Natchez &8212;Everyone knows the three-digit number to call in case of an emergency. The United Way of Mississippi is hoping 2-1-1 becomes just as popular.

The goal of 2-1-1 is to provide an easy to remember, toll-free number that people can use to get information about critical health and human services in their community.

Those services include basic human needs, physical and mental health, employment support, as well as support for children, families and the elderly.

&8220;When you have a problem and can hardly make it as it is, you don&8217;t need to be shuffled from one person to the other, to the other, to the other,&8221; Kathy Stephens of the Greater Miss-Lou chapter said. &8220;The 2-1-1 call center will help disseminate information better.&8221;

Stephens said the plan is to have one call center in Jackson. The center will be equipped with a database of services and help available to people in each community.

Calls from Concordia Parish would be routed through the Jackson call center.

While a long time in the works, the events of the last two months highlight the need for a centralized system, according to Carol Burger, president and CEO of the United Way of the Capital Area chapter in Jackson, which is leading the project.

&8220;Can you imagine how helpful it would have been if we&8217;d been operating when Katrina hit. A simple number for folks to dial: 2-1-1,&8221; she said

&8220;Katrina showed us the need to make it happen as soon as possible.&8221;

One of the final steps for 2-1-1 will be getting the approval of the Public Safety Commission.

The matter was to be addressed at a PSC hearing scheduled for Nov. 1, but it was postponed because not all of the paperwork was in order. An assistant to PSC Southern District Commissioner Michael Callahan said matter &8220;very, very possibly&8221; could be on the December docket.

The United Way needs the PSC to rule that 2-1-1 can be designated for use by the United Way for health and human services.

Burger said the telephone and utility companies are on board and thinks the regulatory body will approve the number.

&8220;I don&8217;t know why it wouldn&8217;t (be approved),&8221; she said. &8220;It&8217;s a benefit to this whole state.&8221;

Burger estimated the cost of the first year at $500,000 &8212; including one-time startup costs &8212; and $300,000 per year thereafter.

A $200,000 grant from the United Way of America will help with the startup and an $180,000 Work Force grant will pay the salaries of the evacuees who will be employed there.

Currently, all or parts of 32 states and the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have 211 call centers operating.

Louisiana recently implemented a statewide system incorporating six call centers. There are plans to bring the number up to eight in the near future.

There is also a federa

l bill, named the &8220;Calling for 2-1-1 Act,&8221; making its way through congress that would provide $200 million to make 2-1-1 available nationwide.

The bill, co-authored by Senators Elizabeth Dole, R-NC and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-NY, has bipartisan support, including members of the Mississippi and Louisiana delegations.