Community Safety & Well-Being

Northumberland County, in collaboration with residents and partner agencies, has developed a plan to improve safety and well-being in our community.

About the Community Safety & Well-Being Plan

Municipalities are required, under the Province's Safer Ontario Act, 2018, to develop a Community Safety & Well-Being Plan (CSWBP). In April 2019, County Council passed a resolution that Northumberland County would lead this effort on behalf of local municipalities. In June 2021, County Council endorsed the CSWBP developed for Northumberland, and the County submitted the plan to the province in July 2021.

The goal of this plan is for residents and local agencies to collectively develop and implement actions that will address the root causes of crime and complex social issues within the community. Through this collaboration, a plan has been developed that focuses local efforts and investments towards the long-term benefits of social development, prevention, and—in the short-term—mitigating risk factors. Emphasis is on prevention measures designed to improve quality of life for all.

Specifically, this plan includes:

  • Local priority risk factors that have been identified based on community consultations and multiple sources of data;
  • Evidence-based programs and strategies to address those priority risk factors; and
  • Measurable outcomes with associated performance measures to ensure that the strategies are effective and outcomes are being achieved.

Plan priorities and goals

Priority A: Homelessness and Affordable Housing
Goals
  1. Align leadership from the Collaborative Committee with current Housing and Homelessness Plan goals.
  2. Ensure more support is available to meet the needs of precariously housed people; develop and implement prevention approaches to enable people to retain housing.
  3. Increase opportunities for housing support service agencies to collaborate.
  4. Support and advocacy for increased housing and shelter options for people across the county.

Read about Priority A objectives, activities and measures of success

Priority B: Mental Health
Goals
  1. Increase access to services, including availability outside of traditional office hours, in a range of settings, and delivered at the time of need.
  2. Ensure meaningful collaboration between mental health partners.

Read about Priority B objectives, activities and measures of success

Priority C: Poverty, Income and Employment
Goals
  1. Support activities that promote employment options and skill building through education providers.
  2. Coordination and development of an agreed definition of poverty and measure of success across Northumberland.
  3. Explore options for food security.
  4. Explore how social determinants of health could be improved for vulnerable people within the healthcare system and outside of traditional medical model.

Read about Priority C objectives, activities and measures of success

Priority D: Substance Use and Addiction
Goals
  1. Increase housing options available for people living with addictions.
  2. Addictions prevention services and safety programs are available across the County.
  3. Community education and information; develop a consistent way to inform and share.
  4. Alternative resolutions and responses.

Read about Priority D objectives, activities and measures of success

View our Community Safety & Well-Being Plan

Plan implementation

Infographic of labelled arrows showing progress of plan implementation timeline including stage 1 implementation planning, stage 2 data alignment, stage 3 data collection, stage 4 best practice reporting and stage 5 plan analysis

Stage 1: Implementation planning

Quarter 1 2022:

  • Structure determination
  • CSWB Collaborative Committee established and clear governance determined 

Stage 2: Data alignment

Quarter 1 2022:

  • Meetings with groups
  • Exploring organization partnership opportunities

Stage 3: Data collection

Quarter 2 2022:

  • Data group established
  • Alignment agreements signed
  • Data received

Stage 4: Best practice reporting

Quarter 3 2022:

  • Community reports produced
  • Network established to build capacity and determine best practices

Stage 5: Plan analysis

Quarter 4 2022:

  • Review of plan priorities including successes and challenges, and reestablish local priorities including public consultation

Collaborative Committee

The CSWB Collaborative Committee was established in November 2021 to support the implementation of the CSWB plan across Northumberland County. The Collaborative Committee includes representation from CSWB-identified priority service sectors including municipalities, police, fire, health, mental health, developmental, social and community services.

The committee drives inter-agency collaboration and coordination to enhance life stabilization services in the community. These services support residents to be healthy, successful and safe in their communities. The committee is establishing common local indicators to demonstrate success. Indicators may include new services available to support people across Northumberland, additional resources available for agencies to be able to sustain and expand services, and shared targets to jointly assess progress over time. News and updates will be published annually identifying completed actions and achievements, as well as challenges and new opportunities that have been identified.

Collaborative committee members
  • Vacant - Workforce Development Board
  • Chief Susan Brown - Northumberland County Paramedics
  • Regan Turner - Community Living
  • Suzanne Anquetil - Highland Shores Children's Aid Society
  • Taryn Rennicks - Community Health Centres of Northumberland
  • Adrienne Bell-Smith - Family Health Team of Northumberland
  • Vacant - Youth Services 
  • Carol Beauchamp - Rebound Child and Family Services
  • Councillor Lucas Cleveland - Northumberland County
  • Maggie Darling - United Way
  • Vacant - Fire Services 
  • Pam Stuckless - HKPR Health Unit
  • Lisa Horne (Chair) - Northumberland County Community and Social Services
  • Chief Paul Vandegraaf - Cobourg Police Service
  • Himanshu Shah - Canopy Support Services
  • Emma Taylor - NHH Community Mental Health Services
  • Vacant - Board of Education 
  • Vacant - Justice Services 

View Collaborative Committee meeting minutes

Additional resources

Council reports

Presentations