Learning about basic needs during social distancing through 2-1-1, Part 2: Who is calling and why
We are now in our third month since Governor Inslee’s “Stay Home – Stay Healthy” order aimed at slowing the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). On May 5, 2020, King County entered Phase 1 of the governor’s “Safe Start Washington” recovery plan which enables outdoor recreation and some businesses to open, including construction, vehicle sales, curbside retail, car washes, pet walking and landscape services. As the county reopens, we continue to monitor the economic impacts of COVID-19 mitigation on our communities, using clues from call volume data from King County’s Crisis Connections’ 2-1-1 line, a service that provides referrals to King County residents with critical social service needs.
How many King County residents are calling 2-1-1?
Between February 5 and May 19, 2020, there were 32,000 calls from King County residents to 2-1-1 (some residents may have called more than once). As described in our initial 2-1-1 blog, we saw the number of calls increasing as social distancing orders began to take effect, with a 2.5-fold spike in call volume in a matter of two weeks in the middle of March, immediately following the Stay Home order. More recently, since mid-April, call volumes have seen a moderate decline, now hovering around ~ 1700 calls a week. This weekly call volume is still higher than volumes prior to the Stay Home order.
Why are people calling?
As with February and March 2-1-1 calls, more recent data from April and May show that housing was the leading call reason, accounting for over 40% of calls. This was followed by food/meals (13% of callers), and utility assistance (11% of callers asking about electric, water and internet services). Among housing calls, the biggest areas of need were for help paying rent, finding community shelters, transitional housing, and low-income/subsidized private rental housing. For those calling about food, leading areas of need were related to food pantries, food stamps/vouchers, and SNAP applications.
Over the past month, requests for Information Services (e.g. information about government and legal services) increased slightly from 9% of calls to 10%, and requests for Legal, Consumer and Public Safety services increased from 8% of calls to 9%.
Most 2-1-1 calls are from communities of color
Not only are communities of color disproportionally impacted by COVID-19 itself, 2-1-1 call information indicates they also bear a disproportionate burden of the social and economic costs of the current mitigation strategies.
Black, Latinx, and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander populations are overrepresented in 2-1-1 calls for assistance. For example, while 7% of the King County population is Black, 32% of the 2-1-1 callers identify as Black, reflecting a 4.5-fold degree of disproportionality in needs among Black populations, relative to their size of the county’s population. Similarly, this degree of disproportionality is 2-fold for Latinx, 3-fold for NHPI populations, and 2-fold for American Indian/Alaska Native populations.
Needs differ for different communities
The data indicate racial differences in needs. Among calls related to utility assistance, 34% of callers are Black, while 16% are White. On the other hand, for legal, consumer and public safety services, the largest proportion of callers is White (38% White vs 23% callers Black). A similar pattern exists for information services. While communities of color experience disproportionate needs in every single need type, White callers are more likely to ask for information and legal services, while Black and Latinx callers are more likely to ask for basic needs like housing, food and utility payment.
Overall, 2-1-1 data continue to point toward housing and food being key needs during this time, and bring to light disproportionate impacts among Black, Latinx and NHPI populations.
Explore more about 2-1-1 calls on our dashboard here.
For additional information and resources related to COVID-19:
Visit Communities Count’s COVID-19 Vulnerable Communities Data Tool for information on which communities in King County may be more impacted by COVID-19, due to age, health conditions, healthcare access, and social and economic conditions.
Visit King County’s COVID-19 Outbreak Data Dashboard for daily updates of a summary of COVID-19 test results, status of cases in King County by region, and breakdown of test results by sex at birth and age group.
Visit Public Health Seattle & King County’s COVID-19 website for recent updates, recommendations on protecting our community, fact sheets and translated materials.
Visit the King County Department of Community and Human Services’ COVID-19 website for links to Community and School resources including information on housing, behavioral health services, and free meal distribution sites for students.