History and Values
2-1-1 Orange County was founded in 1984 as People for Irvine Community Health. Since its inception, the agency has been connecting residents in need to critical social services in Orange County such as housing, job placement, food, and health insurance.
Mission
211OC links Orange County’s most vulnerable with the health and human service resources they need.
Position
211OC connects, collaborates, and informs in order to empower our community.
Vision
An enriched quality of life for Orange County residents and their families.
Connection Center
With the inception of 2-1-1 in Orange County in 2005, a simple toll free, three-digit phone number that is easy to remember, we now connect thousands of individuals and families to needed community based programs, including where to find a community clinic, dental care, immunizations, and prescription assistance, food, homeless shelters, elder and childcare, legal services and other resources offered by local nonprofits and government agencies.
2-1-1 Orange County runs a comprehensive information and referral system for Orange County, CA. 211OC provides a resource database of health and human services and support, accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week online and through our multi-lingual hotline, connecting people quickly and effectively to existing programs and disaster response information. Just dial 2-1-1.
We connect people of all income levels and language and cultural backgrounds to resources tailored to their needs and circumstances, taking into account accessibility, eligibility requirements and other factors through live assistance from highly trained and certified Information & Referral Specialists or through our searchable online resource database.
Through our Information and Referral (I&R) services, Orange County residents can dial 2-1-1 or 888-600-4357 (toll-free) to receive referrals from trained multilingual I&R Specialists 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Callers outside of Orange County dial 888-600-4357. I&R Specialists are able to search through listings of over 2,000 local agencies providing thousands of programs in order to find those that best match the individual's needs, screen for eligibility, and provide them with the most useful information.
211OC is dedicated to building an Orange County where:
NO ONE IS HOMELESS
By building a Coordinated Entry System for the region that offers a single point of entry into the network of services, 211OC helps secure housing for chronically homeless people and help them maintain it.
NO ONE IS HUNGRY
Our trained community wellness and resource navigators help OC residents apply for the CalFresh program.
EVERYONE IS COUNTED
The Point-in-Time count and survey of the homeless population in Orange County is a vital tool for ending homelessness, and helps the county qualify for more than $19,000,000 in federal funding for services to reduce homelessness.
EVERYONE CAN AFFORD A QUALITY LIFE
211OC helps screen residents for eligibility in programs that can save them money, which in turn improves quality of life.
VETERANS COME HOME TO THE SUPPORT THEY DESERVE
Our Courage to Connect Program helps veterans returning to Orange County transition back into civilian life. With offices at the Tierney Center in Tustin, we are helping link veterans to benefits and services to overcome barriers and be successful.
WOMEN ARE SAFE
211OC manages a Central Clearinghouse for Health and Domestic Violence (resources and referrals). The Clearinghouse includes an online comprehensive, searchable database for DV services in OC, with a dedicated webpage; a 24-hour telephone helpline, with multi-lingual, culturally sensitive staff; and facilitated referrals (aka “warm hand-offs”). Together, these components will represent a one-stop, comprehensive, current, and user-friendly Clearinghouse that provides domestic violence survivors and victims' easy access to service and referrals.
FAMILIES ARE STRONG
211OC provides information and referral services at the Anaheim Independencia Family Resource Center and the El Modena Family Resource Center in Orange, serving more than 2,500 clients annually that utilize these local resources.
FORMER INMATES CONTRIBUTE TO A HEALTHY VIBRANT COMMUNITY
Working in partnership with the Returning Home Foundation and the Orange County Re-entry Partnership – a collaborative of over 30 public and private agencies working to successfully integrate people into Orange County post incarceration – 211OC educates and connects current and formerly incarcerated individuals, their families, and service providers, to available community resources through our online Re-Entry Portal, conducting outreach and workshops at the jails, and working with service providers.
Watch this short video to learn about the 2-1-1 Orange County helpline, or keep reading.
2-1-1 Orange County runs a comprehensive information and referral system for Orange County, CA. 211OC provides a resource database of health and human services and support, accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week online and through our multi-lingual hotline, connecting people quickly and effectively to existing programs and disaster response information. Just dial 2-1-1.
We connect people of all income levels and language and cultural backgrounds to resources tailored to their needs and circumstances, taking into account accessibility, eligibility requirements and other factors through live assistance from highly-trained and certified Information & Referral Specialists or through our searchable online resource database.
For more than 36 years, we have connected residents in need to critical social services in Orange County such as housing, job placement, food, and health insurance. With the inception of 2-1-1 in Orange County in 2005, a simple toll free, three digit phone number that is easy to remember, we now connect thousands of individuals and families to needed community based programs, including where to find a community clinic, dental care, immunizations, and prescription assistance, food, homeless shelters, elder and child care, legal services and other resources offered by local nonprofits and government agencies.
Through our Information and Referral (I&R) services, Orange County residents can dial 2-1-1 or 888-600-4357 (toll-free) to receive referrals from trained multilingual I&R Specialists 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Callers outside of Orange County dial 888-600-4357. I&R Specialists are able to search through listings of over 2,000 local agencies providing thousands of programs in order to find those that best match the individual's needs, screen for eligibility, and provide them with the most useful information.
To assure that the information in our database is accurate and up-to-date our Resource Specialists build relationships with local service providers.
2-1-1 Orange County serves as a crucial public information system during local emergencies such as earthquake, fire or other disaster.
2-1-1 Orange County is available to every resident and visitor in Orange County, CA.
For more information, view our FAQs.
Ending Homelessness
In addition to running the 2-1-1 helpline for the County of Orange, 2-1-1 Orange County non-profit is also involved in ending homelessness in Orange County.
- 211OC (formerly OC Partnership) helped acquire more than $116 million dollars in funding for county transitional/supportive housing programs since 1998.
- Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness in Orange County – Contributed to the completion of Orange County’s Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness. The Ten Year Plan was unanimously approved by the Board of Supervisors in January 2010.
- Lead agency responsible for implementing Orange County’s Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), the regional database of clients and services providers that tracks service needs and usage patterns to better understand and address the barriers to success that homeless and at-risk populations face. HMIS currently contains information on over 33,000 clients and represents the activities of 88% of Orange County shelters.
- Provide an online searchable database of nonprofit, government, and faith-based resources.