Daily Herald Staff
The City of Prince Albert launched their new Community Safety and Well-Being (CSWB) web page today at www.citypa.ca/cswb.
The goal is to create solutions to community problems by improving collaboration and communication, while making it easier for groups and individuals to partner together.
Community safety and well-being manager Anna Dinsdale said effectively responding to chronic risk requires breaking down silos in conversations and work. She said the Community Safety and Wellbeing web page can help identify caps in services, and allow organizations to coordinate with each other, the provincial and federal governments, and Indigenous organizations.
“We cannot do this work alone, but we can provide a leadership role,” Dinsdale said in a press release. “There are so many agencies doing important work in Prince Albert. We believe that aligning these agencies and mobilizing everyone to common goals can have a meaningful impact on crime and social issues.”
More than 20 organizations have come together through the Community Solutions Forum to address issues like crime, substance abuse, mental health challenges, garbage accumulation, and homelessness.
Individuals who participate include community-based organizations, businesses, and community members. The page identifies the initiatives underway in Prince Albert and how community members can get involved. It also aims to be transparent about the work and progress made.
City Council set this work in motion when they launched the Homelessness Action Initiative in the fall of 2021. That project identified that social issues, including homelessness, are driven by individuals and families experiencing “chronic risk,” which refers to the ongoing likelihood of a person making future decisions based on previous experiences, e.g. history of substance abuse, violence, depression, etc.
“We are all frustrated by the problems our community has been experiencing,” Mayor Greg Dionne said in a press release. “Many people don’t realize the breadth of work underway and think that The City has been ignoring these issues, which is untrue. We hope this web page will improve communication, public awareness, and participation.”
editorial@paherald.sk.ca
