United Way of California

United Ways of California (UWCA) recently provided a comment on the current effort by the Federal Communications Commission to study the feasibility of designating a three-digit number to the National Suicide Hotline and to assess the effectiveness of the current National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. UWCA understands that the ease of contacting assistance is a critical factor for people in crisis and friends, family and community members seeking to help. UWCA recommends that resources should be invested to improve a unified single point of access with a blended partnership of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and United Way’s 211 servi...

Children’s health coverage is critical in ensuring kids are on the path to life success. We know that when children have access to comprehensive and quality care, they are more likely to enter school ready to learn and reach graduation. Despite coverage gains in previous years, recent trends show that too many children cannot access regular, preventative health care.  A new analysis by the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families shows an estimated 3.9 million children were uninsured nationwide in 2017. The number of uninsured children in the U.S. increased by about 276,000 last year, the first significant increase in a dec...

Over the past two weeks, two significant wildfires have devastated in Northern and Southern California. The Camp Fire in Northern California, has burned over 142,000 acres, and destroyed the community of Paradise. As of this writing, over 600 people remain unaccounted for. The Woolsey and Hill Fires in Southern California has burned nearly 103,000 acres combined, and is affecting communities in both Los Angeles and Ventura Counties. In response to the fires, several California United Ways have established disaster relief funds to help those impacted, particularly low-income families and children. We ask you to please spread the word on both o...