211’s Role in Emergency Response and Recovery Presented by Pamela Hillier – Community Connection/211 Central East Ontario Steven Baxter – former CEMC District of Muskoka March 25th, 2013
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Presentation Outline • What is 211? • 211 Ontario Regional Service Partners • 211’s Role in Disaster & Emergency • Connecting with Government • The Goderich Tornado Experience • 211 Ontario & Exercise Huron Challenge IV • Questions
What is 211?
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N11 System in Canada 211 – public information & referral services 311 - non-emergency municipal government services 411 - directory assistance 511 - weather, traffic & travel information 611 - telephone company repair service 711 - message relay for telephone devices for the deaf 811 - non-urgent health care telephone triage services 911 - emergency services 4
Components of 211 Service Delivery
Public Inquiry
Online Directories
Caller Needs
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Current Population Served by 211
Canada 58% Ontario 100% United States 90%
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211 Service Standards
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211 Regional Service Partners
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Public Inquiry 2012 – 51,000 contacts 5% population or 11% of households
Bruce - 2,325 Grey - 6,960 Haliburton - 226 Huron - 719 Kawartha Lakes - 912 Muskoka - 2,150 Northumberland - 1,403 Parry Sound - 447 Perth - 1,007 Peterborough - 2,395 Simcoe - 31,686 Outside Region - 700
Online Directories 211Ontario.ca
InfoMuskoka.ca
Caller Needs 2012 - Central East Ontario 14.4% Housing/Utilities
5.2% Mental Health & Addictions
12.6% Financial Assistance
5.1% Food & Meals
12.3% Government (all levels)
4.9% Home Supports
12.1% Health Services
4.2% Transportation
5.6% Legal Assistance
3.4% Recreation
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During Response and Recovery
Public Inquiry
Online Directories
Caller Needs
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211 public inquiry role within the communications structure
Inquiring public
211 receives authoritative information from Emergency Information Officer
Emergency Responders & Other Agencies Municipal or Provincial Emergency Management Coordination
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Connecting with Municipal Government Issues faced by Muskoka • 32 departments across 7 governments duplicating data in emergency contact lists • Summer students not capable of doing the work • A 6-line call centre staffed by the planning and finance departments
STEP 1 – Emergency Resources Directory • Reduce duplication of services and increase productivity by outsourcing the maintenance of the emergency contacts to 211 • Development of a database about regional service providers - Subdivided by type and kind of product or service - Cross referenced to user departments - Available in Paper, online and on mobile devices - (Password Protected)
STEP 2 – Memorandum of Understanding • Public Information Line – Provide 24/7 inquiry services, in multiple languages, to the community. Assessing the needs of callers, evaluating appropriate resources, indicating organizations capable of meeting those needs. • Reception Centre Access Points – Establish a public access point in Reception / Evacuation Centres.
STEP 2 – Memorandum of Understanding • Volunteer brokerage services – Establish connections between residents and independent volunteer service providers. • Information Gathering – Seek out information relating to the emergency effects, organizational or community needs and to provide a consolidated report or listing. • Reports – Produce reports that describe the service needs and trends of contacts received from all access points
211 Experience – Goderich Tornado
August 21st, 2011 19
Goderich
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Number of Calls Diverted to 211 First Two Weeks Daily Disaster Related Calls to 211 Weeks One and Two (August 22nd to September 3rd) 250 200 150 100 50 0 Aug Aug Aug Aug Aug Aug Aug Aug Aug Aug Sep Sep Sep 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 1 2 3 21
Disaster Related Calls to 211 During the First Six Weeks #1 – Volunteering #2 – Donations #3 – Businesses #4 - Government #5 – Financial
#6 – Environment #7 – Legal Services #8 – Community Agencies #9 – Food/Meals #10 – Housing
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211 Response & Support First Six Weeks • Answered 6,686 calls of which 1,346 were disaster related (including one TTY call) • Responded to 68 emails regarding the disaster • Registered 737 people to volunteer • Registered 481 people/businesses with donations • Called 243 people to volunteer 23
Post Disaster Database
Post Disaster Database
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Post Disaster Database
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Volunteer Information Collection
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Donations Information Collection
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Facebook for Information/Rumour Control
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Facebook for Information/Rumour Control
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Huron Challenge & 211 Ontario
Bruce County EOC
Kincardine EIC
Port Elgin Evacuation Centre
Cloud-based Portal Links to access disaster database; entry forms to register volunteers & donations; & contact tracking tools Site navigation to quickly access information about the exercise
Mock updates about the event
Disaster Database
Key updates posted when received
Database listing examples are live links to full details
Main search screen with multiple search options & custom topic searches
Centralized Registration
Data entry forms feed separate downloadable databases in real time
Centralized Contact Tracking
Caller Needs Report
Public Inquiry in YOUR Community? • 211 Ontario and its seven Regional Service Partners are established and experienced agencies that can aid government during disasters. • The system is already in place and is already taking these calls province wide. • Is your program duplicating a service that can be performed more efficiently by these professionals?
Questions? Steve Baxter, former CEMC The District Municipality of Muskoka Steve.baxter@me.com Pamela Hillier, Executive Director Community Connection/211 Central East Ontario phillier@communityconnection.ca
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