Austin, TX – 26 June 2017 – On Monday, TexVet staff visited with the United Way for Greater Austin and 2-1-1 Help Line. In a visit coordinated by Amy Price, the 2-1-1 Community Information Director showed TexVet around the call centers and offered a briefing on the various services offered while exploring ways to work together. The United Way for Greater Austin lines receive a tremendous volume of calls, over 300,000 in 2016, including nearly 4,000 veterans.
Between TexVet and the United Way’s information and referral website, more than half a million searches were made in 2016 and the trend is increasing. Amy and Peter Kretzschmar discussed the “suburbanization of poverty” and some of the most prevalent needs in Central Texas – housing and food assistance. These are similar to the needs of the most vulnerable veterans contacting TexVet. Both organizations use and share data with community partners in an effort to highlight problems and emphasized solutions for those in need.
The organizations became aware of each other through their affiliation in the Texas Alliance of Information and Referral Systems. By working together to share information, best practices, or even stories of resilience, the people involved in these technical enterprises are better able to support and serve the communities they want to improve.
For more information on the United Way for Greater Austin, contact 211database@uwatx.org.
The TexVet Initiative is a program of the Texas A&M University Health Science Center. Find them on the web at www.TexVet.org or email contactus@texvet.org.
