Each week we will post a summary of interesting and representative 211 calls. This week, we have connections from New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador.

New Brunswick:

When a partner becomes ill, often their partner needs to learn many new skills. This can be daunting in addition to their other responsibilities. 211 Service Navigators are there 24 hours to ensure that caregivers can find the right support services.

A 211 Service Navigator took a call from a woman in a village in New Brunswick, who was looking for assistance with budgeting and learning how to pay her bills online. Her husband has dementia and she wanted to learn how to do those things independently. She had recently moved to New Brunswick from another province, so she did not know where to turn.

The Service Navigator listened to the caller and gave her time to explain her situation at her own pace; she was going through so many changes with the move and her husband’s condition. The Service Navigator paraphrased the caller’s requests to ensure that she gave the caller the right resources. She clarified with her the specific banking tasks she wanted to learn.

The Service Navigator offered her a couple of resources to help her with financial literacy. The Service Navigator offered to do more research and to follow up with her to share what she had learned. The caller agreed to the follow up.

When the Service Navigator called back, she was able to offer a referral to another resource that could help the client learn to do the tasks she required. The caller was grateful for the Service Navigator’s time, and the Service Navigator encouraged her to call 211 again any time she needed assistance learning about resources that served her new community.

Newfoundland and Labrador:

211 Service Navigators know that listening carefully when a caller states what they are seeking is essential. It is important not to make assumptions about what a caller should do or want in a particular situation. Every person who contacts 211 has their own particular life experience and needs.

A 211 Service Navigator took a call from a man in the Grand Falls-Windsor area. He had nowhere to stay and no funds for transportation. He told the Service Navigator that he was looking for financial assistance for a bus ticket to get to St John’s and a bed in a shelter for the night there.

The Service Navigator listened to the caller and probed to make sure that she understood his situation and what he was seeking. He was not looking for shelter right where he was at the moment; he wanted shelter in St John’s and transportation there. She found resources that would be able to help him with emergency transportation and shelter.

The caller said that he would be able to call the agencies himself; at this point, he did not need the Service Navigator to advocate for him. She let the caller know that 211 was available 24 hours a day if he needed more assistance or referrals