Community Services has recently initiated the Sustainable Neighbourhood Group Engagement Framework study (SNEF) to conduct an operational review of how the City engages, partners and structures our relationship with Guelph neighbourhood groups and the Guelph Neighbourhood Support Coalition.
Consulting services from Public Interest Strategy and Communications Inc. of Toronto www.publicinterest.ca have been secured to apply their experience in community engagement and framework development to support this project. Public Interest will be working directly with Cindy Richardson (Project Manager), Barbara Powell (Project Advisor) and an Advisory Committee that includes neighbourhood group leaders, key partners and stakeholders (Family and Children’s Services, Upper Grand District School Board, Guelph Community Health Centre etc) and City staff.
The goal of this project is to research, design and produce a framework that outlines the direction the City should pursue in their support of both existing Neighbourhood Groups as well as groups who are not as formally developed.
Throughout the project there will be considerable opportunities for community consultation and stakeholder input to provide input and inform the work of the consultants who will be responsible for the development of the framework, recommendations and implementation plan. This work will be brought forward through a City staff report for Council’s review and endorsement in the spring of 2010.
This work is timely in light of Family and Children’s Services recent announcement with regards to budget reductions to their community development program. The City’s study is being viewed as a “rallying point” to gain a deeper understanding of the challenges that Guelph Neighbourhood Groups face in their work in the community and identify not only the City’s role and responsibilities to support this work, but also the role of key stakeholders, agency partners and other funders to ensure sustainability.
For further information please contact Cindy Richardson, Community Manager, Integrated Services and Development – Neighbourhood Engagement, Community Services Department, 519-822-1260 x 2700, [email protected] Staff
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At the December meeting of ECO, a delegation from the community will be presenting on the Ministry of Children and Youth Service’s decision to discontinue funding that supports Family and Children’s Services (F&CS) community development program currently in place in five neighbourhoods in the City of Guelph.
I am pleased to forward the following background information with regards to this issue.
This budget reduction was effective in September of 2009, however F&CS has secured alternative funding until March 31st, 2010 for this program. The reduction of these funds results in the loss of four full-time F&CS Community Development (CD)Workers who currently work on-site in neighbourhood spaces to support five neighbourhood groups; Parkwood Gardens, Two Rivers, West Willow Woods, Brant Ave. and Waverley Neighbourhood Group.
The CD Workers work with the neighbourhood group volunteers and City staff support parents and families living in vulnerable/high risk situations with services such as: food cupboards, clothing closets, backpack and winter clothing drives, community building activities that bring people together to reduce isolation, drop in programs etc. In addition, the C.D. Workers, through their outreach efforts, connect directly with people to identify their needs, “help them navigate the complex social assistance system that many people living in poverty face”, and to connect them to the neighbourhood group’s activities and volunteer opportunities.
Advocacy efforts are underway to prevent the loss of these staff and the work they do in the community. A Community Development Action Group, has been formed by the Neighbourhood Support Coalition and other concerned citizens and agency partners and they have developed an advocacy campaign to exert influence on the Province to re-consider their decision to cut this program in our community and/or approve a schedule of gradual funding reductions over the next two years to allow the community time to secure alternative funding. These advocacy efforts include a letter writing campaign to the Minister of Children and Youth Services (Laurel Broten), a media campaign, a number of presentations to key stakeholders in the community and a fundraising campaign. (see attached letter to community stakeholders included with their ECO presentation)
I am anticipating that the Action Group will be requesting, at the very least, a letter from the Mayor’s office to the Ministry in support of their efforts.
The loss of the F&CS staff in these neighbourhood settings will have a significant impact on City staff who also support neighbourhood group work. Each of the City’s Community Engagement Coordinators (2.6 fte) currently support 4-5 neighbourhood groups and eighteen (18) administrative staff and recreation program staff that work in a neighbourhood setting. They work closely with the F&CS staff to support the volunteer “Boards” of the neighbourhood groups with their planning and fundraising efforts however our main focus is to support the delivery of after school programs, summer camps and other recreation programs offered by the neighbourhood groups. The daily support that F&CS workers provide to NGs could not be replicated and we would anticipate a need for increased support to maintain the current social service programs that would be difficult to fill under our current available staff time and budget constraints. As well, our staff are not trained social workers and the outreach component to vulnerable citizens could not be supported.
The City has recently initiated an operational review to determine our role and responsibilities with regards to neighbourhood services. This work, in collaboration with the community and other partners (including F&CS), will provide future direction with regards to the priority needs that neighbourhood groups have to continue their services and recommendations on the City’s role to ensure their sustainability. This study is scheduled for completion by May of 2010. Staff