211 Agency Faces Funding Struggles While Helping Those In Need

By Douglas Imbrogno The boy had suffered a massive stroke - unusual for one so young. He was so debilitated he could not walk and needed a wheelchair. As he prepared to leave the hospital to return home to recover, a problem loomed: how to get him - seated in his wheelchair - into his Charleston home. His mother solved the matter by dialing just three numbers: 211. "In order to bring him home from the hospital, they had to have a ramp built to bring him into the house," recalled Barbara Mallory. Mallory is director of Information and Referral at Charleston's United Way, which partners with 211. Most people are familiar with calling 911 for physical emergencies.