“When you Don’t Know Where to Turn” Mike Myette, Executive Director, 211 Nova Scotia
211 Because a program or service can only be helpful if the population that needs it can find it… Helping you find the right Community and Social Services
W HO AMONG US HASN ’ T AT SOME TIME , EXPERIENCED THE FOLLOWING SCENARIO ? Helping you find the right Community and Social Services
I can’t pay Mom needs I need to find My child is I want to Home care childcare my rent on drugs volunteer We can’t help with We only that do senior daycare I’ll try to transfer you to I don’t know We don’t an agency who about those need can help resources volunteers We only know about We don’t I don’t know, domestic violence serve your please hold. programs area
H ERE IS THE NEW N OVA S COTIA REALITY … Helping you find the right Community and Social Services
Mom needs I need to find I can’t pay homecare I want to childcare My child is my rent volunteer on drugs Yes, I can 211, how may 211 connect you with I help you? someone who can help… Child Care Volunteer Matching Rental Drug Home Care GoodNS.ca Resource Assistance Rehabilitation Information (Hosted by 211) And Referral Program Center
W HY 211? Using alternate methods, it can take up to 7 phone calls to find the social or community service you need. Problem: overwhelmed by frustration and confusion, people stop trying and needs go unmet. The result: today’s simpler need develops into tomorrow’s more serious problem, for which solutions can be difficult, if not impossible, to find. Helping you find the right Community and Social Services
T HE 211 D ATABASE • Over 7,500 programs & Services • Updated regularly • Searchable on line @ www.ns.211.ca • Fully mobile responsive website • Users are invited to suggest new services • All services are geo-located using google maps • New Icon-based navigation
W HY 211 W ORKS Locally governed non-profit - people who recognize and understand the social challenges in your community. Thoughtful and compassionate inquiry – looking beyond the symptoms of today to treat yesterday’s chronic problem. “Finger on the pulse” - keeping constant track of over 7,000 services & connecting people with the help they need. Access when and how it’s wanted – call, email or self service Standards of excellence – sometimes you can only do what you can do… but you can always do it well. Helping you find the right Community and Social Services
W HAT TYPE OF INFORMATION C AN YOU FIND THROUGH 211 ?
ACTIVITIES • Promoting self-sufficiency • Sustaining independence • Strengthening family relationships • Supporting personal & social development • Ensuring the well-being of families, groups and communities Helping you find the right Community and Social Services
INFORMATION • food, shelter, clothing and transportation • Financial assistance • Consumer support • Health and mental health care including substance abuse services
PROGRAMS • Helping people to care for dependents. • Ensuring protection for the vulnerable. • Supporting older adults and people with disabilities. • Offering social and leisure time activities. • Enriching the community • Encouraging full participation in community life.
211 IS FOR NAVIGATING THE TWISTS AND TURNS OF LIFE THAT AFFECT US ALL … “Dealing with a “I can get a new baby on “Mom just can’t make it better job… if my own is so on her own any only I could much harder more…but where do we find affordable than I thought it start?” daycare” would be – can “I have a disability. Where can I someone help me?” find services in my “I’m being bullied at community?” “someone I really care about school. What do I has an addiction – what are “I just moved here do?” their options?” and need to find a job.” “How do I find a “I need to get a SIN card.” “ I’m elderly and family doctor?” “I’m being evicted can’t drive. Is there “I think my child has help to get me to my and I have no where speech problems.” to go.” doctor?” Helping you find the right Community and Social Services
211 B ENEFITS • Individuals – one stop shopping 24/7/365 • Service Agencies – help those they can and refer the rest to 211 • Caring professionals – able to treat problems not just the symptoms • Government Employees – no more “silos” means enhanced customer service & > efficiency • Elected Officials and Staff – still able to help everyone but can focus effort on those who really need it
211 SUPPORTS ELECTED OFFICIALS • Human and social services are delivered by the non profit sector and by governments at all levels but jurisdictional boundaries are not always clear to constituents • Despite efforts to stay informed, councillors are often besieged with requests for information on programs and services that are not part of the municipal mandate • With 211 the informational needs of constituents are easier to meet – councillors or staff can obtain the information from 211 and relay it to the constituent or, they can refer the constituent to 211 Helping you find the right Community and Social Services
INQUIRIES WE’VE SEEN FROM ELECTED OFFICIALS • Rebates and benefits (i.e. property tax rebates) • Grants for senior home repair • Consumer concerns • Home care and respite • Credit counselling • Information on government programs (i.e. HARP) • Tax information for low income • Hearing aids for seniors
211 SAVES TIME, MONEY, EFFORT • Police officers typically spend 80% of their time helping residents navigate social services – 211 reduces this effort substantially, leading to more cost-efficient policing • With 211 helping people navigate, municipal staff spend more time serving the needs of residents and less time “redirecting traffic” • 911 has become the go to for people who don’t know who else to turn to. 911 operators typically deal with high levels of non urgent matters , many of which are now managed by 211, freeing up 911 resources to respond to emergencies Helping you find the right Community and Social Services
211 SUPPORTS LOCAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT EFFORTS • In an emergency the public need for information increases dramatically, mostly due to the potential for social impacts • 211 is already becoming the recognized source of information about social and community impacts in NS communities • We leverage 211’s potential as a communications conduit – feeding information from the local EMO to the community (through online posts and phone calls) and updating EMO on what we are hearing from the community in terms of needs and other developments Helping you find the right Community and Social Services
211 AS AN INFORMATION CONDUIT Emergency Responders & Other Agencies Municipal or Information Provincial Flow public Emergency Management Coordination 20
R ESULTS TO D ATE In just over 30 months - 150,000 “reaches” comprised of 100,000 web visits & 50,000 calls from which 65,000 needs were identified This resulted in over 53,000 referrals to 6,500 unique resources Helping you find the right Community and Social Services
W HO IS U SING 211?
C ALLER L OCATION – 2013 VS 2014 160 140 120 100 80 60 2014 2013 40 20 0 Helping you find the right Community and Social Services
2014 C ALLER D EMOGRAPHICS Age Gender 0% 0% 13% 19-54 Adult 30% Female 65+ Senior 32% 19% Male 55-64 Adult 69% 13-18 Youth 68% 0-12 Child 1 st time vs repeat 6% Type 10% 6% First Time Individual Caller Repeat 3rd Party 94% Caller 84% Service Provider Helping you find the right Community and Social Services
W HY A RE T HEY U SING 211?
2014 S COPE OF N EEDS Basic Needs 1% 1% Organizational/Community 6% Individual and Family Life 7% 22% Income Support and Employment 8% Health Care Mental Health and Substance Abuse 10% Criminal Justice and Legal Services 22% Consumer Services 10% Environment and Public Health/Safety 13% Education Helping you find the right Community and Social Services
2014 B ASIC N EEDS 16% 24% Food Housing/Shelter 16% Material Goods Transportation 6% Utilities 39% Helping you find the right Community and Social Services
B UT W HAT IF WE CAN ’ T HELP ? ( WE ALWAYS CAN ) 211 documents everything – we track all of the transactions, and all of the needs all of the time. Finding help for human problems is rarely easy – every day 211 encounters new situations for which solutions are not readily obvious. There’s a lot of help out there– the non-profit sector has more flexibility than you might think. Some problems don’t have answers… (today) – high quality data on unmet needs can help inform decisions on how and where to direct resources for maximum benefit Helping you find the right Community and Social Services
2014 U NMET N EEDS 4% of all needs were “unmet” needs 34% of unmet needs were “basic needs” Largest portion (51%) of basic unmet needs involve housing Helping you find the right Community and Social Services
2014 B ASIC U NMET N EEDS 7% 7% Housing Transportation 16% Food 51% Material Goods Utilities 18% Helping you find the right Community and Social Services
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