Each week we will post a summary of interesting and representative 211 calls. This week, we have connections from Manitoba.

New Brunswick:

Sometimes it is hard to know how exactly to help a loved one who is going through a difficult time. 211 Service Navigators are there 24 hours to listen and to suggest options that can help people get the assistance that they need.

An individual called 211 saying that he was looking for help for a friend. His friend had been evicted from Manitoba Housing. He stated that his friend had gone through the entire appeals process, but that it had not been helpful. He was calling 211 to see if there were any other options to help that they had not already contacted.

The Service Navigator asked several questions about the situation and to find out what the friend had already tried. He discovered that she had been evicted because she was in the hospital for a long period of time. Income Assistance had stopped paying for the rent because she was not in the home, but Manitoba Housing had still been charging her rent. The friend had tried several avenues of help and had gone through the entire appeals process. However, they had not spoken to the Manitoba Ombudsman, so the Service Navigator suggested that as an option. He let the caller know how the process worked with that office, and all of the pertinent contact information. The caller said that he would relay this information to his friend and thanked the Service Navigator who invited him or his friend to call 211 again any time.