Neighbourhood safety plans are now available in the Town of Essex.
The plan is being launched by the Substance Supports in Neighbourhoods Accessed through Police Partnerships (SSNAPP) team, comprised of the Essex County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU), and Windsor-Essex Community Safety and Well-Being Plan, and is now available in Essex.
The SSNAPP project, which currently exists in the City of Windsor, aims to enhance community well-being, strengthen public safety, and address local concerns related to mental health and substance use.
The safety plans provide residents and business owners with information about how to respond to various safety situations including opioid overdoses, mental health crises, and road safety, and is catered to the unique needs of Essex.
The plan was put together by the SSNAPP team, community agencies, and Essex residents.
Jenny Bradt, WECHU's Manager of Substance Use Prevention & Harm Reduction, says this is a guide for residents who may be unsure of what to do.
"The safety plans overall were developed through feedback from community members who live, and work in Essex, business owners, service providers, and they had identified a number of topics that were priority for them to really understand who to call, what to do in different situations.")
She says the need in Essex is there.
"When we were looking at different county areas as to where to create these neighbourhood safety plans, we were looking at some EMS data related to substance use crisis, and that's where the Town of Essex was identified as having some higher rates of EMS calls related to substance use."
Bradt says the existing plans in Windsor have proven to be successful.
"Following the development people had a much better understanding of who to call in different situations, whether it was for an emergency service, or a non-emergency service. So those neighbourhood safety plans that were created in those areas were really effective."
A $50,000 grant was used to create the plan and conduct training.
Neighbourhood safety plans currently exist in South Central Windsor, Walkerville, South Walkerville and East Windsor.
A neighbourhood safety plan has also been developed for Leamington and will be launched in early March.