Have your say for a safer, healthier Durham Region

Ryan Rogers
Thestar.ca
June 10, 2021

Thu., June 10, 2021timer3 min. read
In 2019, the Regional Municipality of Durham began preparing a Community Safety and Well-Being Plan (CSWP) in partnership with the Dur2ham Regional Police Service, focused on collecting community input, but their work was interrupted in March 2020 by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The plan identifies how and where residents feel safe, have a sense of belonging and where individual’s and families’ needs are met for education, health care, food, housing, income and social and cultural expression.

Up to the pandemic interruption, community input and survey responses identified several priority areas to improve safety and well-being.

Results indicated mental health, substance use, homelessness and basic needs, criminal involvement, victimization and social isolation as pre-pandemic priority areas.

A senior planner for Durham Region’s planning and economic development department, Kiersten Allore-Engel says social service providers have observed that the pandemic has exacerbated these already dangerous problems. Stresses are higher and access to services is lower, directly related to the pandemic restrictions put in place.

“I’ve heard early feedback from our working group that includes first responders and front-line workers and it indicated that along with the other concerns, there’s an increased risk for those suffering from mental health and social isolation,” she says.

These increased stressors, in association with decreased access to social services due to social distancing and public gathering restrictions, suggest Durham Region’s public experiences with safety and well-being may have changed as a result of the pandemic.

The CSWP steering committee has returned to surveying the community to identify the needs of those who live or work in Durham.

“We really want to hear from the community about where those priority areas are,” says Allore-Engel.

The responses will inform the next steps in the CSWP’s development and identify if the priority areas have changed since the pandemic struck.

Once identified, the plan outlines how to deliver services in an integrated manner, across a range of sectors, agencies and organizations, to assist partners whose mandates are focused on community safety and wellness.

“We felt it was necessary for the plan to reflect the pandemic’s impact,” says Allore-Engel. “We started the consultation process again, building on the previous work. We know COVID-19 has revealed new vulnerabilities in the communities, and it’s also resulted some new partnerships and bodies of work, so this will help us to better understand the shift in priorities … given the impact of the pandemic,” she adds.

“We’re doing a mass consultation with our council, our area municipalities, our steering committee members, our service providers, members of the public, and it’s this feedback from the community that’s going to have a meaningful impact to direct the input on the final plan,” says Allore-Engel.

“The details are going to come out of this engagement phase, so what we hear from this committee is going to directly inform the action items of the plan, and the plan will focus on the right services, for the right people at the right time,” she adds.

The surveys close June 18 and can be completed online or by phone. To give feedback, visit www.durham.ca/CSWP.

“The survey is a great way to participate, we also have the open houses posted on the project website where we’re inviting the community to self select which group they identify with and which open house to attend,” says Allore-Engel.

“It’s a really a great opportunity right now for the community to get involved, we have this survey, we have the open houses and truly we hope to hear from the community before we determine our next steps,” says Allore-Engel.

“It’s important also to note, this plan will be a living document, updated in an ongoing basis, with ongoing opportunity for feedback and involvement,” she says.

On the project website, anyone can subscribe for project updates and stay informed on opportunities to continue to provide feedback.

“I would really recommend people subscribe to that mailing list on the website to keep them informed,” says Allore-Engel.

STORY BEHIND THE STORY

The Uxbridge Times-Journal recently checked in with Durham Region officials to get an update on the Community Safety and Well-Being Plan.