THE BATTLEFORDS — So, what's actually in the City of North Battleford's recently approved Community Safety and Well Being (CSWB) plan?
As the document's introduction notes, the City of North Battleford has recently struggled with perceptions of being an unsafe community, influenced by Crime Severity Index (CSI) data published by Statistics Canada annually.
"The CSWB plan is focused on addressing the underlying risk factors that are likely contributing to the CSI but the strategies are focused on creating a healthier community," reads the city's plan.
The plan runs from 2024-2028, and although it won't affect the budget this year, Randy Patrick, North Battleford's city manager, noted to council on March 25, that it will likely come up for future councils if the plan is expected to work in addressing several keys areas listed below.
The roughly 50-page plan includes a breakdown of those who may be included on the steering committee, such as various levels of government including nine local First Nations. The working group, on the other hand, includes over 20 community agencies ranging from the Chamber of Commerce and the RCMP to the Saskatchewan Health Authority and Living Sky School Division.
The plan then digs deeper into six different key areas where focus is needed over the next four years to address the community's wellness, eventually leading to a reduction in crime and an increase in public safety.
Coordination & Integration of Service Providers
Firstly, through community and stakeholder consultation, the plan noted that a commonly arising theme was a lack of communication between agencies in the Battlefords.
To address this, the city hopes to hire a CSWB coordinator in 2024 to facilitate the creation of the steering committee and working group. Also in 2024, the city would plan to create a mechanism to measure successful collaboration. Lastly, by 2026, the city aims to create a service provider portal for referrals among agencies.
This would hopefully reduce wait times or waitlists, reduce calls for emergency services, and foster an increase in community cohesion, safety, and well-being.
The lead group on this is the City of North Battleford.
Mental Health and Addiction
Noting the importance of dealing with mental health and addiction — adding that anecdotally these issues are seemingly driving crime in the Battlefords — the plan hopes to establish a sobering centre and 24-hour drop-in centre by 2025, and develop a homeless outreach program and a Mobile Crisis Response Team by 2026.
That same year would also see the establishment of one community based organization to be responsible for harm reduction services and advocacy.
"Concurrent challenges, defined as 'the simultaneous occurrence of a mental health and substance use challenge,' was identified by interviewees as a top priority risk factor to be addressed in the CSWB Plan," noted the city's plan.
In the long-term, the city hopes one of the outcomes of those initiatives would be decreased crime in the community. It would also hopefully reduce reliance on emergency and protective services related to mental health and substance use challenges and reduce the number of calls for emergency services.
The lead group on this is unknown at this time.
Housing
Turning to housing, the city noted there is a community gap in appropriate and supported housing to address the various social dilemmas that are currently present in the community.
"Negative outcomes in mental health, addiction, and disability are also contributing factors to housing insecurity in the City of North Battleford. It was reported that there are some programs but not a sufficient number to serve the demand," read the city's plan.
This year, the city would like to do a comprehensive review of housing stock. By 2026, the city hopes to assess the need for and develop transitional and/or supportive housing if necessary.
Finally, by 2028, the city would like to implement a crime-free multi-housing program, which would educate and support property owners and landlords to create safer properties and reduce crime by incorporating crime prevention techniques through environmental design.
If successful, the city expects to see increased safety for landlords and residents while increasing the amount of people housed in the community. The lead group on this the Battlefords Housing Authority.
Youth Supports
"As with many of the risk factors present in this report, intergenerational trauma, challenges related to substance use and poverty are often underlying factors that impact parenting outcomes while further isolating youth into their experiences," notes the report, adding later that the overall North Battleford child poverty rate is 28.1 per cent.
Plans to support youth in the Battlefords include educating the community about youth programming by 2024. By 2028 the city's plan would like to establish supportive housing for youth, effectively decreasing the chance of chronic homelessness, and establish a youth shelter.
Long term results would see more youth employment, school attendance, and higher self esteem.
The lead group at this time is unknown.
Transportation
Noting that the City of North Battleford would like to increase access to transportation as it can affect families with lower socioeconomic statuses, the plan hopes to see a bussing needs study done by 2025 before creating and executing a Public Transit Awareness Campaign.
Long-term success in this area would see increased transit ridership and improved community mobility.
The lead group at this time is North Battleford Public Transit.
Community Engagement
The last key required for success is community engagement, added the city, especially noting the importance of building relationships with Indigenous groups and working towards reconciliation.
"The Indigenous community is extremely important in the overall fabric of the city and surrounding region," read the plan.
By 2026, the city would like to see a central volunteer registry created, establish volunteer awards, and create awareness around opportunities for volunteers.
In the long-term, the community would see more cohesion, increased volunteer retention, and increased capacity for organizations.
The lead group at this time is the City of North Battleford.
— This story was first published by the Battlefords News-Optimist on SASKTODAY.ca May 28, 2024.
