United Way Connects Communities

Naomi Adler chats with Putnam Office for the Aging Director William Huestis about services for the elderly at the United Way seminar. ERIC GROSS United Way has always created opportunities for a better life. With today’s complex and multi-faceted society, the scope of America’s largest charity, consisting of 1,300 separate chapters, incorporates focusing on education, income, and health, and not just giving money to agencies that do good things.

Last week officials of the United Way of Westchester and Putnam held a seminar in Carmel to strategize solutions for local residents in need.

Naomi Adler, President and CEO of the Westchester-Putnam United Way, told a gathering of some 50 community leaders from both the public and private sector that “nonprofit program directors were constantly frustrated by a lack of available data about various populations across the county. Many agencies are too small or budgets are limited to collect statistical data on their own, which makes it difficult to identify needs and trends as well as applying for grants.”

Adler said, “People must stay connected. Our goal at the United Way is to increase access to programs and services while helping to identify the problems and fill the gaps.”

Michael Piazza, Putnam Commissioner of Mental Health, Social Services, and the county’s Youth Bureau, said antisocial behaviors among children with parental acceptance were reaching all-time highs: “Parents must control their early adolescents because young children enter school prepared to achieve. Children make safe and healthy decisions and become academically successful.”

Another topic of great interest centered on the United Way’s 2-1-1 Help Line, described by Adler as an “online presence where services can be looked up anytime of the day or night. People in Putnam are not tuned in to accessing social services. They are unfamiliar with community groups and governmental entities.”

A United Way website that is updated daily provides people with the information needed. The seven-day-a week—24- hour-a-day hotline is also available.

By dialing 2-1-1, a caller will be connected to a live call specialist who can manipulate a database of 12,000 different topics and immediately assist those in need.

Adler called 2-1-1 “free, confidential and multi-lingual that answers questions from basic needs like food, clothing, and shelter to legal services, drug treatment, employment support, child care, physical and mental health resources, and elder care, as well as services available for the disabled.”

The 2-1-1 clearinghouse is available throughout not only Putnam County, but in Westchester, Dutchess, Orange, Rockland, Sullivan, and Ulster counties as well.

Volunteers interested in becoming a member of the United Way and volunteering for the 2-1-1 system can call 2-1-1 directly or contact Adler at www.uwp.org.

Those wishing to speak to Adler directly can call 914-997-6700. United Way can also be reached in Putnam by calling Sharon Cahill in Mahopac at 621-2203.