BOP phone pilot offers potential to relieve demand on emergency contact centres

24 May 2006
For Immediate Release
 

"The Bay of Plenty 211 pilot phone service has the potential to provide a non-emergency phone service to relieve demand on emergency services," said Richard Wood, the Deputy Chief Executive of Family and Community Services.

"The 211 Family Helpline brings help directly into the homes of people with trained staff with a counselling background who can identify the best services to assist families with the vast range of issues they face each day.

"211 is a seven day a week, 13 hour a day family focused professional referral service and an extensive database of local services including the ability to transfer calls through to those services.

"Both Police and Child, Youth and Family crisis/emergency lines receive thousands of non-crisis and non emergency calls. 211 has the potential to take those calls and provide the assistance that many families need.

"The Ministry of Social Development's Family and Community Services developed its helpline in consultation with national NGOs which provide helpline services. It consulted with a wide range of social sector NGOs in the Bay of Plenty before it commenced its pilot.

"The helpline is contracted to two of New Zealand's largest helpline operators Lifeline and Youthline and it is extremely well supported by the NGO sector with others talking to the Ministry of Social Development about being more actively involved.

"We have been working with the Citizens Advice Bureau to reassure them that 211 is a fundamentally different service which complements CAB's work.

"CAB offers a volunteer based local information service that, in the main, is only available for five days a week. CAB's own advice to us on their opening hours, for inclusion in our national directory is that "all bureaux are open Monday to Friday, 10.00am until 2.00pm. Many are open outside these hours. It receives more than $500,000 of government funding each year and there are no plans to reduce that funding.

"The 211 service has been well received by Bay of Plenty residents with an average of 900 calls each month," said Richard Wood.

For further information: Bronwyn Saunders, Chief Media Advisor, ph 04 916 3447 or 029 916 3887.