Community Safety and Well-Being Plan

The City of Ottawa values your voice and wants to hear your ideas and experiences connected to safety and well-being. Feedback collected through the survey will help in the development of strategies and actions for each of the six priority areas to improve services and programs for Ottawa residents.

Connect to the CSWB survey here.

The more detail you can provide, the more effective we can be to develop the strategies and actions to address these priorities in the future.

Check out the Community Toolkit to access many tools and resources to help you better understand and engage with your neighbours and networks on the CSWB Plan. Posters and discussion questions have been translated into multi-languages.

Link to the Toolkit and Resources here.

• Community Conversation Facilitator’s Guide – host your own meeting!
• CSWB factsheets, backgrounder, frequently asked questions, slide deck, and advertising poster

Join us for a virtual community conversation! Development of Ottawa’s first CSWB Plan is underway and we want to hear from you about your ideas for strategies and actions to address the six priority areas.

Please register here for your preferred date as space is limited. 

Each session will discuss one of the CSWB priorities in a small group setting. The virtual meeting will include a brief overview followed by facilitated virtual break-out sessions. Check out our CSWB Resources before your session to learn more about each of the priority areas.

If you require alternate formats or communication supports to participate in this consultation, or have any questions please reach out to us at CSWB/SBEC@ottawa.ca or 613-580-2424 ext. 42489.

Join us for a 24/7 open dialogue on what matters most to you. Questions are posted for each of the six local priorities so we can better understand different life experiences and explore ideas and solutions together.

Link to the Forum here.

These issues are not always easy to discuss and can raise difficult feelings for some. This engagement forum will be moderated to ensure safe conversations. Supports are available locally for those in need:

• Distress Center of Ottawa and Region Distress: 613-238-3311 (24/7); text/chat 613-343-306-5550 (10am-11pm)
• Mental Health Crisis Line (613-722-6914)
• Youth Services Bureau (613-260-2360)
• www.counsellingconnect.org
• Ottawa Public Health: Mental Health Resource Page
• The Royal: Substance Use and Concurrent Disorders

Provide your input on what services and resources are needed in your neighborhood to address the CSWB’s six priorities.

Leave a pin on the map to tell us where you'd like to see a new or enhanced safety or well-being program or service in your community. This might be a service or resource you’ve seen elsewhere. It might be something you have been thinking of or looking for and haven’t been able to find. It might be a service you want to build upon and grow. Don’t forget to tell us a what is needed and why.

Connect to the Places map here.

On October 28, 2020 Council approved the CSWB Interim Report and provided direction on Ottawa’s CSWB plan priorities going forward. The approved priorities are: integrated and simpler systems, discrimination, marginalization and racism, financial security and poverty reduction, gender-based violence and violence against women, housing, and mental well-being.

Discrimination, Marginalization and Racism

We were told stories of discrimination and racism from participants in our consultations and calls to address systemic racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination. Research shows that inequities in the system effect marginalized communities’ disproportionally. We will continue to work with the Anti-Racism Secretariat, the Women and Gender Equity Strategy, partners within the Indigenous community, and many others to move forward on this priority.

Financial Security and Poverty Reduction

Poverty was identified as a critical barrier to well-being and safety during community consultations. This priority is connected and linked with other issues, such as housing, mental well-being, discrimination, employment and basic income. By addressing financial security and poverty reduction as a root cause in the CSWB Plan, it is expected that other aspects of community safety and well-being may benefit in our community.

Gender-based Violence and Violence Against Women

While gender-based violence and violence against women was not initially identified as a priority area of focus based on our community engagement feedback, Council added this priority given feedback from other consultations that had previously occurred and the feedback from community organizations about the prevalence and challenges. The CSWB team recognizes the importance of this issue and will work together with other initiatives, such as the Women and Gender Equity Strategy to ensure alignment and to complement the work being undertaken.

Housing

Housing was identified as a top priority for consultation participants across all demographics. Themes heard related to housing included accessibility and affordability and that alternate transportation was required to connect housing with employment and recreation, the housing wait list needs to be reduced, and homelessness needs to be addressed. The Plan will incorporate and recognize the important work underway in this area and look for opportunities to support and enhance this work.

Mental Well-Being

This priority encompasses mental health, substance use issues and social isolation with the focus on the outcome of mental well-being. During the engagement period, themes about the need for increased awareness of available programs and services, support through all stages of mental health crisis, counselling and harm reduction support, social support and personal safety were heard. Substance use and social isolation are included in the summary based on the advice from Ottawa Public Health and on consultation feedback.

Integrated and Simpler Systems

Integrated and simpler systems is a process priority that will support and enable the work in all other priorities. This priority is about working together collaboratively to create a more streamlined system which could include data sharing, communications and service delivery.

Stay tuned for more engagement opportunities which will be advertised in early 2021 and sign up for our newsletter for more information. The next upcoming public engagement activities will inform the development of objectives, strategies and actions for each priority.

We invite you to check out the CSWB “What We Heard” report, a summary of our priority setting engagement activities and community feedback from March 3 to June 30.

Participants chose up to five safety and well-being priorities when completing the online survey or participating in a discussion forum. We summarize all the topics and provide more details on the top ten to better understand what issues are important and interlinked within our community.

Stay tuned for more engagement opportunities which will be advertised in early 2021.