While some Torontonians may not know it, calling 2-1-1 can connect locals to vital mental health and social service supports, 24 hours a day.
Mental health advocates are recognizing ‘211 Day’ in Toronto today by raising awareness for the free and confidential helpline which connects residents to local social services and supports — as well as mental health resources and crisis support.
211 Day is recognized nationwide on Feb. 11, and advocates want to spread the word that by dialing 211, residents can be put in touch with resources like food banks, income assistance programs, legal resources and housing options including emergency shelters support. In cities across the country, advocates have also called for sustained funding for the nationwide helpline, which helps reduce the burden on police and emergency service providers.
While the 211 service has been available in Toronto since 2011, a pilot program with Toronto Community Crisis Service (TCCS) was launched in March 2022 to connect callers to the TCSS services.
Residents in mental distress, or those seeking a wellness check for someone else, can dial 211 to be connected with TCCS staff, 24 hours a day and seven days a week for residents 16 or older.
Through the partnership between 211 and TCCS, Torontonians can receive confidential and in-person mental health support citywide.
Feeling down? Overwhelmed? Looking for someone to talk to? The Toronto Community Crisis Service has trained mental professionals who can meet and support you.
— 311 Toronto (@311Toronto) February 10, 2025
The TCCS offers mental health support to help address your needs. Here’s what Heaven has to say.https://t.co/xGBJOfPxGV pic.twitter.com/bB5PR3gUzX
When a call is placed, teams of highly trained, mobile crisis workers are dispatched to the location of interest, just like a 911 call. Only in these cases, the 211 service connects callers to TCCS, which provides a non-police-led, community-based and trauma-informed response to crisis situations.
The TCCS also provides referrals and connections to other services, resources and post-crisis follow-up support.
After the launch of the pilot project exclusively downtown in 2022, the program was expanded citywide last October.
While the 211 helpline is not considered an official emergency support, the service’s partnership with the TCCS has been hailed by city council as Toronto’s “fourth emergency service,” notably for its efforts in reducing pressure on police and paramedics.
Melissa Furtado, senior manager with TCCS and Canadian Mental Health Association Toronto, said crisis support has always existed in Toronto, but 211’s strength is in its connection to the city’s emergency dispatch system and its support from city council.
The city said the program has received around 22,000 calls for service between the start of the pilot and the end of 2024.
Many of the calls received by 211 workers have been rerouted from the city’s 911 service. In its first year of operation, the TCCS said it successfully diverted 78 per cent of the calls received from 911 without requiring additional police involvement.
“It’s a huge burden off police and other emergency services,” Furtado explained. “Police can focus more on criminal justice and priority calls, while we can respond to more specific mental health calls. That means fewer officers occupied in the emergency room.”
TCCS team members will respond to a variety of mental health cases day to day, Furtado said. Callers considering suicide, self-harm or exhibiting other distressful behaviours are among frequent cases.
“Maybe someone is hanging outside a place and doesn’t have shelter, so we’ll try and see if we can support them by moving them along, getting them a bite to eat or seeing if there’s a shelter bed available,” she said.
Steve Joordens, a psychology professor at the University of Toronto, said he ranks 211 high on the list for mental health services in the city.
Joordens explained that people seeking help often endure “decision paralysis” when they run into a wall of resources, for instance a city-run webpage listing numerous types of support channels. The 211 helpline, meanwhile, assists users by filtering the options and targeting the caller’s specific needs, he said.
“The simpler the path to help, the better,” he told TorontoToday. “You have to imagine that person is probably already feeling levels of stress and anxiety and not thinking as well as they normally would.”
“You can have the best resources in the world, but if the people can’t actually connect with those, then you might as well not have them,” Joordens said.
Despite praise for 211 in Toronto, Furtado and other advocates say there are still many dire improvements to be made to the service.
When asked if their staffing levels at TCCS are adequate, Furtado’s reply was blunt: “Not enough.”
The Toronto chapter of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) helps support the TCCS team with 211 calls throughout the city. However, the team supports five police divisions within its catchment area alone. Up to three CMHA units, each staffed with two crisis workers, can respond to mental health calls at any given time. Their team has just under 50 staff in total, and it’s far from enough.
“As the number of calls increase, we would need more bodies to provide that help,” Furtado said. “Hopefully with more awareness, there will be room for more.”
Despite the lack of adequate staffing among crisis workers, Furtado is hopeful more Torontonians will learn about and use the service.
“We’re not just another community outreach group,” she said. “911 is very second nature for people, while 211 isn’t quite ingrained yet. We’re still growing and making mental health more of a conversation and this 211 campaign is a great opportunity to let the city know they can call us.”
