The Belleville Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the Centre for Healthy Communities at Loyalist College is looking to better identify unique community safety initiatives across the province.
A province-wide research study has been released to help identify unique initiatives taking place to support community safety across Ontario’s small and mid-sized cities.
Over the past year, the Belleville Chamber has worked closely with other chambers of commerce across Ontario to address the growing community safety challenges faced by businesses, organizations, and residents typically identified with the growing mental health & addictions crisis.
The project will help identify both funded and unfunded initiatives currently being undertaken to address these challenges and will provide data to support advocacy and policy recommendations through the Ontario Chamber of Commerce at Queen’s Park.
Chamber CEO Jill Raycroft stated this study represents an important step toward understanding the work, actions and initiatives Chamber members, community partners and individuals are taking on as they adapt to evolving safety challenges.
“We know these issues are not unique to Belleville, and we are proud to collaborate with Loyalist College and chambers across Ontario to ensure our collective voice is heard,” stated Raycroft.
“We stepped in with other chambers following the state of emergency declaration here in 2024 and look forward to sharing this work with the Mayor’s Task Force.”
“The goal of the Mayor’s Task Force is to bring together key community partners to address the immediate challenges and underlying causes of addiction, mental health and homelessness,” stated Mayor Neil Ellis.
“The leadership and resources of the Chamber of Commerce will be vital in developing an action plan that best supports our community, and the insights gathered from this study will be instrumental in achieving our objectives. I commend the Chamber for their initiative and look forward to collaborating closely with them on these crucial issues.”
A link to the survey can be found here.
(BROCK ORMOND)
