United Way of Broome County's 2-1-1 service is no stranger to emergencies, receiving thousands of calls a year from locals seeking information and services.

But during certain outages and disasters, they're unable to connect to the community.

After several years of searching, United Way received $94,000 in funds from Broome County's small community fund grant program, covering the total cost of a new generator. 

"We provide the funding for them to be able to buy a large generator so that any time there is an emergency and the power gets knocked out, people will still be able to call 2-1-1," Broome County Executive Jason Garnar said. 

Being installed last fall, the generator powers the whole united way vestal location, including the 2-1-1 service, allowing locals to reach 2-1-1 even when there is no power

Historically being used as a post-disaster distribution site, United Way now provides emerging information during these disasters and serves as a relief to 9-1-1. 

"To know that we can keep running and keep going and providing information, critical information to the community in the event of a disaster is is so important," 2-1-1 Director at United Way of Broome County Candace Gregory said.