is the place with the answers you need to live well in Lake County, Illinois. 211 is Lake County’s free one-stop place to reach help. It’s a telephone helpline. It’s a texting chatline. It’s a website.

211 is always open, always confidential, and always free. You can speak to a live person when you call in English or Spanish. The 211 team will also interpret to more than 150 other languages.

Here are a Few Examples of How 211 Can Help You

  • Your electricity was just turned off because you couldn’t pay the bill. Call 211 to find out how to get help catching up on your payments.
  • Your grandmother can’t live alone anymore. You wish you could take care of her, but you work all day. Call 211 to learn how to find a caring, safe place for her to live.
  • Someone in your home has started hitting you. Use 211 to find a safe place to go right now and to make a plan for the future.
  • Your teenager seems to have lost friends and spends too much time alone in his room. 211 can guide you to a mental health expert who can help you decide what to do next.
  • You just got a new job but are not sure how to get there. 211 can send you to transportation resources that can help.

Who’s in Charge of 211?

United Way of Lake County leads 211 but many other health and human service providers throughout Lake County, contribute time, talent, and money to make the 211-resource center operate smoothly. UWLC has a contract with Interface Children and Family Services, a leading nonprofit, to be our 211-contact center. Trained 211 experts who work at the contact center are standing by to take your phone calls and texts.

At this moment and everyday 24 hours-7 days per week, there are people on the other end of 211 waiting for your call. The United Way of Lake County has trained them to guide you to the help you need. If you are outside of Illinois looking for help in Lake County or having an issue reaching 211, call 1-855-677-5253 toll free.

Those in need can also text their zip code to 898211. People at the 211-contact center are waiting for your texts at this moment. An expert navigator will text you back. Then all you have to do is text your question to begin getting the help you need.