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2009
Unmet
Needs
and
Service
Gaps
Report
Central
East
Ontario
Published
by
Community
Connection,
275
First
Street,
Collingwood,
Ontario,
Canada
705.444.0040
211@communityconnection.net
2
2009
Unmet
Needs
and
Service
Gaps
Report
Central
East
Ontario
Report
Purpose
211
Ontario
is
in
the
early
stages
of
development
and
to
date
there
is
no
formal
way
to
report
this
information
or
to
determine
how
the
information
would
be
used
by
policy
makers
or
funders.
The
211
Service
Provider
for
Central
East
Ontario,
Community
Connection,
has
more
than
doubled
their
service
area
in
the
past
18
months
and
as
a
result
awareness
of
211
is
still
low.
However,
the
agency
believes
that
it
is
useful
to
produce
and
distribute
report
examples.
By
effectively
sharing
information
about
the
needs
expressed
by
callers
that
are
not
adequately
met
by
community
resources,
the
data
collected
by
211
service
providers
may
impact
the
improvement
for
more
comprehensive
and
effective
services.
Over
the
next
5
years,
annual
calls
in
the
Central
East
region
are
expected
to
increase
to
150,000,
with
outcome
reporting
expected
to
provide
a
solid
sampling
of
data
for
a
variety
of
community
reports.
2009
Unmet
Needs
and
Service
Gaps
For
the
purposes
of
this
report,
unmet
needs
include
both
service
gaps
and
barriers
to
service.
These
include
services
that
don’t
exist
in
a
certain
community,
don’t
serve
a
segment
of
the
population,
organization’s
whose
funding
has
been
exhausted
for
a
service,
and
callers
that
are
prevented
from
receiving
a
service
because
of
location,
accessibility,
language
or
culture.
This
also
includes
callers
who
have
exhausted
previous
avenues
of
assistance.
In
2009,
Community
Connection/211
Central
East
Ontario
received
just
over
30,000
calls
from
residents
and
human
service
professionals
seeking
information
about
community
services.
These
calls
resulted
in
276
documented
unmet
needs.
The
following
charts
describe
the
number
of
unmet
needs
in
the
most
common
categories
and
the
income
levels
of
the
people
affected:
When
there
are
no
specific
referrals
to
provide
callers
in
need
of
assistance,
information
specialists
spend
time
to
help
callers
identify
possible
sources
of
alternative
assistance
such
as
family
members,
affiliated
faith
organizations
or
other
community
non
profit
and
charitable
organizations.
Additional
supports
are
also
offered
through
advocacy
and
follow
up
with
each
caller.
The
table
on
the
follow
pages
describes
the
categories
and
associated
existing
services
that
these
276
callers
were
unable
to
access.
Published
by
Community
Connection,
275
First
Street,
Collingwood,
Ontario,
Canada
705.444.0040
211@communityconnection.net
3
2009
Unmet
Needs
and
Service
Gaps
Report
Central
East
Ontario
Unmet
Need/Service
Gap
Existing
Programs
&
Services
Physicians
accepting
new
patients
–
12%
of
all
unmet
needs
or
service
gaps
Callers
are
without
a
family
doctor
There
are
fourteen
walk
‐
in
medical
clinics
located
in
nine
communities
across
the
region.
The
Health
Care
Connect
Program
is
telephone
based
service
available
province
‐
wide,
&
registers
people
without
a
family
health
care
provider
for
referral
to
physicians
&
nurse
practitioners
who
are
accepting
new
patients
in
their
community,
or
places
people
on
a
wait
list
for
future
referral.
In
the
region,
there
are
three
Community
Health
Centres
with
multiple
sites
that
provide
primary
health
care
to
residents
without
family
physicians.
Telehealth
Ontario
is
a
24/7
telephone
service
available
province
‐
wide
that
provides
health
advice
and
general
health
information
from
a
Registered
Nurse.
Dental
or
denture
services
–
9%
of
all
unmet
needs
or
service
gaps
Callers
are
in
need
of
financial
assistance
to
purchase
dental
or
denture
services
The
Children
in
Need
of
Treatment
(CINOT)
program
provides
emergency
dental
care
to
children
under
18
in
low
‐
income
families.
For
callers
in
receipt
of
Ontario
Works
or
Ontario
Disability
Support
Program,
they
may
be
able
to
apply
for
additional
funds
through
these
programs.
Some
communities
have
college/university
dental
programs
that
may
offer
some
dental
services
at
a
reduced
cost.
Financial
assistance
for
utility
arrears
–
8%
of
all
unmet
needs
or
service
gaps
Callers
are
trying
to
avoid
a
cut
off
notice
and
others
are
seeking
financial
help
to
refill
oil
or
propane
tanks
or
purchase
wood
For
callers
in
receipt
of
Ontario
Works
or
Ontario
Disability
Support
Program,
they
may
be
able
to
apply
for
annual
one
time
additional
funds
through
these
programs.
Annual
one
time
Winter
Warmth
funding
is
often
available
in
most
communities
for
low
‐
income
families
and
individuals
living
at/or
below
the
poverty
line
who
have
exhausted
all
other
sources
of
financial
support.
Annual
one
time
Emergency
Energy
Funds
are
distributed
through
municipalities
for
low
‐
income
residents
facing
energy
‐
related
emergencies.
Financial
assistance
to
pay
rent
–
6%
of
all
unmet
needs
or
service
gaps
Callers
are
trying
to
avoid
an
eviction
notice
Residents
in
receipt
of
Ontario
Works
or
Ontario
Disability
Support
Program
may
be
able
to
apply
for
one
time
funds
through
these
programs.
Provincial
Rent
Bank
funds
are
available
one
time
through
municipalities,
for
some
tenants
facing
eviction
for
non
‐
payment
of
rent.
One
time
Housing
Retention
funds
are
available
in
some
communities
to
help
prevent
homelessness
by
providing
a
maximum
of
2
months’
rent
arrears.
Transportation
–
5%
of
all
unmet
needs
or
service
gaps
Callers
live
in
communities
without
public
transit
services;
others
need
transportation
to
walk
‐
in
clinics
located
in
nearby
communities,
or
to
medical
appointments
in
communities
several
hours
away
In
some
communities,
Red
Cross
provides
transportation
services
to
Medical
appointments
for
a
fee.
For
cancer
patients,
the
Cancer
Society
has
a
volunteer
driver
program.
Some
communities
have
agencies
or
individuals
providing
transportation
services
to
those
in
need
for
a
fee.
Eye
Glasses
–
1%
of
all
unmet
needs
or
service
gaps
Callers
are
in
need
of
financial
assistance
for
repair
or
replacement
of
eye
glasses
For
callers
in
receipt
of
Ontario
Works
or
Ontario
Disability
Support
Program,
they
may
be
able
to
apply
for
additional
funds
through
these
programs.
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