Trent Lakes Community Committee DRAFT Strategic Plan

Transcription

1 People Needs Services A Community That Cares Trent Lakes Community Committee DRAFT Strategic Plan Background The Trent Lakes Community Committee agreed that the 2007 Strategic Plan (Appendix A) should be updated. A Strategic Planning Session was scheduled and held on November 19, 2012 at the Township office with the following participants: Attendees: Regrets: Facilitator: Angel Jackson, City of Peterborough, Social Services Division Bob Angione, Executive Assistant, Trent Lakes Carrie Dickinson, Rural Outreach Centre Don Lacombe, Councillor, Trent Lakes Dorothy Heath, Galway Ratepayers Association Janet Clarkson, Mayor, Trent Lakes Jenni Fertile, City of Peterborough, Social Services Lynda McKerr, Community Care Harvey Madeline Pearson, Councillor-At-Large, Trent Lakes Yettie Ireland, Rural Outreach Centre Bev Matthews, Councillor, Trent Lakes & Rep. BCC Pat Kemp, CAO, Trent Lakes Ron Windover, Deputy Mayor, Trent Lakes Chris Kawalec, City of Peterborough, Social Services Division The purpose of the session was to create a focused strategy to address specific social and economic issues facing the community that are within the capacity of the Committee. Priority Areas The following 5 priorities were identifies as the key areas where the Community Committee should focus its attention over the next 3 years. These priorities are explained in more details in this report. 1. Transportation a. Taxi Services b. Ontario Works Van c. Volunteer Drivers 2. Communication 3. Food Security 4. Volunteerism 5. Rural Outreach a. Meet Your Needs Day b. Career Fair c. Social Services Staff d. Youth Activities/Youth Dances e. Culture Days/Heritage Day Trent Lakes Community Committee Strategic Plan March 18, 2013 Page 1 of 5

2 1. Transportation Residents with very limited incomes also have limited access to convenient and affordable transportation. This is a significant barrier to accessing services, attending appointments, and keeping a job in the City of Peterborough. While the Ontario Works Van is free, it is not viewed as convenient and has limits to who can use it and for what purposes. The areas that require further investigation are listed below. a. Taxi Services could be feasible through a subsidy or negotiated reduced rate. Taxi companies could be approached to investigate if there is any flexibility or alternative arrangements regarding their fare. Consideration can be given to diverting the Provincial funding for the OW Van to cover a portion of a taxi service with the remainder covered by the Township, or by the client, or a combination of both. Actions: i. Investigate the possibility of flat rates, off-peak rates, and bulk rates with local taxi companies. ii. Explore option to allow new employees working in Peterborough to access service for a short period of time. iii. Determine if OW Van funding could be applied to taxi fares. b. The Ontario Works Van would be more convenient if there was more flexibility to make two trips per day to reduce the amount of time spent in the City for a single appointment. Currently, the van can be accessed through appointment, by OW clients and CSP participants who need assistance getting to the City for appointments related to their OW file, employment services, medical appointments, and to access other community agencies in the City. Actions: i. Determine if the OW Van can make multiple trips in one day to shorten the length of stay for clients. ii. Better promotion of the service to non-ow clients. c. Volunteer Drivers could be organized through a modified or renewed RideConnect program. Under the current system, no one has offered to provide a ride while there were people in need of rides. Community Care currently has Volunteer Drives, Care Mobile, and Aging at Home Van. There are fees for these services and are limited to seniors. Actions: i. Investigate liability issues with insurance for RideConnect and organizing volunteer drivers. ii. Investigate the Lindsay program that received a donated vehicle to use for community transportation. iii. Investigate transportation services at the New Canadians Centre and how it is funded. iv. Assist with promoting transportation programs at Community Care. v. Consolidating transportation resources to offer a broader service, i.e. OW Van, Community Care, New Canadian Centre, Communication Trent Lakes Community Committee Strategic Plan March 18, 2013 Page 2 of 5

3 Continually improving communication was considered a high priority with all aspects of the Community Committee and services for township residents. Communication must improve with residents and also among rural services providers. It was acknowledged that sending notes home with students and through Tax Bill inserts does not work as a method of communicating with residents. Informal networks need to be tapped, i.e. Buckhorn pharmacist, churches, etc. to improve word-of-mouth communication. The past practice of creating a Handbook with a long listing of agencies was abandoned since other services (211, Fourinfo.com, Asset Map) are available and kept up-to-day. Actions: i. Develop a reference sheet with important phone numbers and contact information for services. This will replace the Handbook that had been produced in the past. ii. Update Agency Contact List. iii. Create a list identifying locations where promotional material can be posted throughout the Township. iv. Create a Community Events section on the Township Website. v. Create an broadcast list for all newspapers that serve the township: The Promoter, Kinmount Gazette, Peterborough Examiner, Peterborough This Week, Lindsay This Week, Lindsay Post, Lakefield Herald, SNAP, The Connection, and Minden Times. All events will be sent to these contacts. vi. Consider portable signs to promote events and convey information. Locations will need to be determined ($100/mo). vii. Videoconferencing will be investigated to improve, enhance, or replace the existing Skype service so it is available to a larger number of agencies and a viable option for residents. 3. Food Security Food Security is a significant issue in the township that has been identified as a high priority with the Community Committee. The lack of awareness of existing programs needs to be addressed to reach more people who can benefit. The YWCA is planning food security consultations throughout the County. These activities could help address some food security issues in the Township. Actions: i. The north end of the Township (Galway and Kinmount) needs a food bank. Connections need to investigated with Minden, Kawartha Food Share, Kawartha Lakes Food Share, and YWCA. ii. All food programs should be coordinated through one organization. They will be delivered by multiple agencies but there needs to be better coordination. Not enough people know of the existing services. iii. School breakfast program is struggling and needs financial support. iv. Rural Outreach Centre food program could be expanded to provide expanded service. v. Develop a link with the YWCA and the food security work they are doing in the County of Peterborough. Trent Lakes Community Committee Strategic Plan March 18, 2013 Page 3 of 5

4 4. Volunteerism Volunteers play a key role in many of the programs delivered in the Township. As is the case in other areas, the number of volunteers in the community is declining and there are very few new, younger volunteers contributing to community activities. While the Committee felt volunteerism is a serious issue it is not a high priority at this time in comparison to other priorities. Actions: i. Develop a strategy for recruiting, retaining, and recognizing volunteers in the community. The strategy would include volunteer opportunities available ii. Recruit residents who have recently move to the Township. 5. Rural Outreach a. Meet Your Needs Day Meet Your Needs Days (MYND) take place in the spring and fall to provide cloths, household items, hygiene products, and other basic essentials for free to families in need. At the October 2012 event, ten agencies attended and had information booths to engage residents who attended the MYND. Actions: i. Develop a plan for using unclaimed products at the end of the event. Finding a storage facility or the mezzanine at Kawartha Food Share are options to consider. ii. Partner with other Townships to have consecutive events, e.g. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of the same week. iii. Set-up should take place starting at 12:00pm with the event taking place from 1:00 to 6:00pm. iv. Provide food for volunteers. v. Rent a cube van or trailer to move material from each event. vi. vii. Offer rides to residents who cannot get to the event. Agencies to consider for next event: VON, Bed Bug Service, Health Unit, Nutritionist, Barber. b. Career Fairs Career Fairs have been held in the Township in the early Spring to coincide with the seasonal hiring of tourism businesses. The event in 2012 took place over the March Break and was viewed as success by many of the employers who participated. These events have traditionally been a partnership with the Peterborough Employment Resource Centre (now the Peterborough Community Help Centre), Smith-Ennismore- Lakefield, Galway-Cavendish & Harvey, and the CSP. Actions: i. Continue these events but consider the benefits of not having it over the March Break. ii. Contact 2 or 3 of the resorts who participated in the last event to obtain feedback. iii. Consider combining this event with an Information Fair where service agencies attend. Other agencies to include: Fire Dept., social services, Health Unit, MPAC, Fleming College. iv. Ensure the event is promoted in the Minden Times and the Gazette. Trent Lakes Community Committee Strategic Plan March 18, 2013 Page 4 of 5

5 c. Social Services Staff The loss of the HELP Centre was disappointing but accepted because of the low participation in the service. The continued support of the CSP, PERC outreach in Buckhorn, and the addition of a Rural Case Manager (Jenni Fertile) are viewed as valued services in the Township and need to be supported by the Community Committee. The improved accessibility of the service for Township residents is recognized and appreciated. Actions: i. GCH to write a Letter of Support for the work of the Rural Case Manager. ii. Request evaluation report for the Rural Case Manager Pilot Project. Options for further support through the Township will be considered. iii. Increase local awareness of the outreach services. The availability of CSP Facilitator as a contact person that residents can call for assistance needs to be examined. iv. Rural Outreach Worker continues to provide service and information to OW clients and general public. v. Investigate ways for the Township to assist residents who are struggling with utility costs. d. Youth Activities/Youth Dances The Committee agreed that the dances organized in the past had been successful and had the potential of being a longer-term youth initiative. Recruiting volunteers to help with all aspects of the events was identified as the biggest obstacle. Actions: i. Reintroduce youth dances only with the support of local volunteers and organizations, i.e. youth, parents, police, Youth Unlimited Lakefield (Chris Jones). ii. Develop a transportation plan for the dance events. e. Culture Days/Heritage Day It has been a struggle to successfully organize and promote events for the annual Culture Days. Eleven events have been promoted in both 2011 and 2012 in the County. Heritage Day is an established Township event that should be supported. Actions: i. Continue with the coordination of Culture Days in 2013 and reexamine the costs and benefits of the program to determine if we continue coordination in ii. Assist with Heritage Day. 6. Seniors (Work in Progress) Trent Lakes Community Committee Strategic Plan March 18, 2013 Page 5 of 5