Justice Minister Cliff Cullen announced a $5 million investment to improve health, well-being and safety in downtown Winnipeg through expanded street outreach.
“Whether you live, work or play downtown, we want to make sure everyone feels safe in the heart of Winnipeg, and the Downtown Safety Partnership expands on a community model that focuses on relationship building, respect and partnership,” said Cullen.
The money will be used by Winnipeg’s Downtown Safety Partnership (DSP) to transition into a permanent not for profit organization dedicated to enhancing the health, safety and well-being of all members of the downtown community.
The DSP has a list of priorities including:
- expanding the presence of downtown community outreach and safety teams, and extending outreach hours to allow a 24-7 presence in key areas for the first time,
- enhancing downtown outreach via new community service teams of highly trained community support workers who can address situations that do not require police or paramedic response, and
- establishing a 24-7 Downtown Safety Communications Centre that will facilitate real-time information sharing among downtown safety partners and support existing downtown agencies in their work.
The minister noted that over the next few weeks more announcements about the operational details of the DSP will be announced. The DSP will be governed by a representative board of downtown stakeholders with guidance from a community advisory committee.
© News4.ca 2020
