Safer Community Committee
The Safer Community Committee (SCC) was comprised of neighbours, local businesses, community organizations, South Riverdale Community Health Centre board members and community advisors who have volunteered to help improve the safety and well-being in Leslieville. There were a total of five meetings, the last meeting took place on Wednesday, October 5th. Below, you will find the Terms of Reference, Membership, Biographies and meeting summaries. All biographies are presented as they were submitted by the individual committee members. Meetings were facilitated and Dana Granofsky, BGM Strategy Group, prepared summaries below.
South Riverdale Committee issues call to action on substance use services
November 17, 2023
Today the South Riverdale Community Health Centre (SRCHC) released the final report of the multi-stakeholder Safer Community Committee (SCC), which launched in the aftermath of the July 7, 2023 shooting death of Karolina Huebner-Makurat near the SRCHC.
We want to thank neighbours for their continued feedback to the health centre, demonstrating their ongoing commitment to community safety and improving access to substance use and mental health services. Despite the challenging process, we want to thank the committee for their invaluable contributions and insights throughout the process.
The committee’s report is a call to action for the SRCHC to strengthen and in some cases expand the services we provide to our clients. It is also adamant that we deliver these services in ways that ensure safety and security for our clients, our staff and our community. While we understand that no recommendation conclusively carries the support of the majority of members of the committee and that the consultation process itself was a difficult one for members, we believe the insights and findings will be useful in determining how we continue to deliver critical health services to the people in East Toronto.
The report makes 27 recommendations to address substance use and mental health issues, crime and community impacts. Recommendations call for action by the Centre, municipal, provincial and federal health officials and governments, Toronto Police Services, and the local community.
The report makes it clear that the two priorities of delivering public health and achieving public safety are inseparable in the South Riverdale community. This report and process were completed prior to the appointment of a CTS site supervisor. We believe that this report is important to share with our partners and stakeholders. SRCHC’s board and leadership are committed to working with our partners to identify and implement next steps.
Finally, we are grateful to BGM Strategy group for their facilitation of the consultation process and for authoring this report and recommendations that will contribute to meaningful, attainable actions to address health issues and safety challenges in South Riverdale.
Emily Hill
Chair, SRCHC Board of Directors
SCC Terms of Reference
Membership
Membership list
Committee member biographies
Meeting Summaries
Meeting summaries prepared by Dana Granofsky, BGM Strategy Group.
July 27, 2023
August 3, 2023
September 7, 2023
September 18, 2023
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