
211… Helping People Navigate
With over 60,000 programs and services available in Ontario, delivered by more than 30,000 non-profit, for-profit and governmental organizations, finding help can be challenging… particularly for those with complex or multiple needs. 211 is working with partners to break down barriers and improve outcomes.
Meeting Current & Future Needs
With the recent implementation of a modern telephony system, a business intelligence platform and an improved online experience, we are taking the time to consider opportunities for collaboration, and conceptualize how we will meet the future service and technology demands of residents who do not know where to turn when they need help.
Impact of Our Work
211’s impact is demonstrated in the number of connections to resources made every day through our phone service, our online channels, and our many community and provincial partnerships. The numbers tell the story of who calls 211, what they are looking for, and how we helped them. They also tell the story of improvements in people’s well-being as a result of being connected to services and to their communities.
Better Together
Our 211 system capacity – from our professional navigation to our community resource information to our data about human service needs – continued to be leveraged last year by our partners to improve access for Ontario residents, and to create service delivery efficiencies. With pressure growing on health and social services, partnerships like these are great examples of collaborations that will have a lasting impact.
Navigating a Changing Landscape
211 began in Atlanta years ago because a few thoughtful citizens wanted to improve resident’s ability to find help when they needed it. Today, the same vision still guides us as 211 contemplates how we can best connect people to the services they need using existing and new technologies, and help people navigate the changes affecting the human services sector.
Meeting Current & Future Needs
2017/2018 was a year focused on imagining the future of 211 service delivery in Ontario.

Karen Miligan
Executive Director
211 can help navigate the confusing maze of health, social and government programs so residents know about and can benefit from the full range of services our communities have to offer.
The value of the 211 service to people who need help is clear – it is an easy path to the broadest range of supports available. We continue to work on increasing awareness of the service so that more people can find the information and support they need.
We are working with stakeholders to answer key questions about our future. How will new technology change how we serve residents by phone and online? How will residents want to access our services? How can we best structure our internal systems and processes to maximize efficiency and maintain high quality standards? How can we ensure that our platforms can integrate with other systems, resulting in successful partnerships that benefit Ontarians? How can the data collected by 211 about what service users need and service gaps in a community inform program investment and decision-making?
These questions and more have been explored over the course of the last year. We consulted with 211 Regional Service Partners who deliver the phone, chat, text and email services, with local Data Partners who collect community resources information and share it with the 211 system, and partners and funders who share a desire to help Ontario residents navigate the world of human services. Consultation continues this year with a focus on engaging users, both callers and online visitors, with these same questions.
While imagining the future of 211 in Ontario, we continued to develop strong partnerships at a local, provincial, and even national level. These initiatives improved the health and social outcomes for people living in poverty, for isolated seniors, for those who are struggling with mental health challenges, and for human trafficking survivors, to name a few. This report tells the stories of how individuals got the help they needed and how 211 improves access and creates efficiencies for government and other partners.
After 15 years of delivering 211 service in Ontario, we have learned a great deal about how to help people navigate these systems. This includes acquiring an understanding of how to empower people to live independently in the community, and how to work with partners to break down barriers to service through integration and innovation. We are proud of the work that our staff do every day to help connect people with the supports they need. We know we make a difference, and collectively, we have made a substantial impact on the well-being of those we serve.
Read the full year in review
Making an Impact
211’s impact is demonstrated in the number of connections to resources made every day through our phone service, our online channels, and our many community and provincial partnerships. The numbers tell the story of who calls 211, what they are looking for, and how we helped them. They also tell the story of improvements in people’s well-being as a result of being connected to services and to their communities.
Caller Outcomes
1.6
%of callers agreed to letting us follow up with them
85
%of callers followed up on the referral provided
85
%of callers felt they were better prepared
64
%feel getting help from a program or service improved their health
Number of Programs and Services Maintained in the 211 Database
147,700
services are listed
29,444
agencies / organizations
92
%of agency records were updated last year
211 Online
298,436
website sessions
social media impressions
Caller Satisfaction
290,582
calls made to 211 in 2017
96
%of callers surveyed would call 211 again
83
%of callers were very satisfied with 211
Number of Programs and Services Maintained in the 211 Database
147,700
services are listed
29,444
agencies / organizations
92
%of agency records were updated last year
Business Intelligence Interactive Report on Why People Call 211 by Municipality/Region
- The business intelligence dashboards below are best viewed on a desktop or tablet.
- The numbers in the dashboard represent the types of services (Needs Identified) callers are looking for or are assessed as needing.
- Click on a municipality or region under County of Caller to see the numbers on the donut chart that relate to the service the caller needed. Caller needs are tracked using taxonomy (a categorization system that is standard for 211 Service Providers across North America), and are rolled up to categories.
- NOTE: The number of needs identified is lower than the number of calls to 211, as we do not currently collect information from (track) 100% of our calls. The percentage of calls tracked is 85%, and includes all calls related to priority issues and basic needs.
Better Together
Our 211 system capacity – from our professional navigation to our community resource information to our data about human service needs – continued to be leveraged last year by our partners to improve access for Ontario residents, and to create service delivery efficiencies. With pressure growing on health and social services, partnerships like these are great examples of collaborations that will have a lasting impact.
“211 works at the intersections between Health, Social, Community and Government services, helping to connect people to the help they need, when they need it. […] 211 is a partner in supporting patients – in particular those living in poverty – with connections to community-based services that help them stay well.”
Dr. Gary Bloch
Family Physician with St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, and co-Chair of the Ontario College of Family Physicians (OCFP’s) Committee on Poverty and Health.
Provincial Partnerships
Last year, we continued to work with partners across Ontario who see the results of economic hardship, and understand that residents are often not accessing the help available for their situation. Navigating and applying for help is difficult and services are often provided by small non-profit or for-profit agencies that are not well known. Our partners are leveraging 211’s capacity and infrastructure to support those living with a disability and their families, isolated seniors, those with chronic conditions, those living in poverty and the survivors of human trafficking.
Provincial Partnerships
While developing new partnerships that provide efficiencies and improve access to services, we continued to support existing partnerships in mental health for post-secondary students, in helping those with developmental disabilities and with our 211 Regional Service Partners. Our partnerships have put us in a better position to understand the challenges of integrating technology and different classification systems across sectors. This knowledge will help us to imagine the future of 211 and continue to learn how to best meet the challenges presented by evolving technology and the pressures on human services across Ontario.
Regional Partnerships
Our 211 Regional Service Partners (our six Ontario contact centres: Collingwood, Ottawa, St. Catharines, Thunder Bay, Toronto and Windsor) have been actively establishing partnerships in local communities and counties this year. From establishing a mental health crisis line, to scheduling appointments at tax clinics, to providing data for a police smartphone app, 211 is becoming better known as an effective partner on initiatives that address community well-being. See the stories below for more information.
Navigating a Changing Landscape
On behalf of my Board colleagues, I want to thank our staff, our partners, their Board members, and our funders for working with us to innovate, to imagine, and to implement changes to our 211 system, while continuing to deliver high-quality service for our users.

Jim Alexander
President
The 211 system in Ontario is stronger when we work together towards a shared vision, and I am encouraged by our progress to date.
But we are not through yet…and, in fact, we anticipate that more changes will be required in the coming years to become more efficient in our own operations, and to ensure that we can effectively work across organizations, across provincial ministries, and across sectors to reduce duplication and create better service outcomes for people who need support. We also anticipate shifting our business model to ensure that Ontarians can access our service when they need it, in the way they want to access it. We will explore new delivery channels and new technologies that can increase our capacity to help more people.
We will continue to seek input from our stakeholders along the way about how 211 can best meet the needs of Ontarians while we navigate changes in Government, changes in technology and changes to the human services landscape. We will remain focused on our vision of an Ontario where people are enabled to live independently and thrive in their communities, and where our human services system is strong and responsive to changing needs.
Thank you to everyone who played a part in our work last year– Regional Service Partners, Data Partners, local and provincial sector partners and front-line agencies, local United Ways and municipalities who support and fund our work. We’d especially like to thank the Ontario Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services who have continued to support our ongoing operations and integration into the human services delivery system in Ontario. While our work together is far from done, we appreciate your passion, your support and your contributions to our shared vision, and hope that we will continue to work together to deliver even better results in the coming years.
Read more about where we are going
Financial Highlights
While there are many sources of support for the 211 service across the province, the numbers below represent the sources of revenue and associated expenses for Ontario 211 Services. Revenue and expenses did not change substantially from the previous year – we continued to benefit from funding from MCSS, Green Shield Canada, Good2Talk and local United Ways for important projects. Purely administrative costs represent over 4% of total expenses, while more than 90% of our budget continues to be allocated to direct service delivery or associated program and infrastructure investments.
Revenue
$5,350,154
- Ministry of Community and Social Services 78.06%
- Projects 14.68%
- United Way 7.23%
- Other 0.03%
Expenses
$5,327,117
- Service Delivery 69.73%
- Project Management and Advisory Services 12.00%
- Salaries & Management Services 9.83%
- Marketing & Communications 1.74%
- Governance & System Development 1.43%
- Other 0.95%
NOTE: EXTRACTED FROM AUDITED STATEMENTS. COPIES OF AUDITED STATEMENTS ARE AVAILABLE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR UPON REQUEST.
Learn More About 211

Contributors to Ontario 211 Services
Ontario 211 Services receives financial support from municipal and provincial governments, from local United Way organizations, and from private sector funders.

Partners
211 Ontario has partnered with several organizations to improve access to community and social services across Ontario.

Board of Directors
Learn more about our board of directors who volunteer their time to provide strategic direction and oversight to Ontario 211 Services.