New website helping residents track local and collaborative efforts to improve community safety

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As municipal and community partners in Stratford, St. Marys and Perth County work together to address the systemic and complex social issues identified in the Community Safety and Well-Being Joint Plan, residents of the area will be able to track and better understand these issues through a new website.

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Earlier this year, Stratford, St. Marys and the four lower-tier municipalities of Perth County unveiled their new Community Safety and Well-Being Plan – a roadmap to a more collaborative approach to solving important issues and complexes affecting the safety and well-being of the community.

“The website keeps abreast of the latest news on how we are progressing with the implementation of the plan and what is happening and coming up with our key stakeholders,” said Stratford Director of Social Services , Kim McElroy, who, along with Stratford Police Chief Greg Skinner, co-chairs a community safety and well-being partnership council comprising a leadership team, a stakeholder committee and various stakeholder groups. action.

“We recognized early in this process that communication is key,” added Skinner. “Anytime we can communicate with the public and let them know what’s going on, what the status of the plan is, how the plan is progressing, it will be positive and keep people up to date with what’s going on and, hopefully, will improve participation in the overall security and well-being of the six participating communities.

Developed over the past several years by an advisory committee made up of representatives from the six municipalities, police, social service agencies, school boards, Huron Perth Public Health and the Huron Perth Healthcare Association, the plan includes a list of priorities to be achieved based on a comprehensive public engagement process that solicited input from a diversity of voices exploring the strengths, assets, protections, partnerships, risks and gaps of existing services and supports.

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These priorities include:

“The implementation of this plan involves bringing the partnership board together to work collaboratively on key issues to ensure that there is no duplication of services and that we are maximizing our services and leveraging our services we currently have in place to progress towards our goals outlined in the plan, ”said McElroy.

“Many of these initiatives already exist. It is about bringing them together and raising their awareness.

By visiting cswb-stratfordperthstmarys.com, area residents can learn more about how the plan was developed, local safety and wellness priorities, and how stakeholders and action groups of the Partnership Council strive to promote and connect the dots between local organizations and service agencies. that tackle issues such as homelessness, poverty, hunger, mental health and affordable housing in Perth County.

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“When we have all of these independent moving parts, we don’t have a real, coordinated effort in how we provide service to the public and communicate what services are provided to the public,” Skinner said.

“So that’s what we’re looking to do with the community safety and well-being plan – to have this global coordination plan that everything can build on, and then these key leaders of our communities with decision-making capacities. can begin to focus their efforts collectively and collaboratively across the county.

For more information on the plan or to contact the partnership board, email [email protected]

[email protected]