The other day I got a call from some folks at the Michigan Association of United Ways saying they wanted to come and talk.

My reaction was, well, okay. But I wasn't all that excited. As I saw it, United Way has been an amiable standard-bearer and fund-raiser for human services all over Michigan. True, they've been high atop the list of do-gooder agencies. But I figured they hadn't exactly been blazing a new path in philanthropy. I figured they'd been kinda slow and a little old-fashioned. They've had a bewildering number of local chapters, especially in metropolitan Detroit.

So when Scott Dzurka, the head of the Michigan Association of United Ways, and Nancy Lindman, their communications director, walked in the door – well, frankly, I didn't expect much.

But guess what: An hour and a half later, my head was spinning with admiration. United Way really is getting its act together. In metro Detroit, under the leadership of CEO Michael Brennan, they've consolidated a whole bunch of local chapters into one unified service agency, United Way of Southeastern Michigan. They've shrunk a patchwork of unwieldy local boards into a powerhouse regional board of directors headed by respected Detroit attorney Reginald Turner.

Most importantly, they're taking an important place as the collaborative human service provider in the unified "One D" regional alignment.

Statewide, they've got something even more significant coming down the track. It's called "211," the health and human services equivalent of the 911 telephone emergency service. Dialing 211 connects people with important services, including job training, substance abuse, heating, food, housing, utilities, mental health, counseling and more. Within a mere six years, the program has grown from nothing to serving more than 70 percent of Michigan's population. It principally serves the southeast section and the counties around Lansing, but United Way is working on a business plan to provide access statewide.

Calls are free and answered any time, day or night, by professional information and referral specialists. Translation is available for non-English speakers. Calls are linked to a comprehensive database with details about more than 20,000 public, non-profit and faith-based health and human service programs.

Because I'm a grumpy and skeptical old reporter, I interrupted my talk with Dzurka and Lindman to dial "211," right then and there.

They looked a little anxious as the phone rang. But it was quickly answered. "I needed help in paying my gas bill," I said – it was around 10 degrees that day. "OK, just a moment," came back the answer. And in just a moment the operator gave me three agencies and telephone numbers that could help. Very impressive.

Turns out a comprehensive referral service both speeds help to people in need who are regularly baffled by the impenetrable range of agencies out there, and saves a pile of money by cutting confusion.

One national cost-benefit analysis by the University of Texas estimates the net value of a national 211 system at close to $130 million in the first year alone and more than $1 billion over a decade. A University of Nebraska study estimated cost savings for their state at as much as $16.5 million annually, as a result of reduced overlapping costs and improved community planning.

One big advantage of a 211 system comes from increasing efficiency by helping callers clearly define exactly what they need and pointing them to the best places for help. That reduces misdirected calls to agencies. Moreover, the system reduces dependency amongst those in need by providing them with information and tools they can use and make decisions about the support they need.

Additionally, careful study of calling and response patterns will enable service providers to see where there are holes in local safety nets that need plugging.

When I was growing up, both my parents were deeply involved with an agency that preceded the United Way. I remember they went to endless meetings and came back home frustrated at the problem of finding a way through all the separate channels, each erected by a particular local service agency. They spent a fair amount of time and effort trying to figure out how to create a system of what amounts to reference librarians who could help local callers sort their way through what was then a murky system.

Their idea never happened. But more than half a century later, it looks as though the 211 program is providing exactly what’s needed to help more people, more quickly, more effectively and at less cost.

There's a word for this: Marvelous!
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Editor’s Note: Former newspaper publisher and University of Michigan Regent Phil Power is a longtime observer of Michigan politics and economics, and a former president of thr Michigan chapter of the Nature Conservancy. He is also the founder and president of The Center for Michigan, a centrist think-and-do tank. The opinions expressed here are Power’s own and do not represent the official views of The Center. Power welcomes your comments at ppower@thecenterformichigan.net.