Emergency responders and private and public organizations who deal with the aftermath of emergencies learned firsthand how using a system normally used to link the public with available health and human services can be a powerful tool in the event of a major catastrophe, when the United Way of Wayne and Holmes Counties hosted a May 27 training session on integrating 2-1-1 into county emergency response plans.

Speaking at the training session was a man who has been at the heart of the response efforts to some of the most significant natural disasters that have occurred in recent years - Jonathan Padgett of the Louisiana 2-1-1 network.

Padgett spoke of his first experience working through the initial phases of a major disaster with a system designed solely to handle day-to-day requests from the public for referrals to community resources.

During hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Padgett’s team quickly discovered that their standard system couldn’t respond to the unique needs of people for immediate disaster related information and resources for basic needs like shelter and food. To further complicate the situation, many of the organizations that provided disaster relief were themselves knocked out of commission by the storms.

Almost immediately the decision was made to abandon the standard system in favor of paper call sheets and an evolving document that was reprinted multiple times a day with updated information.

When wildfires ravaged San Diego in 2007 and Padgett was asked to assist in the efforts, he arrived to the familiar sight of dumpsters filled with obsolete hastily printed directories and 2-1-1 volunteers using data hours old to respond to a constantly changing situation.

That’s when a nonprofit technology firm - the Pangea Foundation - volunteered their time to design and implement a Web-based disaster related information and referral interface that provided real time information to the volunteers.

When flood waters engulfed Cedar Rapids, Iowa the following year, Padgett asked the Pangea Foundation to activate the system again when he came upon much the same scene.

Padgett’s disaster experience came full circle two months later when Louisiana faced hurricanes Gustav and Ike.

Using everything they had learned from the previous disasters, Padgett and his team activated call centers across the state and immediately transitioned to the Pangea system.

When Louisiana’s call centers were overwhelmed by calls and the call was put out for assistance from outside the state, one of the first to respond was San Diego, which had originally piloted the system a year earlier.

According to Padgett, one of the keys to the success in utilizing a 2-1-1 system in the event of a disaster is establishing a close connection between the community and the 2-1-1 system as a source of information.

“Just as 9-1-1 connects callers with emergency services, 2-1-1 connects people to important health and human services, ranging from private nonprofits to government and faith-based entities,” said Brenda Linnick, United Way executive director.

In addition to linking people in need with the appropriate agency or service, Linnick noted that the system can also be used by those who wish to offer help.

“We want them to know that not only is it a community information resource, but it also gives you a place that you can give help if we should find ourselves in a disaster,” said Linnick.

The 2-1-1 service has been available in Wayne and Holmes counties since last fall.

“We actually went live the day the tornado hit this very campus where we are sitting,” Linnick told the audience.

Linnick noted that the information and referral service can be accessed anywhere in Wayne and Holmes counties by dialing 2-1-1.