Why CSWB?
The City of Dryden is in the process of working with community partners and the public to develop our Community Safety and Well-Being (CSWB) Plan. The plan, which is required under the Province’s Safer Ontario Act, 2018, will outline strategies and actions to improve safety and well-being for everyone in Dryden.
Strategic Alignment
The CSWB approach and process are well-aligned with the City of Dryden’s Community Strategic Plan 2020-2025.
Corporate Vision, Mission and Guiding Principles
Vision: Dryden is recognized as a vibrant, safe, healthy and inclusive community with a diverse economy, providing an exceptional quality of life.
Mission: To deliver sustainable municipal services and infrastructure with courtesy, integrity, transparency, and fiscal responsibility.
Guiding Principles
Inclusion
- Community leadership honours, welcomes, and accepts all people, hearing their diverse voices and working to strengthen cultural relationships and building community inclusiveness
- Encompasses efforts to ensure that programs and services are accessible to all
- Engagement and communication efforts reflect diverse community needs
Safety
- Actions and planning place people and community safety at the centre of all decisions
- Safe, shared use of community spaces is promoted as an element of quality of life
Community Pride
- Well-maintained properties, assets and infrastructure are appealing to residents and visitors
- Civic engagement informs policy and planning through interactions with municipal leadership
- Volunteerism and community leadership is present
Regional Leadership
- Reflects Dryden’s focus on being the regional hub
- Commitment to innovation and knowledge-sharing
- Build and maintain effective local and regional partnerships
Quality of Life
- Champion environmental stewardship, protecting our natural beauty and our access to nature
- Maintain alignment with community values and priorities
- Ensure that all decisions consider how quality of life will be impacted or enhanced
Goal #1: Community Diversity and Inclusion
The City of Dryden will celebrate its diversity and inclusiveness, while ensuring our doors are open and all who enter are welcomed.
Goal #2: Community Safety and Wellbeing
The City of Dryden places safety and wellbeing at the core of our existence and all we do.
Goal #3: Communications and Our People
The City of Dryden respects our employees and our citizens and is committed to responsive and transparent communication.
Background of Community Safety & Well-Being in Dryden and Area:
Since 2016, professional partnerships and networks in Dryden, Machin and the surrounding areas have made significant investments towards the promotion of purposeful models of human services delivery in our community and region. These partners, from various organizations and geographic locations, have come together to solve significant problems and make decisions in real time.
In November 2016, a Situation Table was created by a community steering committee to better serve people who experience high risk circumstances. Twenty-two local service providers participated early on and have remained active in various capacities.
In February 2017, as a continuation of the work of this community steering committee, the Dryden Area Rapid Response Team (DARRT) was formed. The purpose of this response team is:
- To engage and unite human service sectors toward the collective understanding and identification of systemic issues and risk factors that are prevalent in our communities and present a barrier to desired quality of life conditions and outcomes.
- To provide a network of coordinated care and support for vulnerable populations in our communities, thereby promoting the crucial construct of risk/crisis prevention and management.
DARRT became operational in the City of Dryden in March 2017, with services extending to the municipalities of Machin, Ignace, and surrounding communities. In 2017, the Risk Tracking Database for Dryden identified the community’s most emergent three (3) risk factors as: mental health, alcohol/substance abuse, and suicide. In November 2017, the partners involved in the creation of the DARRT identified the need for the development of a Dryden and Area Community Safety and Well-Being Plan. Communities invited to participate in the development of this plan included Eagle Lake First Nation, Ignace, Machin, and Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation.
Over the course of two days in February 2018, the community steering committee hosted partner consultations to identify the risks to our communities, gaps in services, wellness priorities, and strategic investments. At least sixty (60) organizations including municipal leadership from Dryden, Ignace and Machin were in attendance. In June 2018, the steering committee released a draft report of this consultation process.
Later in 2018, the key risk factors in Dryden and Area were identified as: substance abuse, mental health, and victimization. In October 2018, the steering committee entered the first phase of Pillar Development to address the areas of Youth, Prevention Education, Treatment, and Social Development. Ultimately, community safety and well-being planning requires less dependence on reactionary, incident-driven responses, but rather, requires a re-focusing of our efforts and investments towards the long-term benefits of social development, prevention, and elevated risk reduction.
This mindset of moving away from siloed, reactionary measures toward upstream, multi-sector collaborative initiatives has well-positioned our communities to respond to the legislated requirement of developing a community safety and well-being plan. We have remained committed to a proactive approach for addressing community-based issues.
Dryden, Machin and the surrounding areas continue to work together to finalize a Community Safety and Well-Being Plan. This plan will be informed by our residents and community service providers.
