CBN Joint Council gets funding for safety plan
By Olivia Bradbury / Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Joint Council of Conception Bay North has received a $75,000 grant from the provincial Department of Justice to put together a community safety and well-being plan.
Department officials Sharleen Simmons and Gena Decker discussed the funding with the Joint Council when it met at Carbonear Town Hall last month. Simmons and Decker attended the meeting virtually.
The plans are prt of a program of government designed to foster “the ideal state of a community where everyone is safe, has a sense of belonging, opportunities to participate, and where individuals and families are able to meet their needs for education, health care, food, housing, income, and social and cultural expression,” according to information from the department. The plans are supposed to focus on long-term collaborative efforts to address the root causes and risk factors of crime, as well as other urgent issues.
The plan for CBN is expected to take about a year to put together. The Joint Council will have to appoint a project leader whose salary will come out of the $75,000 grant. The council will also have to form an advisory team based on the priorities it wants to address in the plan.
Simmons and Decker said, ideally an advisory team would have at least seven and no more than 15 members, but there are no limitations. They noted that unlike some communities which have received grants for such a plan, the joint council represents a region and might want its various communities represented on the team. Other communities that are working on Department of Justice funded plans include Mount Pearl, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, and Gander.
Also on hand for the joint council meeting were Jennifer Slade and Lynn Burke Evely of Communities Against Violence. That organization has been active in CBN for about 15 years. While it is based in Harbour Grace, its services encompass most of the Avalon Peninsula. Its mandate is to raise awareness about the importance of considering community safety a paramount goal for people who live in the area. The group tries to draw attention to concerns in the area regarding violence and crime prevention.
When Communities Against Violence heard about the plan that’s to be funded by the Department of Justice, its members wanted to know more, wondering if they might be able to help with it. Slade and Burke Evely said they were attending the meeting to ensure the joint council and department officials were familiar with their role in the community, and to explain how some of Community Against Violence’s work complements the plan’s goals. They said the organization has connections and knowledge of services in Avalon West, and their board includes people from various service providers in the area. They also have office space, staff, and a good understanding of community trends and how to work with government, they said, as their own funding comes from the government in the form of grants.
Joint Council chairman Geoff Seymour, who is also the mayor of Bay Roberts, expressed interest in joining forces with Communities Against Violence for the plan. Decker and Simmons agreed a partnership could be beneficial. They said the department would support the partnership and the way the Joint Council wants to run the project.