211 Launches in Sault Ste. Marie

Lucas Punkari for SooNews.ca
Monday, September 28, 2009, 4:03PM

Starting today, citizens of Sault Ste. Marie now have a new number to call for any questions they have about services in their community, as the 211 service was officially launched this afternoon.

211 is a free phone service available 24//7 that allows people to talk with a trainer Information Specialist, which can give them information on services available to them. This included such things as community, social, health and government services.

Jered Zieroth, the project manager of 211 Northern Ontario, was involved in the launch of Thunder Bay’s 211 in February of 2008, and says that the 211 has made a difference.

“What it has done, is help people who are lost while trying to find a service, and find them the service in an effective and efficient way,” Zieroth explained.

“We consider to 211 a large end of a funnel, and answer the question of where do I start.”

211 is currently available in sixty percent of the province, but Sault Ste. Marie and Thunder Bay are the only two communities that have the service in Northern Ontario. However, Zieroth says that more communities are getting on board.

“What’s needed before we expand into another region is to have some get on board. We had that here in the Soo with the United Way and the Innovation Centre coming on board, which made it easier to come here,” Zieroth explained.

“It’s the same process everywhere else, but there are three communities in the North that will be announcing soon. The Soo though is an early adopter of this program and we’re excited to expand here.”

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