Findhelp Information Services (Findhelp) provides public access to information about community and social services through information lines, web directories, and specialized tools and training to help people find help.

24/7 Community Information and Referral Help Lines
Data Services
Information Technology
Professional Training
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Inquiry Services
Almost every minute of the day — up to 1,400 times every day of the year — someone with a personal or social need is being connected to a service that can address that need through one of Findhelp’s four Inquiry Services lines:

211 service providing information and referral to community and social services for Central Region (Toronto, York Region and Durham Region) 24/7 and for all the other Ontario Regions (with the exception of Dufferin-Peel) overnight and on weekends

Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General’s Victim Support Line service connecting victims of crime to a range of services 1-888-579-2888

Toronto Central Access Withdrawal Management intake service for five Toronto hospitals 1-866-366-9513

Support Services for Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse line providing access to crisis and integrated follow-up services (Ontario) 1-866-887-0015

Services are free and confidential, available through live-answered phone lines 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The people answering these calls are trained Information and Referral (I&R) Specialists, most with a professional social service background and many with years of front-line experience. This prepares them to handle the wide range of calls to our help lines — from a simple question about local childcare centres to the complex needs of a person distressed over discrimination, from asking where their next warm meal can be found to volunteering for a food bank.

I&R Specialists assess the needs of each caller ensuring they are directed to the most appropriate service or program.

We continue our commitment to meeting the needs of newcomers, with 24 languages spoken by our on-site Information and Referral Specialists, the coordination of a language bank of 41 languages spoken by local information providers, as well as access when needed to 170 languages through a three-way interpretation service.

211 – the 3-digit telephone number
The 211 service is funded by three levels of government and the United Way.

211 is an easy to remember phone number like 311, 411 and 911. Each of these numbers provides the public with valuable information or services:

• 211 - Social Services (housing, child care, food banks, etc.)
• 311 - Municipal Services (roadworks, garbage collection, city programs, etc.)
• 411 - Residence and business telephone numbers (restaurants, banks, friends, etc.)
• 911 - Emergency Services (police, fire and ambulance)

Accurate and well organized data is crucial to connecting people with the services they need.

Findhelp staff research, classify and update the information listed on 211Toronto.ca. This collection of thousands of records is merged with data from dozens of partners across Ontario into the 56,000 record database used most prominently on 211Ontario.ca.

The data is also used within other popular sites such as Settlement.Org (managed by OCASI, Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants), and other online directories developed by Findhelp.

Through consultation and alliances with Francophone stakeholders, many of these resources are bilingual, with Francophones able to search and read about services that are delivered in French.

The success of these data collaborations relies on complex classification systems such as the bilingual Canadian Taxonomy of Human Services (based on the AIRS/211 L.A. County Taxonomy of Human Services). Working with Inform Canada, Findhelp led the development and implementation of this valuable indexing tool and contributes ongoing expertise and coordination.

Findhelp is also a long-time leader in the development of data standards, tools and training resources in both French and English, continually striving for enhanced quality, accessibility and consistency.

Customized Data and E-Bulletin Service
Findhelp provides an e-blast service which will help you spread the news to select groups of Toronto organizations about your special events, workshops or other exciting opportunities. In addition, we can also work with you to develop a professional-looking, customized bulletin which we will send out on your behalf. If you prefer, we can provide you with contact lists in Excel spreadsheets for your own transmission or mailings. For information on pricing or other questions regarding data services download our brochure, or contact us by phone at 416-392-4605 or through our online form.

Findhelp offers secure and robust application development.

Our team has developed popular bilingual sites such as www.poss.ca and the following online directories:

• 211Ontario.ca
• 211Toronto.ca
• Access to Professions and Trades in Ontario
• Directory of Justice Services and Resources in Ontario
• Directory of Youth Justice Services in Ontario
• Employment Ontario Find Employment and Training Services (Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities)
• Ontario Victim Services Directory (Ministry of the Attorney General)
• United Way Toronto Directory of Services

All of our sites are hosted in our secure network and server environment and supported by an experienced team of technical specialists.

Development of online directories depends heavily on the skill of our editorial and taxonomy experts. We can develop and implement sophisticated search techniques that constantly evolve as a result of feedback from users and other stakeholders.

Findhelp uses a traditional project management approach that consists of the 5 major project management processes. These include: Initiation, Planning, Execution (Development/Go-Live), Monitoring and Closing.

Findhelp has designed practical workshops for community and social service practitioners including “Information, Referral and Communication Skills” and “Understanding the Human Services System”. Customized workshops can be created to meet specific needs by selecting from a range of training modules.

Findhelp promotes InformCanada and AIRS certification and offers preparatory workshops on the standards of professional information referral.

For information on training modules, download our workshop schedule (PDF) or contact us by phone at 416-392-4605 or through our online form.



From determining a career path to signing a contract, Poss.ca can help make any job search a success. Poss.ca offers all of the information, tools and resources necessary to find employment in Toronto.