Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
211 British Columbia offers a searchable online directory of community, government, and social services throughout British Columbia. It is the online legacy of the original printed Red Book Directory that was published from 1958 until 2007. Until March 2017, the directory covered only the Metro Vancouver, Fraser Valley, Squamish-Lillooet, and Sunshine Coast regional districts. Since April 2017, the directory was expanded to include resource listings for all of BC.
The resource information on bc.211.ca is collected directly from the organizations listed on the site. United Way BC’s Helpline Services team works tirelessly to gather and maintain up-to-date community and government services information.
There are firm guidelines around the types of services that are included in our resource database. Read our Listing Inclusion Criteria to understand the scope of our database and the standards by which inclusion/exclusion decisions are made.
We will be happy to review your organization or service for inclusion in our database. Please review our Listing Inclusion Criteria to see what organizations can be included in our database. See our Update or Suggest a Listing page for more information. There is no fee for applying or inclusion in our database.
If you have suggestions for resources that are not yet in the directory, we would welcome learning about them. See our Update or Suggest a Listing page for more information, and send us your suggestions in an email.
See our Update or Suggest a Listing page for more information.
A printable list of resources is available in a variety of ways:
- Search results can be printed and downloaded from the website.
- When calling 211, your Navigator can email you a summary of the resources discussed if you provide your email address.
- You may order a customized resource list by emailing 211-updates@uwbc.ca and providing a detailed description of what you’re looking for.