Family Service Association issues November report on regional needs

WILKES-BARRE — Tom Foley, Director of PA 211 NE at Family Service Association of Northeastern Pennsylvania, this week said the November results reflect the seasonality of the needs of callers.

“You will note an uptick in need for holiday gifts/toys,” Foley said. “The upcoming cold and holiday needs are at the top of mind for families in need.”

Gert McGowan, President/CEO at FSA, said the holiday season arrives in November and the needs of the consumers of PA 211 NE reflect this arrival.

“Families need to address utility assistance, gifts and food,” McGowan said. “The generosity of our residents supporting their United Ways in the region, as well as community foundations, are a huge part of how we continue this vital service.”

Family Service Association of Northeastern Pennsylvania is the provider of PA 211 NE services. The PA 211 NE region includes the following 17 counties: Bradford, Clinton, Columbia, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Lycoming, Monroe, Montour, Northumberland, Pike, Snyder, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, Union, Wayne, and Wyoming.

FSA recently published its November 2020 results for each county and region in its footprint.

McGowan said the utility of these reports includes providing information to funders to determine the most pressing needs in their region. The reports also advise the community of the top agency referrals.

In November 2020, the top five agency referrals for PA 211 NE Luzerne County callers were to the following agencies, programs or providers: Commission on Economic Opportunity, Valley Santa, Catholic Social Services of the Diocese of Scranton, Pennsylvania Department of Human Services and Commonwealth Health.

The Top Needs identified by PA 211 NE Luzerne County Callers in November 2020 were: rent payment assistance, holiday gifts/toys, food pantries and community shelters.

• Total phone and text contacts to PA 211 NE in Luzerne County in November 2020 totaled 588 contacts.

• Website session totaled 114 with 234 page views.

• 88% of the callers were between the ages of 18 to 69 years.

• 7 % of the callers were between the ages of 70 and 79.

• Only 5% of callers either refused to identify age or were 80 years or older.

In the PA 211 NE 17-county region:

• PA 211 NE handled 2,183 calls and texts.

• Website sessions totaled 407 with 684 page views.

Top Agency Referrals across the 17-county region included: Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, Eastern Pennsylvania Continuum of Care, Salvation Army Stroudsburg, Commission on Economic Opportunity and Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency.

Top Needs identified across the 17-county region for November 2020 were: rent payment assistance, food pantries, housing related coordinated entry, electric service payment assistance and community shelters.

Each report, PA 211 NE provides a quote of appreciation from one of its callers. In the November 2020 Report, the PA 211 NE caller stated simply: “Thank you for helping me”.

Family Service Association of Northeastern Pennsylvania urges those in need of a referral to human services, disaster recovery or crisis to call 211, text 211 (898 211 plus provide a zip code) or log onto pa211ne.org.