United Way Lists Top 10 Unmet Needs in Connecticut in 2013

The United Way released a list detailing the most common requests made to the 2-1-1 helpline that the organization is not able to help with. The report shows unmet needs rising since 2010 along with the overall number of calls.

Among highest unmet needs were for utility assistance, with the majority of requests asking for help with the electric or gas bill.

Assistance with rent and housing make up the majority of the requests in the top five, with help making the holidays more festive dominating the bottom of the top 10.

View a slideshow of the most unmet needs as reported by the United Way and download the full report above.

“In challenging economic times, the social safety net becomes more important than ever,” the United Way wrote in the report. “The volume of need increases significantly, putting the social safety net to the test, sometimes resulting in critical gaps in coverage.”

United Way of Connecticut 2-1-1 call centers and website handled 535,667 requests in 2013, some 36,500 (6.8 percent) of which they were unable to help.

“In most cases of unmet need, the reasons why referrals could not be made are that the caller was ineligible or the service was unavailable,” according to the United Way. “To a much lesser extent (fewer than 0.1 percent of all cases), the reason for the unmet needs is that the fee was too high or transportation was not available.”