Answering the S.O.S.

As I was getting ready to leave work one night not long ago, an S.O.S. e-mail popped up asking for a few volunteers to help out at our United Way 2-1-1 call center. Thanks to a daylong media blitz about the Earned Income Tax Credit – or EITC – 2-1-1 phones had been going crazy and were expected to be even busier during the evening news hours.

Call it a sign of the times or a tribute to the power of the media, but every time the stories ran on WFTV 9 Family Connection, WFTV/TV 27 and Central Florida News 13, calls went through the roof the moment the 2-1-1 information number was mentioned.

Apparently, it was the first time many people had heard about EITC, which offers federal tax credits of up to $5,657 for low-income families and individuals. In these tough times, that’s a potentially life-changing sum for the thousands of local residents who are struggling to pay their rent, feed their kids or keep the heat on.

Although I hadn't previously volunteered at 2-1-1, I’m a true believer in EITC’s ability to help people get on their feet. After a quick phone tutorial, I was ready to jump in and take calls.

It’s one thing to watch news stories about people who are facing tough times. It’s another thing all together to talk to them and personally hear their stories.

For two solid hours I fielded a steady stream of calls from hardworking people who’ve had their lives turned upside down by unemployment, foreclosure, bankruptcy, serious illness and other crises they never saw coming.

Everybody wanted to know if they were qualified to claim EITC benefits. Though I couldn’t tell them that – we refer people to free tax prep sites instead – just listening and offering the prospect of hope seemed to help.

“God bless you,” said one Kissimmee woman, who’d gone through the foreclosure gauntlet and lost. Struggling now to avoid homelessness, she also asked if we could help her husband who has cancer and no medical insurance.

EITC isn’t a cure-all. But for people whose lives are hanging by a thread, an unexpected refund may be all they need to pay for the deposit on a new apartment, buy decent food for their kids or fix a broken-down car that gets them to work.

And that could be just enough for a family to survive another day, another week or a month, in hopes that things turn around soon.

I was glad I answered the S.O.S. It reminded me again of why I work for United Way.

If you need help, click here or simply dial 2-1-1.

Mary D'Ottavio works in Heart of Florida United Way's marketing department.