Abby Hamilton, president and CEO of United Way of Roanoke Valley, answers a question about how Roanoke's human services nonprofits handled the COVID-19 pandemic over the last 13 months.
The worried man on the phone asked Anne Marie Green whether he could safely make himself a ham sandwich.
The call had come in on the 211 line during the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic. Under a contract with the Virginia Department of Social Services, the Council of Community Services in Roanoke runs Virginia 211, a helpline that refers callers to health and human service agencies that can meet their needs. Administrative staff, including Green, the councilâs president, were personally fielding calls about COVID.