How to save tax dollars by spending more on preventative measures on community well-being
Along with the City of Ottawa’s Community Safety and Wellbeing Plan which was mandated by the provincial government there was also a very well thought out report on how to deal with Community Safety in Ottawa called Rethinking Community Safety in Ottawa released recently by the Coalition of Community Health and Resource Centres of Ottawa including the Pinecrest Queensway Community Health Centre.
The report recognizes the need to re-examine how resources are deployed to address safety needs here in Ottawa. There are many practical solutions on how to improve community safety other than policing. We can look to other cities where they have developed more effective approaches .
I appreciate that this report is written by those who work on the front lines with first hand experience working with vulnerable members of our community. It’s time to look at preventative measures to improve the lives of others rather than spending tax dollars on the criminal justice system.
A message from the authors to the report
“We encourage City Council, and the whole community, to take the steps immediately available, and to begin to plan for future years and future opportunities, including ongoing efforts to explore better models for community safety in future years and in future budgets, and to ensure that those who do not see themselves represented play an active role in rounding out this analysis to make it more representative of organizations that are led by and for the BIPOC community.”