A member of city council wants to see if a dedicated phone number and more supports can be established to deal with social service issues in Windsor.
Ward 3's Renaldo Agostino has asked administration to bring back a report on the feasibility and cost of establishing such a phone line, similar to the city's existing 311 information line.
Agostino says there are some gaps that need to be filled in social services because the organizations out there trying to help people are doing an incredible job.
"There's a lot of hours where that help is not available and also that there is not a simple phone number for residents or businesses in the community to call when they see someone in distress, whether they're passed out on a corner of Wyandotte and Ouellette or sleeping in a park," he says.
Agostino says residents and business owners don't know what resources to use and he wants to work with the city to address the gaps in service.
"Who do you call, when do you call and is it a local number, is it a 24 hour number? Police need our help and people want to help, there's organizations that are doing that. I just want to tie it all together to make it simpler for the residents and get help for people that need help the most," he says.
As part of his council question during Monday's meeting, he also asked if after-hours services can be established to help those in need and what it would cost.
Agostino says there a lot of things that need attention after hours.
"It's someone who's falling asleep at the Bangladesh clock or if there's needles in a park on a Sunday afternoon, who do you call on a Sunday afternoon? With no 311, the defacto is 911 but it shouldn't be 911," he says.
Agostino hopes are report can come back before council deals with the next budget so it can be included in the discussion process.
With files from Rob Hindi