Downtown Oshawa, Carea Community Health Centre, and the City of Oshawa, have partnered to address the issues of homelessness, mental health, and substance abuse in the downtown.
Known as Welcoming Streets Initiative (WSI), the project is a 6-month pilot, said a Downtown Oshawa BIA statement.
Starting November, a social worker and a health promoter from Carea is working out of Downtown Oshawa BIA to address concerns of downtown businesses and to connect vulnerable individuals in the downtown to appropriate services.
The Welcoming Streets Initiative originated in Guelph, Ontario. It was designed to ensure that downtown Guelph is safe, inclusive, and welcoming for all community members.
“Welcoming Streets aligns with our mission and mandate to provide holistic care, support and wraparound services to those in need.” said Francis Garwe, CEO Carea Community Health Centre.
WSI will strengthen our sense of community by enhancing the safety and inclusivity of everyone in the downtown core. This project will also help to improve the image of Downtown Oshawa and will be an integral part of our successful growth and development, said Cindy Malachowski, Chair of Welcoming Streets Committee.
Training
The initiative will also provide necessary training for downtown businesses and employees. These workshops will assist business owners and their employees in handling complex situations when the social worker is not available or is off duty.
The first workshops will be held on November 22nd and 29th from 8 am until 11 am and will focus on Non-Violent Crisis Intervention. Registration is required for these workshops.
Other workshop dates and times will be posted online for registration.
Registration for workshops can be found at:
November 22: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/welcoming-streets-non-violent-crisis-interventiontickets-
79607099979
November 29: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/welcoming-streets-non-violent-crisis-interventiontickets-
79604855265
“We are facing complex socio-economic challenges in our city right now – particularly in our downtown. The Welcoming Streets initiative is a partnership that will help us approach some of these challenges in a human, caring, and effective way by placing social work professionals in our downtown and providing relevant training to our downtown business community.” said Derek Giberson, President of BackDoor Mission.
“We’ve received many calls of concern from businesses that want to learn how to address these complex issues that Downtown Oshawa is facing. The Welcoming Streets Initiative is a great start on bridging the gap between businesses and vulnerable individuals to help provide better support for the community,” said Amanda MacDonald, Executive Director, Downtown Oshawa BIA.