UNITED WAYS OF VERMONT INC

UNITED WAYS OF VERMONT (UWVT) IS THE STATEWIDE ASSOCIATION OF THE LOCAL UNITED WAY CHAPTERS IN VERMONT AND ALSO HOUSES THE VERMONT 211 (VT 211) PROGRAM, A STATEWIDE INFORMATION AND REFERRAL PROGRAM, OFFICIALLY LAUNCHED IN 2005. VT 211 HAS RESPONDED TO OVER HALF A MILLION CONTACTS, CONNECTING CALLERS WITH HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF REFERRALS SINCE ITS INCEPTION 25 YEARS AGO. THE TOP REFERRALS GIVEN TO VERMONTERS REMAINS CONSISTENT, INCLUDING ACCESS TO EMERGENCY HOUSING FOR INDIVIDUALS EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS, HELP MEETING BASIC NEEDS, ACCESS TO FREE TAX PREPARATION SITES, AND REFERRALS TO VARIOUS AGENCIES THAT PROVIDE HELP WITH FINANCIAL, HEALTH, AND EDUCATION ASSISTANCE. VT 211 MAINTAINS A ROBUST STATEWIDE DATABASE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICE RESOURCES. THE INFORMATION INCLUDES DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS OF MORE THAN 1100 AGENCIES, REPRESENTING MORE THAN 3000 PROGRAMS AND SERVICES. THIS DATABASE IS AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC ON A SEARCHABLE PLATFORM ONLINE AT WWW.VERMONT211.ORG. IN FY25, WE RECEIVED 57,375 CONTACTS, WHICH RESULTED IN 22,008 REFERRALS.OUR PARTNERSHIPS RUN DEEP. VT 211 PARTNERS WITH STATE, LOCAL, COMMUNITY, AND ORGANIZATIONS TO PROVIDE EDUCATION AND TRAINING IN THE AREAS OF INFORMATION AND REFERRAL. VT 211 PROVIDES AN EASY TO REMEMBER PHONE NUMBER TO CALL TO GET VETTED INFORMATION IN TIMES OF DISASTER, WHETHER IT BE LOCAL, REGIONAL, OR STATEWIDE. VT 211 PLAYED AN INSTRUMENTAL ROLE IN THE 2023 AND 2024 DEVASTATING FLOODS IN VERMONT BY COLLECTING DAMAGE REPORTS FROM THE PUBLIC FOR OUR STATE PARTNERS AND SERVING AS A RELIABLE SOURCE OF ACCURATE INFORMATION. OUR PROGRAM AND DATABASE ARE ACCREDITED BY INFORM USA, THE NATIONAL ACCREDITING AGENCY FOR INFORMATION AND REFERRAL SERVICES.UNITED WAYS OF VT IS ALSO HOME TO THE HELP ME GROW VERMONT (HMG) INITIATIVE IN COLLABORATION WITH THE VERMONT DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH. HMG PROVIDES A CENTRAL ACCESS POINT, USING VT 211'S DATABASE, FOR EXISTING RESOURCES AND NEW INFORMATION RELATED TO HEALTHY CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND MATERNAL/CHILD HEALTH. CHILD DEVELOPMENT SPECIALISTS FOLLOW UP WITH FAMILIES TO ENSURE THEY CAN CONNECT TO RESOURCES, AND ASSISTS ANY PREGNANT PERSON OR PERSON CARING FOR A CHILD FROM BIRTH TO AGE EIGHT WHO LIVES IN VERMONT. HMG ALSO HOSTS THE STATE'S ACCOUNTS AND TRAINING FOR THE AGES AND STAGES QUESTIONNAIRE, A PARENT-COMPLETED TOOL FOR SCREENING YOUNG CHILDREN (BIRTH TO 5.5 YEARS). WE TRAIN PROVIDERS SUCH AS CHILDCARE PROFESSIONALS, EDUCATORS, FAMILY SUPPORT WORKERS, AND OTHERS ON HOW TO USE THE TOOL AND SET UP ACCOUNTS.