North Bay City Council recently approved the transfer of up to $150,000 to the Community Safety Well-Being operating budget for the Outreach Security Teams Pilot.
The pilot program is designed to "create a safe and welcome space for patrons, visitors, and users of the district amenities while increasing connection for those that find themselves unhoused and unsupported."
The funds will come from the Tax Rate Stabilization Reserve, which has a forecasted balance of $6.6 million, according to the associated staff report.
"Like most other municipalities, North Bay is experiencing an increase in the incidence of social issues impacting the community. These social issues include
addictions, mental health, and homelessness and for many of our vulnerable citizens, they are experiencing all three simultaneously," reads the report from Brent Kalinowski, the City of North Bay's community safety and well-being planner.
In the three weeks leading up to the July 11 meeting, the City of North Bay added security patrols in the areas of the volleyball sand courts, multi-use courts, splash pad, and the Heritage train and carousels on a trial basis. To begin with, the program will focus on the city's core, waterfront, and associated amenities, from noon to midnight on weekdays and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. The pilot will augment the existing Healthy Community Ambassador Program (HCAP), which operates from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. during the week.
"I'm confident this money is a prudent investment in our community," said Coun. Gary Gardiner in support of extending the program and adding an outreach component. "I'm also sure we will not be perfect coming out of the gate but the cost of doing nothing would cost us dearly."
The approved pilot program will extend security and outreach throughout the downtown business core, overseen by the by-law enforcement division, and will be funded until October.
"It was considered critical to pair outreach workers with security personnel," said Gardiner. "Outreach workers are specifically trained to address individuals in distress to de-escalate potentially volatile situations and to provide connections to key service providers in our community."
Coun. Sara Inch said, "I understand that it seems like a lot of money, however, given the need for extra security and safety downtown, and to encourage people to come back downtown to shop, this is an investment in our downtown that we can't refuse."
These patrols, combined with backup from by-law enforcement "has provided an increased sense of security and has served as a deterrent to prevent property damage and disruptive behaviour," noted Gardiner.
He the presence of North Bay Police Service bicycle patrols had "contributed to safer spaces and streets and we need both. To be clear, this outreach pilot is not police work."
According to Kalinowski, "There are increasing communications surrounding safety, overnight sleeping in doorways, garbage and needle/syringe discards, verbal outbursts, panhandling, and at times, criminality.
"Although a number of our community resources employ ‘Outreach’ social support services, those services predominantly exist Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. There is an opportunity to pro-actively address some of the non-criminal, and, at times, disruptive behaviours within the core, while community partners
continue to collaborate towards enhanced longer-term solutions to address the root causes."
"The importance of outreach in the downtown core cannot be underestimated," offered Coun. Mark King. "I hope we're able to continue this outreach program through the winter so no one is left out in the cold. I want to reaffirm there are sufficient low-barrier shelter support systems. No one needs to live outside. They don't need to live in the bush. They don't need to live out in the cold. Outreach will provide that support."
Coun. Justine Mallah, the chair of council's community services committee said she had already heard positive feedback about the heightened security presence in the downtown-waterfront locales.
"The inclusion of an outreach worker with each security person, I think is a really positive change," she said. "It reflects that this is not just about security but also helping those in need and connecting them to resources available in our community."
The outreach/security teams will document incidents and selected measures for review after the pilot period. Measures will be created to examine the results post-pilot for efficacy and future considerations.
Mallah said she looks "forward to the measurements and monitoring results so we can determine if what we are funding is working. I also hope these results will help with advocacy efforts to gain more potential resources to deal with some of the health-related issues we are experiencing in our community. I also look forward to input and feedback from the public and their opinions on whether the program is working."
In addition to reviewing incident reports, performance measures will include police data calls for service, positive social connections to resources, and a DIA survey to gauge the qualitative impact.
Mallah added, "I recognize this is not a fix. It is a band-aid solution. There are additional preventative initiatives that can be done but unfortunately are not within council's control at this time. They must be addressed with enhanced services but this is going to take time. So, until then, we have to try pilot programs such as this one and adjust, as necessary."