Social services available on new 211 hot line

From today's Chronicle,

Odds are you've already called 411, 511 or 911.

Now a new three-digit phone number is coming to San Francisco: 211.

Starting today, callers in the city who dial 211 will automatically be routed to a social service hot line, offering assistance finding everything from drug treatment to job training.

In the Bay Area, the 211 service won't initially work with cell phones and some company switchboards, which need to be reprogrammed to recognize the new three-digit number.

3-digit numbers

Here's a look at how three-digit codes (also known as N11 numbers) are generally used around the country. Not all of them are used in every city.

211: Community social services

311: Nonemergency police call and city services

411: Directory assistance

511: Traffic and transit information

611: Repair service

711: Telecom relay services (hearing/speech impaired)

811: Phone company customer service

911: Emergencies