Keeping people safe & well

 

 

Minutes of the Steering Committee meeting
16th meeting

Date:   Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Place:  Banff Avenue Community House
    

Present:
1. Sylvie Manser, Banff Ave. Community House Director
2. Superintendent Charles Bordeleau, OPS.
3. Pat Murphy, Councillor Maria McRae’s Office
4. Mike Justinich, Crime Prevention Ottawa
5. Leslie McDiarmid, Manager BBBF and Community Services
6. Kim Seguin, Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa
7. Jason Arbuthnot, Ottawa Police Services
8. Abid Jan, Project Coordinator, NCLB, SEOCHC
9. Jim Williams (Chair)
10. Chris O’Dell, Boys and Girls Club
11. Victoria Dawson, United Way
12. Anne Menard, Executive Assistant, Councillor Peter Humes Office
13. Michael Pranschke, Supervisor, Children Protection Services
14. Cst. Eddie Wong, Ottawa Police Service.
15. Terri Neathe, Christie Lake Kids
16. Sara Dwyer, Russell Heights Community House.
17. Monique Paguette, United Way
18. Kelli Tonner, Manager Community Service/BBBF, SEOCHC
19. Leslie McDiarmid, manager Health Services, SEOCHC
20. Kevin Schleyer, BGCO

Regrets
Mohamoud Abdulle, Youth Services Bureau
Kevin Shantz, City of Ottawa
Florence Brake, Ottawa Community Housing.
Nick Zeis, City of Ottawa, Parks and Recreation
Sonia Luberti, CPS, City of Ottawa
Sue Skinner, South Ottawa Community Legal Clinic

Call to Order: Mr. James Williams called the meeting to order at 1:15 p.m.

MINUTES

1. It was moved and seconded

That the minutes of the meeting of the NCLB Steering Committee held on Monday, August 07, 2007, be adopted as circulated.
CARRIED

NEXT COMMITTEE MEETING DATE

2. The next meeting of the Committee will be held on Tuesday, November 20, 2007 at 1:00 p.m. at Banff Avenue Community House, 2084 Banff Avenue.

3. PROGRESS UPDATE
(Oral and presentation)
Abid Jan reported on the following progress since the last meeting:

Community level

• All planned activities were going well.
• Community health and safety surveys completed.
• Community multi-cultural dinners were slow due to Ramadan.
• Community mobilization process was still slow in Confederation Court community. Nevertheless, a community trip to a local farm was organized by the Tenants Association and some other activities were in the pipeline for community engagement. Reorganization of the TA to be followed soon.
• Neighborhood Watch was successfully established in Banff Community – an objective the community and partners worked for the last three years. Chief Ottawa Police Service and Councillor Maria McRae will join the community the community on September 29 to launch Neighbourhood Watch and unveil the sign.
• Tenants Association at 1455 Heatherington was going great. Residents were taking advantage of the special breakfast under NCLB initiative and had invited David McGuinty,MPP, Councillor Diane Deans, Mr David Loveridge and Ms Jean Dube besides other service providers.

Action (to be taken): Sharing the results from surveys and work on future action plan with the community and community house directors after Ramadan
Working on revival of Neighborhood Watch in Heatherington.
Conducting thorough evaluation of the three years of NCLB implementation.

Responsible: Abid Jan

City level

• The NCLB Coordinator was in touch with other CHRCs about replicating this model in their respective neighborhoods. Presentations on the NCLB model were made to all staff meetings at two Community Resource Centers and a group of community developers. Presentations to Centre Town and Pinecrest Queensway CRCs were due to take place in October 2007.
• Steve Kanellakos met with the executive directors of CHRCs to look into the possibility of replicating NCLB to other neighborhoods.
• Presentation to the resident doctors at CHEO was planned for Thursday, September 19, 2007.
• A proposal was submitted to HRSDC for sharing NCLB’s experience with other non-for-profit organizations. Seven EDs from CHRCs provided letters of support and intent to replicate the initiative.

Challenges
• Social mobilization in Confederation Court community was a challenge.
• Community infrastructure and facilities in Confederation Court and Russell Heights continued to harbour criminal elements.

Actions: To work with OCH to reorganize the TA as a first step.
Responsible: Abid Jan and Al Nowaczek

Set-up a meeting with Councillor Peter Humes.
Responsible: Abid Jan to follow up with Anne Menard.

Youth program

• Youth surveys were completed. However, there was a need to include more youth in the survey process.
• Youths were working on a Photography project in collaboration with the United Way and the University of Ottawa.
• Drop-in and Council meetings were in progress in three communities. Things got off to a rocky start, but routines were established, and youths were getting into the swing of things. Meetings were being held at Confederation Court on Tuesday and Banff and Russell on Wednesday nights.
• Boys and Girls Club had already started community out reach for the NCLB component and would soon launch the program activities after securing access to the Community House.

Actions: To increase participation of youth in the youth survey.
Responsible: Youth workers in all the four communities

To securing BGC access to Heatherington Community House.
Responsible: Florence Brake from OCH to facilitate BGC in having keys to the community House.

4. PARTNERS’ PROGRESS REPORT

OTTAWA POLICE SERVICE
Cst. Jason Arbuthnot provided the following update:

• Based on a drug warrant eight arrests were made in Confederation Court. Drugs were busted and 16 charges were laid. OPS was able to obtain a vacant unit for surveillance from OCH that became available in Confederation Court. This was an important part of the drug investigation. OCH would also be following up on the eviction process to make sure the community is safe.

• A vacant unit was broken into and vandalized in Russell Heights. No arrest was made possible because it was reported long after the incident occurred.

• Information about other addresses where arrests took place had been shared with OCH for necessary action.

• Several trespass notices were issued in the four communities and one senior building.

• Trespassing signs to be erected by OCH were still outstanding at Heatherington in particular and other communities in general.

• Arrests were made after a shooting incident in Heatherington.

• Street lamps in Russell Heights still needed repair and replacement.

  Actions:

  - Coordination and follow up with OCH.
  - OPS also recommended that OCH needed to put in alarm systems in vacant units to avoid a specific kind of break and enter activity.

  Responsible: Abid Jan to follow up with OCH and make sure that someone from OCH is present at these meetings so as to make OCH and the other partners’ work more coordinated and effective.

BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB:
Kim Seguin updated the meeting about BGC activities in the program area. Education support to the Banff community was being provided. The Youth Worker has already started working in Heatherington and BGC has put in more time and resources to augment the youth engagement work being done under the youth component of the NCLB.
Kevin Schleyer further updated the committee about their youth outreach work, connecting youth to the YSB employment opportunities, helping communities in various events that involve youth and parents, and getting youth connected to various sports leagues.

BANFF COMMUNITY HOUSE

Sylvie Manser informed the committee about the on going activities and highlighted the fact that the coordinated model of the youth programming was very effective. The youth program coordinator and integrated youth programming were the most important pieces missing so far.
Space was an issue for youth programming. The community has pointed out the need for a suitable and safe alternative to the existing outdated portable.

Actions: Pat Murphy would do a follow up to see if there was any possibility to help Banff community have a portable or some other kind of sports facility.

CRIME PREVENTION OTTAWA
Michael Jestinich updated the committee about the progress on adopting Future Aces program approach in Ottawa. Information from Future Aces was received and reviewed during this time. Most of it was based on letter of recognition and anecdotal evidence. CPO was awaiting a systematic study from Future Aces which will provide some evidence- based evaluation of the program. CPO was also conducting local research of getting in touch with the school boards to find out their willingness to welcome Future Aces approach when the province was also coming up with the idea of providing support from character building programs. The CPO initiative in this regard would be city-wide in scope.

 

ADJOURNMENT
Moved and seconded. The meeting adjourned at 2:30pm. Motion carried.

The next meeting of the Committee will be held on Tuesday, November 20, 2007 at 1:00 p.m. at Banff Avenue Community House.

© 2005-15 South - East Ottawa Community Health Centre
Centre de Sante Communautaire du Sud Est D'Ottawa

Contact: Abid Jan Tel./ Tél: (613) 737-5115 Ext. 2403  Fax/Télé: (613) 739-8199

NCLB matters because neighbourhoods matter