About 211 Nova Scotia

About 211 Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia 211 is your 24/7 connection to the programs and services in your community that matter most to you. Through information and referrals, we help connect you to local community groups, non-profit and government organizations. Help starts here with 211.

Our navigators are trained to deal with the most complex and sensitive questions. As a result of your call, we can help connect you, a family member, a friend, neighbour, or a client with organizations able to meet your needs.

The 211 service is free and confidential. So, whether you want to talk, text, email or use our online search tool, we are here to help. In addition, we also use a translation service that is available in over 140 languages.

In short, 211 Nova Scotia is for all people from all walks of life. It is for those who are seeking information about community and social services in their community or throughout the province, either for themselves or for someone else.

So whether you are seeking homecare support for an older adult in your life; a teenager looking for job-seeking skills; you’re in need of food; looking for shelter/housing; or, new to the province/country and you’re looking for language or employment training—among many other scenarios, we can help.

Service Providers

If you’re a service provider, 211 Nova Scotia can help you too! We are here to make navigating the complex system of resources, programs, and services easier. We help reduce the frustration of trying to find the right community or social resource across multiple sources.  Moreover, it allows those same organizations and government agencies to rely on highly-trained 211 staff. We handle the inquiries they might once have had to spend valuable time assessing and redirecting.

NS211 also allows service providers to quickly direct people to services that are outside of their organization’s scope or area of expertise and possibly connect with other service providers whose goals and mandates complement their own. The result is a collaborative system that will continually evolve to meet the needs of Nova Scotians as they look for help in their communities.

The Online Database

Our online database provides easy-to-access and easy-to-search information on every social service and program in the province. Service providers are quickly able to direct people to services that are outside of their organization’s scope or area of expertise. It also allows them to discover and connect with other service providers whose goals and mandates complement their own, building stronger community networks. Furthermore, records are validated annually by our team to ensure accuracy.

Data Collection

Nova Scotia 211 collects important information on needs that are not being met either because services are not available or because the demands are greater than can be met by existing services. In addition, 211 Nova Scotia provides this vital information to community leaders who are then able to use it to better understand where the needs are and how service delivery can be improved in Nova Scotia to meet those needs.

Nova Scotia 211 was incorporated under the Societies Act in 2008 as the 211 Information and Referral Services Association, after being championed for years by the United Way. The 211 service formally launched in Nova Scotia on February 11th, 2013. In 2017, NS211 received international accreditation through the Alliance of Information and Referral Systems (AIRS) now known as Inform USA.

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