People in Chilliwack who are at risk of harm or victimization are benefitting from a $20,000 grant to provide additional training for a community-based model, which brings together a diverse range of front-line workers to deliver better and faster access to services.

Community Safe Situation Tables take a collaborative approach to complex social challenges, bringing together front-line workers from public safety, health and social-services sectors to identify high-risk individuals and rapidly connect them to services and supports they need before they experience a negative or traumatic event.

“Front-line workers from different agencies offer unique perspectives, and by working together, we can help people get the services they need more efficiently, directly from the organizations that provide them,” said Dan Coulter, MLA for Chilliwack. “Supporting vulnerable individuals is the responsibility of the whole community and continuing to fund this initiative will help make Chilliwack safer and stronger.”

Chilliwack is one of 36 communities with community safe situation tables operating throughout the province. The Chilliwack table, known as the Chilliwack Interagency Response Team (CIRT), launched in October 2018, and is comprised of 19 community partners and agencies from health, law enforcement, education, human services and non-profit sectors. The partners meet on a weekly basis to address issues pertaining to their community, such as mental health and addictions, homelessness, poverty, violent repeat offending and survival crime.

“By empowering community front-line workers to work together, we are able to reduce a broad range of risks that can impact a person who is vulnerable, others and the community,” said Kelli Paddon, MLA for Chilliwack-Kent. “This situation table has been a great asset working to benefit people in the city of Chilliwack and will continue to build a stronger sense of safety and togetherness in the entire community.” 

Community Safe Situation Tables provide a structured, collaborative approach to managing complex or urgent circumstances by bringing together key groups and using systematic processes to mitigate risk and develop action plans to respond more effectively and efficiently to the needs of each individual. Furthermore, aggregate data analysis helps policy makers assess gaps and risks in their local communities.

The tables are considered a best practice for improving community safety and well-being by enabling community front-line workers to:

• proactively identify risks through real-time information sharing;
• reduce long-term demand on emergency and police resources;
• leverage and co-ordinate existing community assets and relationships between health supports, victim services and culturally safe support and services;
• plan and deliver collaborative interventions before an incident occurs; and
• reduce increased risk in people’s lives.

Since 2018, more than $3 million has been provided in grants to B.C. regions and communities to facilitate local situation tables, Indigenous intervention circles and other related initiatives. There are 43 funded situation tables and intervention circles in B.C. Thirty-six of these are operational and the other seven are under implementation.

Situation tables are advancing the Safer Communities Action Plan’s goal of creating safe, healthy communities for everyone. The tables build on the programs, services and initiatives the Province has undertaken or implemented to strengthen enforcement to break the cycle of violence and crime, and to strengthen services to keep communities safe and healthy.

Quote:

Ken Popove, mayor of Chilliwack –

“We are grateful to the Province for their continued support of Chilliwack’s situation table, as it is an important and effective inter-agency tool for rapidly connecting vulnerable people to services to reduce risks to their well-being and safety. This additional funding will help train and build additional capacity within our network of agencies who work tirelessly to co-ordinate outreach through the situation table model.”

Quick Fact:

• In October 2018, Chilliwack received $50,000 to implement a Community Safe Situation Table.

Learn More:

For more information about situation tables, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/justice/criminal-justice/policing-in-bc/collaborative-public-safety-program/situation-tables

For more information about ways the Province is making communities safer for everyone, visit: https://strongerbc.gov.bc.ca/safer-communities/