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Last Friday, the City of Pembroke was pleased to once again facilitate a meeting of key stakeholders to discuss areas of concern and success regarding public health.
I, along with members of council and staff, sat with the County of Renfrew Warden and representatives of the Ontario Provincial Police, The Grind, County of Renfrew Paramedic Services, Renfrew County and District Health Unit, and Ontario Addiction Treatment Centres to talk about the current situation of drug use, increased overdoses, and suspected deaths from overdoses in the area. Information sharing and collaboration were highlights of this discussion.
Following our first meeting in March, the police and paramedics committed to joint outreach efforts to support the at-risk population in Pembroke. They have since launched this provincially-unique effort of foot patrols each week through the downtown core where they engage with people, connect them to resources, and support them how they best can during their interaction. This is in conjunction with outreach that was already being done by the mobile crisis response team, a partnership between the police and mental health professionals from Pembroke Regional Hospital.
The Grind noted this effort, along with other touchpoints from different agencies at their space, is making a big difference in the lives of their clients. It often takes many interactions before someone is ready to accept help. The more our local agencies can engage, the better the chances of reaching people to really support them.
With the closure of the warming centre coming up this month, the City and these partners are preparing for what different strategies may be needed to continue to be able to do outreach with this at-risk group. At the end of Friday’s meeting, several agencies stayed behind to discuss more collaborative efforts they could take in the coming weeks and months.
We are aware of gaps in regional services to help with some of the issues we are seeing in the community right now. The County of Renfrew is taking steps to address some of these gaps. Three internal service providers have collaboratively launched the mesa initiative, which “embodies bold and compassionate work to address the root causes of homelessness, substance abuse and addictions and mental health while fostering a resilient and healthier community.”
In the just few short weeks since its launch, the team has had more than 60 contacts in the community (excluding the joint foot patrols), responded to close to 30 emergency calls, and diverted more than 20 people from the emergency room.
These positive steps are happening, and they are happening now.
For our local business community, the City’s economic development office is organizing workshops to help businesses know what to do in emergency and non-emergency situations to support their business and the community.
Our firefighters and staff from different departments also continue to receive training and education on how to manage different situations and help members of the public and facility patrons.
While there are challenges in our community, we are also seeing progress, which will only continue with the collaboration we are seeing across Pembroke right now.
As always, my door is open should ratepayers wish to meet with me to discuss this or other municipal matters that affect them.
Best,
Mayor Ron Gervais
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