Imagine you are out of money, your rent is due, and you and your family risk becoming homeless if you can’t find some help. Where do you turn? Or, your elderly mother is in the hospital after a fall, and you know she’ll never be able to stay home alone again. Where can you quickly learn about your options?

In the past, New Hampshire citizens in need of information and essential services like these and a myriad of others faced a dilemma: they had to know where to call to learn where to call. Whether confronted with an everyday question or a full blown crisis, people were forced to sort through a bewildering array of nonprofit and government agency options and help lines in their search for help.

No longer! New Hampshire citizens now have an easy to remember number to call to access all the health and human services available to them. Callers anywhere in the state need only to dial 2-1-1 to be connected to a trained Information and Referral Specialist who can provide them with the information they need to get help.

2-1-1 NH is a free, confidential, comprehensive information and referral line available 24/7 with language interpretation available in over 170 different languages. It is where to call when you need assistance but aren’t sure where to call.

In addition to benefitting individuals on this very personal level, the system’s efficiency saves considerable tax dollars, and the valuable data it collects helps the state’s health and human service organizations more effectively focus on their missions and resources. And as the nation makes considerable investments in public safety and disaster relief infrastructure, the 2-1-1 system offers a platform for emergency response and communication capabilities to respond to disasters emergencies.

2-1-1 NH is an initiative led by the United Ways of New Hampshire, an organization that represents the 7 United Ways across the state, in partnership with the State of New Hampshire, and Public Service of New Hampshire.

Residents in New Hampshire can contact 2-1-1 NH toll-free by dialing 2-1-1 in state or 1-866-444-4211 from out of state. 2-1-1 is available 24/7, 365 days of the year.