UWNNM Intern Natalia Maestas
UWNNM News:
UNM-Los Alamos student Natalia Maestas and Northern New Mexico College student Chris Perez are the first of five Live United Interns to be hired to perform duties to further the work of United Way of Northern New Mexico (UWNNM) to improve the lives of children and families through service collaboration.
In their first two weeks, Maestas and Perez presented new 40-page printed 2-1-1 Resource Directories to a coalition of nonprofit and government first responder agencies at the Rio Arriba Community Health Council.
In the months ahead, the Interns will provide educational training to nonprofit and governmental agencies on the 2-1-1 non-emergency hotline, printed directory, and resource referral agencies.
UWNNM Intern Chris Perez
2-1-1 is to non-emergency assistance what 911 is to emergency response: a quick and easy way for people to access needed help by phone any hour of the day or night. 2-1-1 is an easy-to-remember free dialing code. Like 911, 2-1-1 is answered by call center techs trained to assess callers’ needs quickly and refer them to the most appropriate assistance by using a comprehensive computerized database of more than 200 services from over 400 public and non-profit health and human service organizations in northern New Mexico (Los Alamos, Rio Arriba, Taos, Mora and San Miguel counties).
“For the past several months, we have collaborated with the LANL Foundation’s Rio Arriba County Early Childhood Collaborative, and other community partners to create a pocket-sized resource directory for law enforcement and first responders to provide to families experiencing crisis or trauma,” UWNNM Executive Director Monica Griego said. “With generous support from Triad National Security, we are getting printed information about vital services out to communities across Northern New Mexico that need it most. These resources are vetted so that people reaching out for resources can be connected to a person who can help and respond immediately. We are creating a rapid response to help people seeking resources in their immediate communities.”
Live United Interns Maestas and Perez are delivering 250 directories this week to organizations that have requested the printed booklets. Among one of the first requests for a directory was Police Chief Mizel Garcia of the Espanola Police Department. He shared the information with a family who recently experienced a tragedy.
Interns Maestas and Perez have ensured that the City of Espanola Police Department received their first shipment of 100 directories for the officers to use as a leave-behind resource for families in need of local resources. As an extension of its UNITE! Expo work, UWNNM continues to elevate community awareness regarding the United Way Grantees and other government and nonprofit programs striving to create healthier communities by providing a wider array of support services to residents of Rio Arriba County.
For more information regarding the 2-1-1 Directory, visit www.UnitedWayNNM.org/news.
2-1-1 Directory. Courtesy/UWNNM
