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WILKES-BARRE &mdash; In its annual report, Family Service Association of Northeastern Pennsylvania provided information to funders to determine the most pressing needs in the region and also advised the community of the top agency referrals.
				Identified as the the top services needed by PA 211 NE callers were food pantries, rent payment assistance, talk lines/warm lines and general information and referral.
				Family Service Association (FSA) is the provider of PA 211 NE services.
				In July 2019, PA 211 NE began providing reports to stakeholders monthly, quarterly, and annually by region and by county.
				The PA 211 NE region includes 17 counties: Bradford, Clinton, Columbia, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Lycoming, Monroe, Montour, Northumberland, Pike, Snyder, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, Union, Wayne, and Wyoming.
				Gert McGowan, CEO of FSA of Northeastern Pennsylvania, said the reports provide information to funders to determine the most pressing needs in their region. The reports also advise the community of the top agency referrals.
				&ldquo;FSA is so very glad that it commenced providing these reports a year ago,&rdquo; McGowan said. &ldquo;The need existed and was made even more pressing and relevant during the COVID pandemic. FSA was part of many county teams that needed this information to better understand the needs of its residents. FSA was ready to help.&rdquo;
				Throughout the entire Fiscal Year 2020, the top five agency referrals for PA 211 NE Luzerne County callers were to the following agencies: Commission on Economic Opportunity, Catholic Social Services of the Diocese of Scranton, Pennsylvania Department of Human Services and Commonwealth Health.
				The Top Needs identified by PA 211 NE Luzerne County Callers were: general information and referral, food pantries, community shelters, rent payment assistance and local government complaints.
				Total phone contacts to PA 211 NE in May from Luzerne County in Fiscal Year 2020, totaled 9,291 calls PA 211 NE for Luzerne County users, experienced 1,441 website sessions with over 4,160 page views. Seventy-two percent of the callers were between the ages of 18 to 69 years. Eight percent of the callers were between the ages of 70 and 79. The balance of callers either refused to identify age or were 80 years or older.
				Total phone contacts to PA 211 Ne in May from the 17-county region totaled 2 189 calls. PA 211 NE experienced 379 website visits with over 883 sessions for the entire 17-county region. Of the callers, 89.5% were between the ages of 18 to 69 years, while 7.3% of the callers were between the ages of 70 and 79. The balance of callers either refused to identify age or were 80 years or older.
				Each report, PA 211 NE provides a quote of appreciation from one of its providers. In May, the PA 211 caller stated &ldquo;Thank you for being there.&rdquo;
				Tom Foley, director of PA 211 NE, is the drafter of the reports to the community.
				&ldquo;We have learned so much from producing and distributing these reports and plan to continue to do so into the future. &ldquo; Foley stated, &ldquo; We continue to see increased demand these stakeholder reports each distribution.&rdquo;
				PA 211 NE urges anyone with a need for referral to human services, disaster recovery or crisis to call 211, text 211 (898-211 plus provide a zip code) or log onto pa211ne.org.

PA 211 NE issues annual Luzerne County and regional reports