On Monday July 15 members of Town of Midland Council went store to store greeting downtown merchants and sharing resources developed to help community members as they interact with vulnerable residents facing challenges such as homelessness, addictions, or mental health crises.
Deputy Mayor Beth Prost, Councillors Catherine MacDonald and Jamie-Lee Ball were accompanied by County of Simcoe Social Services staff and members from the One Community Solutions (OCS) team on their tour.
“I’m happy we were able to get this Toolkit and poster out into the community as helpful resources for residents, business owners and their staff,” said Deputy Mayor Beth Prost. “We’re also grateful for the support of County staff and One Community Solutions team members as they helped to distribute the booklets and introduced themselves and the Community Safety Team program.”
The Community Safety Team is operated by OCS which specializes in managing crises and de-escalating situations to support community safety and wellbeing. Their approach centres on establishing meaningful relationships with those experiencing homelessness to provide referrals to social supports and keep the broader community safe. This program is now in place in downtown Midland and is supported by funding from the County.
The Community Response Toolkit and the “Who to Call” poster were developed after a community symposium was hosted in Midland and led by the County of Simcoe Social Services department in October 2023. The Hope, Housing and Health homelessness prevention symposium included a daytime workshop with community partners and a public session with a panel of community experts in the evening. The resources were made available on the County of Simcoe website in May 2024. County of Simcoe and Town of Midland release new Community Response Toolkit.
