Ontario 211 Services
Annual Report 2014-2015

In December 2013 a severe winter storm coated Toronto and many parts of Ontario and Eastern Canada in a 30 mm layer of ice, leaving 300,000 people in Toronto without power. Power was not fully restored for residents until January 2014.

Within the first 48 hours staff at Findhelp Information Services (211 Central) answered more than twice as many calls, (1,535), compared with the same period the previous week. Extreme vulnerability included an intolerably cold apartment for small children, access to oxygen cut for a woman whose street was blocked by fallen trees, and people with disabilities running out of food in buildings where elevators were not running.

The City of Toronto’s review of the overall Emergency Response led to a motion at City Council in July 2014 to explore the formation of an Emergency Response Agreement with Findhelp/211 Central to increase access to services for vulnerable residents during an emergency situation. This partnership has continued to expand and strengthen support to residents during and following emergencies.

Community Health Links are continuing to expand across the province as part of Ontario’s health care transformation. As a member of the South Georgian Bay Community Health Link executive team, 211 is working with primary care and community partners to provide coordinated and accessible care for people with complex needs. Three areas of work for 211 include establishing a poverty tool to simplify how physicians’ can assist patients who need connections to community based supports such as housing, income assistance, employment and food. A second initiative for 211 is establishing a Centralized Referral Service for physicians/primary care referrals to 25 health funded community support services. And the third area of work for 211 is their role as Community Navigator to inform, connect and transition Health Link patients to needed community, social and government services.

A local Age Friendly Initiative group had met and recognized that seniors were not familiar enough with 211 service and requested a meeting with our Executive Director.  The committee brainstormed ideas of how they could help promote 211 to seniors in their community and determined that a newspaper ad would be ideal.  They negotiated a significant rate reduction with the local paper and an ad was placed.  As a result of this activity, further conversation determined that a flyer in all local hydro bills would also be beneficial and a member of the group arranged for free inclusion of a 211 promotional flyer into all hydro bills in the city.  The benefit of this partnership is that it was driven by the community group to meet their local needs and merely supported by 211 to meet their needs.

Dufferin Peel continues to make connections with community agencies to build awareness of the 211 program while setting the stage for potential partnerships in the future. Dufferin Peel has reached out to schools, police, EMS and many other community agencies to present at local events and we continue to build awareness and promote the 211 services within our community.

A teenager called 211 hoping to find somewhere to spend the night because he had been couch surfing for two weeks. His girlfriend’s parents could no longer keep him in their home. He was out of options as his parents refused to take him back. The blistering cold weather made Jamie extremely vulnerable and he was desperate to find shelter. Thanks to the partnership with the Youth Homelessness Initiative in Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington, 211 was able to connect the young man to the Kingston Youth Shelter. We also provided him with additional resources to help him get back on his feet and we reassured him that the Youth Shelter could also provide additional support to navigate the system if needed.

In 2014, 211 North partnered with Thunder Bay Hydro and other community agencies to develop the “Storm Ready” campaign to spread the message: “Know the Risks, Have a Plan and Make a Kit”.  The message was backed by an online quiz that tackled incorrect attitudes, which, if left intact, would leave residents and their families quite vulnerable in a severe weather event.  Information brochures were inserted into hydro bills where residents were encouraged to complete the online quiz, or pick up a hardcopy, and submit it, at the 211 North office. The campaign generated 211 telephone and walk-in inquiries regarding emergency preparedness. Information & Referral Specialists assisted these individuals by providing information, awareness and referrals to organizations that can help households develop emergency response plans and kits.  211 also educated individuals about who to call and when to call them during a disaster or emergency; this also included managing inquirers’ expectations of services during a disaster or emergency.

A training program was developed by the Middlesex-London Emergency Medical Service (EMS) Community Paramedicine Program to provide Paramedics, Police Officers and Fire Prevention Officers with information about 211 and how the service can be utilized to provide additional supports to first responders and the people they interact with who are in need of referrals to social and community services.  When a first responder assesses an individual and determines that they are having difficulties coping with the daily living activities, are experiencing safety issues or are at risk of losing independence, the first responder will either contact 211 on behalf of the individual, or provide them with information about 211. From March to June 2015, over 600 first responders have participated in the training program.