For Immediate Release
September 1, 2011 –
211 Report Released for KFL&A Community
The Community Information Centre of Ottawa has compiled a report highlighting the use of the 211 service within the Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington area. Serving 184,407 citizens, 211 services have connected people to organizations within the community, helping them with a multitude of challenges.
211 has received 10,341 calls from the public since its launch date on June 25, 2010. KFL&A calls varied among a variety of caller needs and reasons for assistance within the community, but income and financial assistance, health, and community services were most often addressed by 211 specialists.
Of the callers seeking income and financial assistance, 49% of callers were in search of hydro/ utility assistance. Of those calling for health related inquiries, 22% were seeking additional information regarding health and medical clinics in the community. 40% of calls related to community services were for additional information on community organizations and agencies within the KFL&A area.
Unmet needs identified in the 211 report were connected by one common theme – health. Medical concerns remain high in the KFL&A area, in which access to walk-in medical clinics and financial assistance to transfer medical records among clinics is unavailable to many clients within the community.
211 provides assistance to callers in over 170 languages. The information and referral specialists provide free, confidential, and anonymous help to callers, 24 hours a day, every day of the year.
Visit www.211ontario.ca to search over 56,000 services in the database and find the help you need.
To view the first year, click on the link: 211 First Year Report – KFL&A
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Media contact’s name:
Bhavana Varma
President & CEO, United Way KFLA
613-542-2674 ext. 2, bvarma@unitedwaykfla.ca
Marie -Andrée Carrière
Executive Director, Community Information Centre of Ottawa
613-683-5400 ext. 5503, ma.carriere@cominfo-ottawa.org
Success Stories
o A woman called 211 looking for help. Having just left an abusive partner, she was in need of support services for women who have experienced domestic violence and information on shelters that could accommodate her and her two children. At the time of the call, she assured us that she was in a safe place, but that she was unaware of what services were offered in her community. We were able to refer the client to a range of services, including a community organization offering crisis counseling for survivors of domestic violence, a shelter for abused women and their children as well as the Assaulted Women’s Helpline. We also offered to do a follow-up with the client in a few days but she declined, however she did let us know at the end of the call that we have helped connect her to services she may not have known about otherwise and helped her in regaining hope. She assured us that she would call us back if ever she was unable to access services or obtain shelter, or if ever she needed any other types of support or community information in the future.
o I received a call from a client who was living with a physical disability and in desperate need of a wheelchair. He was struggling financially and was unable to receive financial help to cover the cost of a wheelchair through social assistance. The client knew that he didn’t have the money to purchase a wheelchair and wasn’t sure where to turn to for help. Luckily, we were able to connect him with a community group serving his area that loans out wheelchairs free of charge to persons living with a disability.
A special thanks…
A special thanks to all of our funders, community partners and supports for their work in helping the 211 service succeed!
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