City Council adopts Hamilton’s Community Safety and Well-Being Plan

HAMILTON, ON – Yesterday, Hamilton City Council unanimously adopted Hamilton’s Community Safety and Well-Being Plan. In keeping with the provincial planning framework, Hamilton’s Community Safety and Well-Being Plan (CSWBP) provides a framework for community agencies working together towards a safer, healthier, and more inclusive community for all residents.

Hamilton’s Community Safety and Well-Being Plan was developed with the input of over 270 residents and overseen by an advisory committee representing 13 agencies including municipal government, Indigenous leadership, school boards, post-secondary education, not-for-profit sector, emergency services, health and social services agencies.

Hamilton’s Community Safety and Well-Being Plan prioritizes six challenges facing the community with the goal of reducing hate incidents, reducing violent crimes, improving mental health and reducing stigma, reducing substance use, addressing housing and homelessness, and improving access to income.

Building on and complementing work in the community within each of the local priorities, the plan highlights community initiatives underway to address the priorities and also identifies 62 opportunities for action across all four levels of the provincial framework that together can create a balanced, more proactive, and collaborative approach to improved safety and well-being. The four key areas of planning within the provincial framework are: incident response, risk intervention, prevention and social development.

The development of a collaborative Community Safety and Well-Being Plan for Hamilton is an important milestone however it is only the beginning. Central to collective success in moving the needle on outcomes and addressing the complex issues facing Hamilton will lie in the next steps as the community seeks to move from a plan to action.

To move this plan toward action a dedicated staff lead will be assigned, and a community governance model will be established in the coming months to develop and lead a collaborative and coordinated community-wide implementation of this plan. Guiding principles, as identified through community engagement, will be applied across future work on Hamilton’s Community Safety and Well-Being Plan. These guiding principles include:

• Equity, diversity and inclusion
• Community engagement
• Data and evaluation

• Sustainable funding
• System collaboration

Hamilton’s Community Safety and Well-Being Plan Advisory Committee members:

• Banyan Community Services
• Coalition of Hamilton Indigenous Leadership
• City of Hamilton
• Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion
• Hamilton Health Sciences
• Hamilton Police Services Board
• Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board

• Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board
• McMaster Institute for Health Equity
• McMaster University
• Mohawk College
• St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton
• Woman Abuse Working Group

“Creating the conditions where Hamiltonians can feel safe, supported, and that as a collective we can improve outcomes for members of our community is paramount. Through collective action and engagement with residents and service providers, Hamilton has identified a path forward for a more collaborative and proactive approach to complex issues facing our community – and this is just the beginning. I want to thank all of those who made time to share their stories and perspectives. Let us continue the collaboration across systems and as a community to improve safety and well-being for all Hamiltonians.” - Mayor Fred Eisenberger

“I want to express my sincere gratitude to the residents of Hamilton and service providers for lending their voices, input, and sharing their lived experiences of which this plan is a reflection of. In addition I would like to thank the Community Safety and Well-Being Plan Advisory Committee members for their steadfast commitment throughout the pandemic for continuing to come to the table, and see this important work through.” - Grace Mater, Director, Healthy and Safe Communities Department

Quick facts

• Under the Province's Safer Ontario Act, 2018 municipalities are required to develop a Community Safety & Well-being Plan using the provincial government’s Community Safety and Well-Being Framework by July 1, 2021.
• A Community Safety and Well-Being plan aims to create the conditions where all residents in the community feel safe, has a sense of belonging and can meet their needs for education, healthcare, food, housing, income, and social and cultural expression.
• Hamilton’s Community Safety and Well-Being Plan priorities include: hate incidents, violence, mental health and stigma, substance use, housing and homelessness and access to income.

Addititional resources

View Hamilton’s Community Safety and Well-Being Plan