(Marie Klassen, executive director of 211 North, speaking a launch of service in the Rainy River District)211 service is now available in the Rainy River district.
It's a phone helpline that residents can call to access information on a variety of services and programs.
Trudy McCormick of the Northwest Community Legal Clinic says callers connect to a live person.
"During office hours during the daytime you'll get someone in Thunder Bay at the information and referral centre there," says McCormick. "After hours the number still works but it's forwarded to a call centre in Toronto because there isn't the need in the north yet to justify the funding for a 24-hour service."
More than 56,000 thousand agencies' data bases are connected to 211 with about 260 of them from the Rainy River district
