The Plan

Community Safety and Well-Being

Community Safety and Well-Being are priorities in every Ontario community. As a result of amendments to the Community Safety and Policing Act, 2019, that came into effect on January 1, 2019, all municipalities across Ontario were required to develop and adopt a Community Safety and Well-Being (CSWB) Plan on or before July 1, 2021. To prepare the Plan, municipalities were required to establish a multi-sectoral advisory committee and to conduct consultations with members of the public. Municipalities also had the discretion and flexibility to develop joint plans with surrounding municipalities.

The Plan was required to identify priority risk factors and strategies to reduce these risk factors such as new services, or changing/coordinating existing services, and set measurable outcomes. This allows municipalities to take a leadership role in defining and addressing priority risks in the community through proactive, integrated strategies that ensure vulnerable populations receive the help they need from the providers best suited to support them.

The Huron County Community Safety and Well-Being Working Group was established in the fall of 2019 in order to develop a consolidated Plan for Huron County. Many of the preliminary issues identified (i.e. Affordable housing, transportation, mental health, substance misuse) are interdependent and multi- jurisdictional. It therefore follows that the Plan would benefit from input and guidance from multi-jurisdictional providers, and that a consolidated Plan for Huron County would be beneficial, noting overall risk factors while also identifying any risk factors and strategies specific to a particular municipality.

In February 2020, a survey was created and distributed throughout the County to assess each municipality’s well-being and feelings of safety of residents. The survey was administered by the Canadian Municipal Network on Crime Prevention on behalf of the Working Group as part of the development of the Plan. Community engagement sessions were planned but unfortunately not held due to the onset of the COVID-19.

Four Priority Areas

Based on survey results and evidence-based research, the Plan identified the following four (4) priority areas for action based on their research and community engagement:

Community Safety and Well-Being Report

Community Safety and Well-Being Plan

The Huron County Community Safety and Well-Being Plan was adopted by all 9 lower- tier municipalities on July 1, 2021. A copy of the Huron County Community Safety and Well-Being Plan can be found here:

View Plan

To advance Community Safety and Well-Being in Huron County, this Plan:

  • Examines population data and other statistics for municipalities in Huron County to understand the context within which we are working, where resources are distributed and to identify potential risks and challenges to be addressed;
  • Provides an overview of the legislative framework guiding the development of this Plan and the process taken by the nine Huron County municipalities to understand risk and needs;
  • Establishes an approach to community safety and well-being in Huron based on collective impact, equity, and social determinants of health to ensure risk and needs are understood holistically;
  • Identifies Priority Areas for action to be addressed through this plan;
  • Presents an Evaluation Matrix to help us measure progress; and,
  • Discusses next steps for Plan implementation

To advance Community Safety and Well-Being in Huron County, this Plan:

  • Oversight Committee- An oversight committee with multi-sectoral representation and reflective of the community to guide campaigns and initiatives, and address four identified priority areas of action through providing expertise and knowledge and sharing information.
  • Municipal Working Group – A working group consisting of designates of all 9 lower-tier municipalities in Huron County, the Working Group guides and directs key tasks required to complete the generic County wide Plan. The Working Group provides guidance to the Oversight Committee and operates as liaisons to their respective municipalities and Councils.
  • Municipal Implementation Team or Coordinator – Appointed staff or coordinator responsible for the implementation of the Plan based on recommendations from the Oversight Committee and their own municipality’s needs and goals.
Priority Area Mapping

Priority Area Mapping

The Oversite Committee has created a Priority Area Mapping for the Community Safety and Well-Being Plan. This map provides an overview of the various multi-sectoral organization’s initiatives, campaigns and programs for each of the Priority Areas. We have included a copy of our 2024 Priority Area Mapping via the link below

View CSWB Mapping Task

2024 Campaigns

In 2023, the Oversite Committee established four (4) campaigns to run throughout 2024 that focused specifically on each of the priority areas outlined in the plan. The 2024 campaigns are outlined below:

Mental Health and Addictions

January, February, March

Domestic and Family Violence

April, May, June

Community Safety and Security

July, August, September

Housing and Homelessness

October, November, December

The campaigns include promotion from each of the nine (9) lower tier municipalities and various organizations in Huron County through joint informational graphics. On January 19th, 2024, the Oversite Committee held a kick-off event for the 1st campaign – Mental Health and Addiction. CTV News London was present and published an article about this Event highlighting the history of the plan.

View CTV News London Article

As required under the Community Safety and Policing Act, 2019, each Municipality will continue to take any actions that the plan requires to ensure implementation of the four (4) priority areas through campaigns, committees and programs similar to those that began in 2023.