photo credit: Freestock.org
People access 211 by calling 211 on their phones, or by visiting 211Sonoma.org.

A community lifeline is facing a serious threat across California.

211 service is a free, confidential 24/7 number connecting residents to food, housing, healthcare, and critical disaster information. It is at risk of shutting down or drastically reducing services in roughly 39 counties, including Sonoma County.

Lisa Carreno is President and CEO of United Way of the Wine Country. She says the loss in government funding after the signing of HR1, also known as President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, means that other resources will be stretched thin.

“The withdrawal of those resources will lead to those kinds of calls going to 911 because when people are in crisis, they're going to call where they think they're going to find service and support,” said Carreno.

According to Carreno, in Sonoma County alone, someone reaches out to 211 via phone or its website once every four minutes. Running the local service costs United Way of the Wine Country approximately $600,000 annually.

Carreno explains that losing live, trained call specialists does more than just strain 911—it removes a critical safety net that keeps people from falling into deeper crises.

“The connection that a call center specialist makes with a caller helps the call center specialist support that individual to access resources while they're navigating something that may be an urgent need and will help them navigate away from something that could potentially become more catastrophic in a much more expensive crisis,” said Carreno.

United Way of the Wine Country is working with statewide coalition partners to advocate for two major initiatives. The first is Assembly Bill 1832, which would integrate 211 into the California Office of Emergency Services. The second is a push to secure a $20-million state budget investment through the California Public Utilities Commission. It would stabilize struggling 211 systems and expand them to 15 counties currently without the service.

Carreno says if funding fails, California could follow the path of Arizona where live call support is being eliminated.

“Instead, when someone reaches out to 211, they will get automated assistance through an automated messaging system," Carreno said. "When you're in crisis, receiving that kind of response is is just adding more of a crisis on top of a crisis because it's really very hard to teach yourself how to walk through an automated system like that and get help. People will just hang up.”

While the state legislature has shown strong bipartisan support for the measures, advocates say the final piece of the puzzle is Governor Gavin Newsom. Carreno says she hopes people will contact the governor's office to ask him to include the $20-million infrastructure investment in the final budget before the new fiscal year begins on July 1st.

“And in emergencies and disasters, it's incredibly important that we all have access to the same resources," said Carreno. "Too often in emergencies and disasters, those who have the fewest resources are the most vulnerable to harm. This changes that. This is how you activate your belief in democracy.”

United Way of the Wine Country has posted links to the governor's and legislative offices on their Facebook page.