Portage County is fortunate to have a wealth of community resources that support individuals and families who are unable to meet their own basic needs. The United Way of Portage County’s information and referral program, 2-1-1, is the bridge connecting callers requesting assistance with basic needs to our community’s numerous resources. Over the last five years, an average of 22% of calls to 2-1-1 were for basic needs requests. These requests are often directly referred to Emergency Services, a program that coordinates the bulk of basic needs referral services within Portage County. Though many organizations and churches provide services, some basic needs go unmet. These needs may be unmet for various reasons, including program requirement ineligibility, lack of services, or depletion of program funds. It can be challenging to precisely determine the overall community need for assistance because of the abundance of resources and the lack of a central system for data exchange.