United Way opens community support doors with 211 phone line

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This article was published 31/10/2020 (1987 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ACCESSING health and social services is now as easy as dialing 2-1-1.

United Way Winnipeg launched a 211 phone service earlier this month. Manitobans can call the number 24 hours a day, seven days a week and be connected to a specialist who will work with them to identify resources in their community to provide needed support.

Made possible with funding from Ottawa, the service — led by United Way in collaboration with Volunteer Manitoba and a multisector advisory committee — is free and confidential.

It’s the next step after mb.211.ca, an online searchable database United Way launched in early 2017. More than 200,000 people used the website last year.

The phone service has the potential to help even more people says Connie Walker, president and chief executive officer of United Way Winnipeg.

“Not everyone has access to technology, not everyone is comfortable using technology and sometimes people don’t know what they’re looking for,” she says. “Being able to talk to a real person can really help on all those fronts.”

The phone service is for everyone, whether it’s a parent worried about their child’s mental health, a family struggling to put food on the table or an individual looking for help to better understand what financial support is available to them.

211 Manitoba is part of a national network.

According to United Way data, calls and website visits to existing 211 services increased by 31 per cent and 45 per cent, respectively, from March to August as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We know during this pandemic there is an even greater need to have this kind of resource available for people,” Walker says.

In the spring, A&O: Support Services for Older Adults — an organization supported by United Way Winnipeg — partnered with the City of Winnipeg’s 311 information line to help elderly residents during the pandemic.

The response, Walker says, highlighted the need for an ongoing 211 service.

One elderly woman, who was caring for another senior, called at 1:37 a.m., saying she didn’t have access to food.

The 311 operator connected the woman to A&O and Winnipeg Harvest.

“Those kinds of calls happen all the time now,” says Walker, noting more than 200 Manitobans called 211 in the days following its Oct. 15 launch.

Volunteer Manitoba collects and manages the website data and referral specialists have access to it as they help callers.

For Jackie Hunt, Volunteer Manitoba executive director, the phone service is exciting because it offers one more way her organization can look after the community.

“The fact that we have this call centre is something we’ve been hoping for for many years,” Hunt said. “We’re all very excited about it.”

Walker is thankful to United Way Winnipeg donors, whose financial support help makes such initiatives possible.

“We put our dollars together and we’re able to do amazing things,” she says, adding 211 will help agencies throughout the province do even more good work.

“It takes a lot of courage to ask for help. When people muster up that courage, we want to be able to make sure they can access the services that will be of most support.”

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