It’s such a simple idea.

Say, your spouse is having trouble breathing or, perhaps, you wake up to find your house on fire. What can you do? Pick up any phone and dial 911. No matter where you are, it’s the same quick number. Three digits, short and sweet. And, best of all, someone’s waiting on the other end who knows exactly how to get the help you need.

Or maybe you can’t remember how to reach your child’s school by phone. Just about everyone knows to pick up and dial 411. Again, someone’s there to get the directory information you need.

Until recently, finding help in less-acute emergencies wasn’t all that easy. Imagine you’re a single parent, struggling to make ends meet while caring for a child sustained with the help of a breathing machine. One day, you get a call from a utility company with some terrible news: Your bill’s so far overdue that the power will be shut off in a matter of hours.

Forget the heat and air conditioning. Not even lights matter any more. What about that machine connected to the wall? Or to be blunt: your seven-year-old connected to the machine?

That’s exactly what happened in our community not too long ago. But thanks to North Carolina 211, a service provided by the United Way of Lee County, this story ended well.

By dialing 211 — another set of three numbers with someone waiting on the other end to help — the parent was connected with a community service group right here in Lee County that provides financial help for people in legitimate need, when utility companies are about to pull the plug.

And it’s not just for people who need help paying power bills. Operators at 211 can help people find food. Housing. Counseling. Health care. Child care. Crisis intervention. Legal assistance.

It’s bilingual. It’s free and confidential. And it’s available 24 hours a day.

Before Lee County joined North Carolina 211 more than a year ago, it would have taken days to sort through the 140 ministries, nonprofits and other groups in our community organized to provide help to people in these situations. Now, help’s just one phone call away, and people are slowly discovering it. Three times as many calls poured in during January, as compared to one year before, and more than 750 connections locally were made last year.

Nobody knows the callers by name, but operators do keep some statistics statewide about the kind of calls they receive. Slightly more than half requested financial assistance, including the kind of help needed by that single parent with a sick child and overdue utility bill.

About two of every 10 callers were looking for food and slightly fewer asked for help finding housing or emergency shelter. After that, the specific needs dropped off a bit. About 8 percent called to find employment or job training and 6 percent for medical treatment. But there were many other requests as well.

On the other end of the equation, a few call 211 looking for a place to volunteer, and operators can help with that, too.

Right now, North Carolina 211 is available in more than three dozen Tar Heel counties with others on the way. Plans are to cover the entire state by the end of 2010.

Now is a particularly difficult time for many families coping with layoffs in a struggling economy. Some may need food or housing. Others may not be able to afford acute medical care. And life could become more complicated in a matter of days, when children begin to stay home for summer vacation and child care becomes a concern as well.

The comforting news is that people are waiting to help. And, now, they’re just a three-digit phone call away.