The Thunder Bay Police Service’s Community Oriented Response (COR) Unit started a new project this week aimed at connecting some of the city’s most vulnerable to the social service agencies best able to support them.
Part of a larger initiative called Project Prevent, COR officers have begun the Property Management Collaboration (PMC).
“It’s a collaboration between the Thunder Bay Police, various shopping areas, and our social partners,” explained COR Unit Cst. Joe Zaina. “Our goal is to connect some of the vulnerable people with social navigators.”
COR Unit officers often make contact with homeless and other vulnerable citizens during their day-to-day duties in and around some of the city’s shopping centres. Without social agency partnerships, the police service has limited tools to assist these citizens. What law enforcement tools they do have, may not always be appropriate.
With social navigators, however, new solutions and opportunities become available.
“So we’ll have social navigators with us,” Cst. Zaina said. “People we can put in contact with these vulnerable people so they’ll have resources available to them right away.”
Not only does the police service hope this will directly link people to services they’d be otherwise unaware of, it gives officers a chance to address the ongoing safety issues surrounding the solicitation of money in parking lots.
The project is aimed at meeting individuals where they are, in hopes a relationship can be developed, trust built and services accepted.
“The people of Thunder Bay are very generous,” Zaina said. “They see someone in need and they want to give help, they want to give them money. But giving them money in a parking lot is unsafe. If you want to give money, if you want to give help, give a donation to a food bank, or help with the shelter.”
Police hope the connection to social navigators, and the supports their agencies provide, could become a long-term solution for people in need.
“If they’re homeless, it may allow them to be connected to a pathway of having a home,” said Community Services Branch Insp. Derek West. “It might be as simple as a rooming house or an apartment.”
Connections to food security, mental health and addiction services may also help vulnerable citizens find long-term solutions.
“Our end goal is public safety,” said Insp. West. “The path forward includes all people believing in their sense of belonging to this community. We can enforce laws, but that doesn’t give the people the support they need. We encourage community action by connecting people who need supports with people and agencies who can make a difference.”