Town of Collingwood facilitates Community Response Roundtable
Social Support groups collaborate to identify and respond to local needs and challenges
Town of Collingwood staff and over 35 organizations from across Collingwood and the region participated in a virtual roundtable discussion last week to build a coordinated response to community needs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Organizations represented agencies from across sectors, including health, youth, seniors, disability services, food security, housing, employment, faith-based, mental health, and well-being, all delivering critical supports to our community.
The virtual roundtable discussion provided an opportunity for organizations to provide one another support, identify local needs or challenges, share best practices, and strengthen communication.
While community agencies have had to change the way they deliver programs as a result of COVID-19, services continue to be delivered through telephone, virtual options, and practicing physical distancing.
Community Connection 211 was strongly emphasized as an important resource for connecting people to services available in the community.
“You call 911 for emergency help and 211 when you need essential services. The 211 helpline is there for you, its confidential and available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,” said Pam Hillier, Executive Director, Community Connection/211 Central East Ontario.
Like most other public services, 211 is experiencing a high number of calls and callers are asked to be patient.
Organizations at the roundtable committed to ensuring the 211 database had the most up-to-date information on the services being delivered by their respective agencies.
Social service providers are critical in ensuring the needs of our community are met. The Community Response table will continue to meet virtually for the foreseeable future to support collaboration, information sharing, and build a coordinated response to emerging needs.
Additional Resources:
- Collingwood’s Community Connection 211
- Regional Mental Health & Addiction Services
- Collingwood’s COVID-19 Information Portal
- Collingwood Together Volunteer Database - Raise your hand as a volunteer. We appreciate having you as a potential resource.