Calgary announce plans to address safety in downtown
Posted Jul 5, 2023 6:07 pm.
Last Updated Jul 6, 2023 6:08 am.
Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek announced a new collaboration and a rebranding of a long-time outreach team as part of new ways to address downtown safety Wednesday.
She announced the creation of the Downtown Safety Leadership Table, which will be led by Mark Garner with the Calgary Downtown Association and Heather Morley with Inn from the Cold. It also includes assistance from the Alpha House through a new downtown outreach team.
The two will invite members actively working in the downtown environment, including people from the downtown community, businesses, safety and security professionals, and resident representatives.
The table has 120 days to find targeted, action-oriented approaches to “intentional interventions that are rooted in compassion.”
“This leadership table is really about ensuring the folks that have been coming together and getting engaged for the last 18 months talking about their experiences, and perhaps just as importantly, sharing data and evidence with each other to say this is what we’re observing,” Gondek said.
“It allows that group to actually outline some of the actions that need to be taken by the city.”
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She says the table will be able to identify any gaps where there is no government jurisdiction at this time and will be able to advocate for the creation of a service to address those issues.
The areas of focus include ensuring downtown is comprised of safe and vibrant spaces with an emphasis on evidence-based decision-making, increasing coordination between city administration and the social and private sector to deliver appropriate services, and assessing the need for additional investments in certain public spaces.
She says this will depend on specific geographic areas, including additional programming, cleanliness, new or upgraded infrastructure, or security presence.
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In addition, the Humancentered Engagement and Liason Partnership (HELP), formerly the DOAP team, will support teams that serve East Village, International Avenue, the Beltline, Calgary Transit, and the city more broadly.
“I’ve said many times that the issues of homelessness addiction, crime, and safety are wicked problems that require us to move past ideologies and work together. They also require multifaceted solutions, many of which are already being actioned,” Gondel said.
“We’re taking the politics out of the issue, and we’re letting those with on-the-ground experience guidance.”
Meanwhile, Gardner says they will be working to identify “low-hanging opportunities.”
“Since we’re on the street every day, we know what is occurring and what is impacting the overall experience downtown. And I think what we’ll identify as part of this table is the immediate things that need to be changed,” he told reporters.
“We have to have a different sense of urgency around things that are in our control as part of the municipality, but then also identify the things that we need to be advocating for at the provincial and federal levels.”
Gardner says funds of $100,000 to $200,00 from the Ambassador Program will get HELP up and running through until the end of the year.
