A program that has served the cities of Calgary and Edmonton for around a decade is expanding into the rural reaches of the province.
Alberta's 211 was formed as a partnership between the United Way of Alberta Capital Region, the Canadian Mental Health Association Edmonton zone and the Calgary Distress Centre.
211 serves as a "one-stop" information hub for those needing community supports.
"We're lucky in Alberta that we're (working with) strong community partners," said Stephanie Wright, a director with 211. "When we're rooted in community, we find that the services we're providing are stronger."
According to Wright, 211 started in the cities first but as funding became available it was expanded to encompass more and more rural areas.
That expansion led to the creation of four community engagement specialists who have been pounding the pavement, letting people know what 211 is and does.
"I worked in FCSS for about 10 years," said Adrian Pidhirney, the central zone engagement specialist. "It's a great way to take my community engagement skills and expand it to the whole area."
Pidhirney has been on the road a lot, networking with community resources and action groups around the central zone to get their information into the 211 database.
The theory behind 211 is that if someone needs social support, they can just call 211, which will have a listing of all the supports in their jurisdiction. Supports can include the local Family and Community Support Services, the local food bank, a connection to mental health, or other supports.
According to Wright, when someone calls 211, they are talking to a trained navigator who isn't necessarily reading off a script but is actually interested in getting that person the type of help they need, whatever it may be.
"Sometimes it might be, well, I don't have enough money to get groceries this weekend," said Wright. "And then when we talk a little bit more, it's actually, maybe we can find some rent rental supports or there's other larger financial issues we can help with."
Wright says that the navigators are trained to pay attention to red flags in the conversation as well. They will listen for "phrases or people talking in a certain way" which could indicate suicidality or other mental health concerns.
"We're paying attention to isolation for seniors who might be lonely," said Wright. "We're obviously going to dig into that a little bit further."
Another service 211 offers is following up with clients who call if they so wish.
Wright notes that the service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and its reference database is always expanding. The service also offers an online component, where people can text in or message, if that is something they are more comfortable with and translation services are available for around 170 different languages, including Indigenous languages.
"We want that to be that first place to call so we can get you connected to the supports that are going to help you through that next stage of your journey," said Wright.
"We've hired an incredible team ... this team is so passionate."
As engagement specialists, Pidhirney and the others were thrown in feet first as boots on the ground supporting officials during the wildfires in Jasper last summer.
"As much as it was a crash course, it's also fantastic. Just going to Jasper for, you know, (that) awful awful time to go there, it's a tragedy ... but it was still in the mountains and it was still beautiful, no matter what kind of destruction happened and it was really good getting out there and helping people in person as well," said Pidhirney. "We really worked on the re-entry program. Red Cross had their tents set up ... there were all sorts of different agencies there, anything from insurance to government agencies."
Since Jasper, Pidhirney has been on the road and working the phones to connect with support services in rural areas. Currently, the service is continuing with a slow growth, around 10 listings per month per specialist, so as to not barrage the database operators.
"We'd really like to see the rural communities be as connected as the more urban communities," said Pidhirney.
If you have a rural community support service that you feel should be added to the 211 database, contact Pidhirney at 368-889-2655.
To promote 211 and its services, the organization, along with municipal governments, established 211 Day, which is celebrated on Feb. 11 every year.
