Community Safety and Well-Being (CSWB) is an integral component of vibrant communities.
The County of Dufferin works with partner agencies to collaborate and take action on safety and well-being in our community.
Research, reporting and action on community well-being have been happening in our region for many years. Building on past efforts led by Headwaters Communities In Action (2012 and 2016), the CSWB work launched in 2020 incorporated the provincial mandate requiring municipalities to develop a community plan. This was done in collaboration with 30+ local Dufferin agencies, and the process continues today, following a four-year planning cycle.
STRUCTURE
A structure has been established to lead the implementation of strategies and actions related to the CSWB Plan. This structure makes use of existing planning tables in Dufferin County and ensures that there is an integrated response that optimizes resources and recognizes the inter-relationships among the priority areas.
Integration Table
The Integration Table facilitates a proactive, balanced and collaborative response across priority areas. It is made up of more than 30 local organizations. This table is chaired by two individuals – one from the community and the other from the County of Dufferin.
Lead Tables
Each priority area is assigned a Lead Table, leveraging existing planning tables where appropriate, and creating new ones when necessary.
MEASURE
We measure TEN elements of community safety and well-being:
- Health (Mental and Physical)
- Housing
- Standard of Living
- Learning and Education
- Activities and Recreation
- Democratic Engagement
- Sense of Belonging
- Community Safety
- Accessibility of Programs, Services and Supports
- Climate and Environment
Information is gathered through a combination of methods including a public survey, focus groups and community conversations as well as census and other available data sources.
PRIORITIZE
Next we analyze data and develop priorities for the next four years. Here are the FIVE Priority Areas and associated Lead Tables for 2021-2024:
- Mental Health and Well-being: Hills of Headwaters Ontario Health Team Mental Health and Addictions Work Group
- Housing and Homelessness: Dufferin County Equity Collaborative (DCEC) Housing & Homelessness Working Group
- Substance Use and Addiction: Dufferin-Caledon Drug Strategy Committee
- Discrimination, Marginalization, and Racism: County of Dufferin Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Community Advisory Committee (DEICAC)
- Community Safety and Violence Prevention: Dufferin/Caledon Domestic Assault Review Team (DART)
Analyzing and prioritizing is done through a combination of Integration Table meetings, “data walk” sessions and consultation with the community.
PLAN
We then make a plan to address priority areas, selected outcomes and performance indicators, considering actions across FOUR levels of intervention:
- Incident Response
- Risk Intervention
- Prevention
- Social Development
MONITOR
The Integration Table meets quarterly and members give updates about actions taken to impact the selected performance indicators in each priority area in the plan, and at each level of intervention. A dashboard is produced for available metrics and annual reports are published to show interim progress on the plan and to share information with the community. Future plans and reports will show changes in all elements over time.
