City provides resources to residents in areas with high number of overdose incidents, deaths
New community safety plans have been released to help with issues such as substance use, vandalism and the mental health crisis in four Windsor neighbourhoods.
The three-year initiative known as the Substance Supports in Neighbourhoods Access through Police Partnerships (SSNAPP) brought together Windsor police, the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU) and the City of Windsor.
The safety plans are available on the city's website for the downtown area, South Central, Walkerville and East Windsor and South Walkerville.
"I think it's going to make a significant difference," said Ken Blanchette, CEO of the WECHU. "We get questions all the time about what am I supposed to do?"
Those neighbourhoods were selected based on the number of overdose deaths and overdose incidents.
These safety plans provide "access to information ... what you should and can do to help these individuals," he said.
"It comes down to really getting to the root cause. Really being able to affect change earlier on," said Blanchette.
Each neighbourhood safety plan contains information and resources that can help with a variety of issues residents and business owners may witness. (www.ssnapp.ca)
The documents include specific instructions on what someone can do if they witness signs of a mental health crisis, drug overdoses and homelessness.
It also outlines what organizations can be contacted for each specific example.
The four plans are largely the same, focusing on substance use and mental health. However, the N8Y and N8W postal codes also include a section on road safety while the N8X area includes information on theft and trespassing.
The SSNAPP program also provided training to organizations that assist vulnerable individuals so they're better equipped to de-escalate situations, mental health and addictions and complex traumas.
"It's going to be instrumental in terms of community safety and well being, that's the way I see it," said Constable Surjeet Gill, who worked on this new program.
