DataHaven analysis of Connecticut 211 calls reveals widespread increase in requests for food- and housing-related assistance during the past year

The number of calls to United Way’s Connecticut 211 that requested assistance for food, housing, and mental health needs increased from 2023 to 2024.  Maps created by DataHaven show that calls increased in towns all over the state.  

In some areas, the increase in call volumes tracks with needs that can be observed in other datasets. For example, rates of food insecurity and housing insecurity among Connecticut adults both hit all-time highs in the 2024 DataHaven Community Wellbeing Survey, which has been tracking those indicators statewide since 2015.  Food insecurity rates were much lower in 2021, particularly among families with children; families received an expanded federal child tax credit during that year.

The DataHaven report also finds that calls are higher among women. This could relate to gender inequities, as women report significantly higher rates of financial need statewide when compared to men, according to DataHaven’s 2024 survey. For example, in 2024, 21 percent of women, 14 percent of men, and 32 percent of nonbinary adults statewide reported that they had been unable to afford food at times during the past year.

The 211 call data analyzed by DataHaven could allow policymakers to better understand how the need for assistance is related to other data. The data in this report may differ from the data presented elsewhere due to the ways we deduplicate call records and call requests. For the purposes of this section, a “call” refers to a single caller, who may have many needs. A “request” is an individually-tagged program or service the caller is in search of.