A coalition to tap into provincal funding and help people dealing with addiction, poverty and mental health issues in Windsor could be on the way.
Ward 3 councillor Rino Bortolin says social service groups are beginning to work together on a "municipal plan" to deal with addiction and mental health issues that have been plaguing many areas of the city.
Bortolin told AM800 News Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne alluded to nearly $140-million of provincial funding earmarked for addiction and mental health programs Friday.
He says another $40-million are available at the federal level, the only catch is the government wants to see a plan unique to Windsor.
"She [Wynne] wants to see a specific action plan for our municipality to be able to go out and address the issues," says Bortolin. "That plan will then dictate funding opportunities from the provincial government."
While unemployment is going down, and quality of life have gone up in the city, Bortolin says addiction and mental health issues are still mounting.
He says it's not just relegated to downtown Windsor.
"This is a bigger problem on a broader scale. We need to realize that this isn't an image problem that can just be swept under the rug, this is about a broader problem that really deals with mental health, and drug addiction that really has an impact on hundreds if not thousands of families in our community on a daily basis," says Bortolin.
So many organizations in the area are already doing great things, but now's the time to work together, he added.
If the city's social services can come together with health care organizations, and community programs like the Downtown Mission and the Harm Reduction Network, Bortolin is positive Windsor will see some real change.
"Now we can start looking at how we can start working together to tap into these different resources and this provincial funding, federal funding, what can we do municipally," he says. "A huge thank you has to go out to everybody in all the groups that I've mentioned for the amount of work that's already been put out there."
Bortolin says he's met with several groups already with more meetings on tap throughout the week.
There's no firm deadline in place, but Bortolin says they plan to move forward as quickly as possible.