ESTEVAN — The Estevan Chamber of Commerce's latest Coffee Talk on Nov. 1 was dedicated to discussing the Estevan Community Safety and Well-being pilot project.
Chamber executive director Jackie Wall told the members more about what it is about and the associated survey that the chamber is asking people in the community to fill out.
"The community safety and well-being survey is part of a pilot project that is being delivered through SEDA, which is the Saskatchewan Economic Development Alliance, with funding from the provincial government," Wall said.
"The community safety and well-being is the ideal state of the community where everyone is safe, has a sense of belonging, opportunities to participate, and where individuals and families can meet their needs for education, health care, food, housing, income, and social and cultural expression.
"So the focus of Community Safety and Well-being [project] is we need to move away from reactionary or incident-driven responses towards long-term benefits of multi-sectoral collaboration, social development, prevention and well-being," Wall added.
She noted that they are currently collecting the public's input on people's vision of safety and well-being in Estevan, and she encouraged all chamber members participating in the event to spread the word so they could get as many opinions as possible.
"The chamber is part of the stakeholder group that is working on this plan. It is a pilot project. So, we're hoping that the Saskatchewan government will see the need for this and the benefits of this within our community. We're the only ones in the south. There are three [similar projects] in the north that are happening as well," Wall said.
She noted that on board with them for the project are the City of Estevan, the Ministry of Social Services, United Way Estevan, Southeast College, the local addictions centre, the Estevan Public Youth Centre, Estevan Comprehensive School, Estevan Early Years Family Resource Centre, Estevan Salvation Army, St. Joseph's Hospital, Estevan EMS and other groups, with more potentially joining as they are having their second session on Nov. 21.
This collaboration is required to increase awareness about resources available in the community, and also to highlight the gaps when it comes to safety and well-being in Estevan.
"Part of this is to strengthen what is already here and to make sure that all of these different stakeholders know what is available in the community when it comes to safety and well-being. [The other part is] to provide good feedback to the facilitator to be able to put together into the second session, where we take a look at what we need to do within our community to address well-being and safety," Wall explained.
Some of the issues that were established through previous research by the United Way are addictions, anxiety and depression among the population. The mental health crisis among children and youth was discussed, as were the struggle among adults. Another problem that was brought up is growing homelessness, along with work accessibility issues that people with disabilities face.
Wall noted they already have some data from the Estevan Police Service and other previous research, but the current survey is more like a focus group or a town hall, which invites everyone to speak to what they see as safety and well-being issues, as well as note some of Estevan's strengths. The focus is to develop a proactive strategy for the community, Wall said.
United Way Estevan executive director Heidi Hesselink noted that while the level of safety in Estevan seems to be high when compared to other communities, a lot of people struggle with well-being, which eventually also may transfer into safety issues.
Wall said that they are working alongside the other communities involved with similar pilot projects, which is beneficial for the province as a whole.
"This pilot project can help to provide resources for our community, and also gives the Saskatchewan government the idea of where we need to start putting more attention in their system," Wall said.
"Once this is all done, it's not just going to be a report that goes to the government. The stakeholders that are involved, if there is an initiative that comes up, there's three months of coaching to make sure that those initiatives are moving forward. And this is going to be something that's going to continue and be maintained past the pilot project date," Wall said.
To take a three-minute survey about safety and well-being in Estevan, please go to www.surveymonkey.com/r/NSGQ3QG.
