{"id":174330,"date":"2026-02-12T01:56:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T01:56:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/174330\/"},"modified":"2026-02-12T01:56:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T01:56:11","slug":"oc-nonprofits-under-strain-as-demand-for-food-and-housing-surges-211-calls-to-county-hotline-show-orange-county-register","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/174330\/","title":{"rendered":"OC nonprofits under strain as demand for food and housing surges, 211 calls to county hotline show \u2013 Orange County Register"},"content":{"rendered":"

Orange County\u2019s nonprofits, hit by federal funding cuts and policy changes, are struggling to keep pace with the surging demand for housing and food assistance, particularly among vulnerable seniors, according to a review of calls to the county\u2019s 3-digit assistance helpline.<\/p>\n

Callers who dial 2-1-1 are connected to a range of social services, including housing, food and mental health support. The hotline, which has 25 operators, handles about 12,000 calls and 7,000 texts on a monthly basis.<\/p>\n

\"Elizabeth<\/p>\n

Elizabeth Andrade with 2-1-1 Orange County speaks during The Pulse of Orange County in Santa Ana, CA on Wednesday, February 11, 2026. United Way leaders were discussing the needs of those who call 211 for referrals to social services. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Michael<\/p>\n

Michael Hunn, CEO of CalOptima Health, speaks during The Pulse of Orange County in Santa Ana, CA on Wednesday, February 11, 2026. United Way leaders were discussing the needs of those who call 211 for referrals to social services. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Elizabeth<\/p>\n

Elizabeth Andrade with 2-1-1 Orange County speaks during The Pulse of Orange County in Santa Ana, CA on Wednesday, February 11, 2026. United Way leaders were discussing the needs of those who call 211 for referrals to social services. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Audience<\/p>\n

Audience members listen to speakers during The Pulse of Orange County in Santa Ana, CA on Wednesday, February 11, 2026. United Way leaders and partners were discussing the needs of those who call 211 for referrals to social services. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Susan<\/p>\n

Susan B. Parks, President & CEO, Orange County United Way, speaks during The Pulse of Orange County in Santa Ana, CA on Wednesday, February 11, 2026. United Way leaders were discussing the needs of those who call 211 for referrals to social services. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Michael<\/p>\n

Michael Hunn, CEO of CalOptima Health, speaks during The Pulse of Orange County in Santa Ana, CA on Wednesday, February 11, 2026. United Way leaders were discussing the needs of those who call 211 for referrals to social services. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Audience<\/p>\n

Audience members listen to speakers during The Pulse of Orange County in Santa Ana, CA on Wednesday, February 11, 2026. United Way leaders and partners were discussing the needs of those who call 211 for referrals to social services. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

An Tran, director at County of Orange Social Services Agency, Claudia Bonilla Keller, CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County and Julia Bautista, Community Life Coordinator, El Sol Science and Arts Academy, from left, participate in a panel discussion during The Pulse of Orange County in Santa Ana, CA on Wednesday, February 11, 2026. United Way leaders and partners were discussing the needs of those who call 211 for referrals to social services. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Michael<\/p>\n

Michael Hunn, CEO of CalOptima Health ,speaks during The Pulse of Orange County in Santa Ana, CA on Wednesday, February 11, 2026. United Way leaders were discussing the needs of those who call 211 for referrals to social services. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 9<\/p>\n

Elizabeth Andrade with 2-1-1 Orange County speaks during The Pulse of Orange County in Santa Ana, CA on Wednesday, February 11, 2026. United Way leaders were discussing the needs of those who call 211 for referrals to social services. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

Orange County United Way<\/a>, a social services nonprofit that operates 211OC<\/a>, held a panel discussion on Wednesday, Feb. 11, to share what the last few years of call data reveal about residents\u2019 needs and how community groups can better coordinate services. Several hundred nonprofit and government agency leaders attended the \u201cPulse of OC\u201d event, now in its second year<\/a>, at the Delhi Center in Santa Ana.<\/p>\n

Elizabeth Andrade, the executive director of 211OC, said demand for critical services has continued to rise in both \u201cvolume and complexity,\u201d with residents often seeking multiple resources at one time, such as both food and rental assistance.<\/p>\n

The data is \u201cnot just about what needs are rising, it\u2019s about how we strengthen coordinated care and how we improve outcomes together.\u201d Andrade said. \u201cOur goal isn\u2019t just to track the need, it\u2019s starting to understand coordinated care pathways and how people who get stuck across the system get unstuck.\u201d<\/p>\n

Housing remains \u201cthe most persistent and central need\u201d for OC residents and accounts for roughly half of all referrals made by 211OC, according to the new report that draws on three years of call center data from November 2022 to October 2025.<\/p>\n

Service referrals for affordable and senior housing, as well as rental assistance programs, have increased 54% since 2022, the report found.<\/p>\n

Acute hunger is another \u201cpersistent and intensifying challenge\u201d for residents that\u2019s heavily influenced by housing instability and steep living costs. Referrals to food pantries, soup kitchens and other emergency programs have jumped 82% since 2022.<\/p>\n

\u201cTaken together, these trends point to a shift from single-need requests toward more layered, coordinated responses, as 211OC staff conduct deeper assessments and connect residents to a broader range of supports,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n

Claudia Bonilla Keller, chief executive of Second Harvest Food Bank<\/a>, said people have been \u201cturning to the charitable food system ever since COVID-era benefits were sunset.\u201d As state and federal moneys dry up<\/a>, she said, food pantries that are already stretched thin will need support from the corporate and philanthropic sectors.<\/p>\n

An Tran, director of the county\u2019s Social Services Agency, said there\u2019s an \u201cinstitutional gap\u201d between the cost of living and people\u2019s ability to meet their most pressing needs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen faced with the reality of whether they\u2019re going to pay for rent, utilities, or medicine that they need, food is an easy choice to give up,\u201d Tran said.<\/p>\n

Seniors are a particularly vulnerable group whose needs have increased dramatically, call center data revealed. Service referrals for people aged 65 and older have more than doubled in the past three years, driven by requests for food, housing assistance and community support services.<\/p>\n

Yet, even as referrals for older adults have soared, the number of people served within the homeless system has hardly changed \u2014 a finding that reflects the \u201cgrowing gap between need and available service capacity\u201d for at-risk seniors, the data showed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe data tells us two things: Orange County as a whole is aging, so we expected to see those trends,\u201d Andrade said. \u201cWe\u2019re working on aligning specific senior services to make sure we meet the demand. Right now, support for seniors does not match the demand.\u201d<\/p>\n

Recent funding cuts have affected how homelessness-related services are delivered across the county, the report said. While demand for street outreach continues to rise, fewer homeless individuals are being served through available projects because funding shortages have reduced program capacity.<\/p>\n

The findings also signal a shift in how residents are requesting help. Over the past three years, text contacts to the center have increased 63%, while call volume rose by just 8%. Web searches, though still the most common method of finding assistance, have decreased by 18%, which researchers said signals a growing preference for live interaction.<\/p>\n

On a positive note, the report found that greater investments in prevention efforts have allowed homelessness advocates to serve more at-risk individuals before they fall into crisis.<\/p>\n

Referrals made by 211OC have increased 62% over the past three years, up 25% from 2023 to 2024 and an additional 29% the last year \u2014 a trend that the report\u2019s authors say indicates \u201csustained growth in service coordination activity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keller said increased coordination between nonprofits and government agencies will be the key to bridging service gaps.<\/p>\n

During the government shutdown in October,<\/a> Keller said food pantries worked with 211OC and the county\u2019s Social Services Agency to manage an anticipated surge in demand for free food. They kept up-to-date information about the various pantries\u2019 opening hours and food levels so that people could be referred to locations with enough inventory.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat kind of coordination between providers and the county, quarterbacked by 211,\u201d Keller said, \u201cis going to be absolutely crucial going forward for this crisis that we\u2019re facing,\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Orange County\u2019s nonprofits, hit by federal funding cuts and policy changes, are struggling to keep pace with the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":174331,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[163,165,164,7,179,1071,23,5466,611,136],"class_list":["post-174330","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-anaheim","tag-anaheim","tag-anaheim-headlines","tag-anaheim-news","tag-california","tag-community","tag-local-government","tag-local-news","tag-nonprofits","tag-orange-county","tag-top-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174330","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=174330"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174330\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/174331"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=174330"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=174330"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=174330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}