Community Safety and Well-Being Plan
2025-2029
Niagara's Community Safety and Well-Being Plan is all about making our communities safe and healthy. Our approach to tackling social issues is to involve the whole community.
2021
Plan first launched
4
Priority areas chosen by the community
10
Areas of focus for youth crime prevention
9
Community programs funded from 2024 to 2025
Goals and benefits
Our goal is to work together to address the root causes of complex social issues, and to strengthen the foundation for well-being and safety in Niagara. The Community Safety and Well-Being Plan has a range of benefits for local agencies, organizations, frontline service providers and residents, including:
- Enhanced communication and collaboration among agencies and organizations
- Increased understanding of local risks and vulnerable groups
- Ensuring services are given to individuals with complex needs
- Increased awareness, coordination and access to services for community members and vulnerable groups
About the plan
Working together on complex problems
Complex problems that affect our safety and well-being can't be solved by just one group or organization. By working together with different groups like police, paramedics, education, health care, social services and community agencies, we can help prevent problems before they happen.
The Community Safety and Well-Being Plan, first launched in 2021, is now being updated. The refreshed plan reflects the progress made, the lessons learned over the past four years and our ever-changing world. It's guided by ongoing community input and lived experiences. The updated plan focuses on strengthening how we work together to improve safety and well-being in Niagara.
Key drivers of impact
Build strong partnerships
Work with local organizations, businesses and residents to build supportive relationships that help tackle community challenges together.
Invest in communities
Focus on finding extra resources to support community projects and programs that help people. This ensures resources go where they're needed most to improve well-being and safety.
Use evidence to guide decisions
Use local data and feedback to guide us. This helps ensure our actions are effective and reflect the needs of those who live, work and play in Niagara.
Drive system-wide change
Work to improve systems and policies that impact our community. Make sure they are inclusive, fair and meet the diverse needs of all residents, including those who have faced discrimination.
From promoting well-being to responding to incidents
Planning framework
Social development
Level 1
Promoting and maintaining safety and well-being
Where this happens
- Youth Crime Prevention Strategy
Prevention
Level 2
Proactively reducing identified risks
Where this happens
- Community Substance Use Strategy
- Youth Crime Prevention Strategy
Risk intervention
Level 3
Mitigating situations of elevated risk
Where this happens
- Situation Table
Incident response
Level 4
Critical and non-critical incident response
Four priorities chosen by the community
Priority areas
The following key priority areas were chosen by the community as the core focus for safety and well-being planning in Niagara. The experiences of individuals with lived expertise will continue to shape the actions linked to each priority area.
Mental health and addiction
What we want to achieve
Improve access to mental health and addiction services and supports that are culturally safe, equitable and appropriate.
How we will measure success
- Decrease the number of individuals visiting the emergency department for mental health and / or addictions
- Decrease the number of local substance use-related deaths
- Increase access to treatment for historically underrepresented and marginalized individuals
Homelessness and basic needs
What we want to achieve
Improve access to basic needs and appropriate supports for people experiencing barriers.
How we will measure progress
- Decrease the number of chronically homeless individuals
- Increase the number of supportive and affordable housing units
Gender-based violence
What we want to achieve
Enhance Niagara's capacity to recognize, prevent and respond to gender-based violence.
How we will measure progress
- Increase referrals to gender-based violence services and supports
- Strengthen prevention efforts through community education and outreach
- Decrease incidents of intimate partner violence and human trafficking in Niagara
Community safety
What we want to achieve
Reduce the need for emergency services by improving early intervention and making sure the right service providers respond quickly.
How we will measure progress
- Decrease the number of low-priority calls to 911
- Increase the number of individuals whose overall risk is reduced through connections to appropriate services
From plan to action
How the plan becomes programs in our community
The plan sets the direction. Focused strategies and funding turn that direction into programs that support people in Niagara.
- The Community Safety and Well-Being Plan sets the priorities. The community chose four priority areas to focus safety and well-being planning in Niagara.
- Strategies focus on specific needs. Niagara's Community Substance Use Strategy supports the mental health and addictions priority. The Strong Futures: Youth Crime Prevention Strategy focuses on helping young people stay safe and avoid becoming involved in crime.
- Funding goes where it's needed most. The Building Safer Communities Grant Program is part of the Strong Futures strategy and funds programs for children, youth and young adults.
- Community organizations deliver programs. Local non-profits, charities and Indigenous-led organizations run programs that address the root causes of crime.
Putting the plan into action
Supporting strategies and initiatives
These strategies and initiatives support the plan's priority areas.
Niagara's Community Substance Use Strategy
Strategy
A four-pillar approach to reduce the harms of substance use in Niagara.
Each pillar focuses on a different way to reduce the harms of substance use:
- Prevention
- Harm reduction
- Treatment
- Community safety
- Supports: Mental health and addiction priority
- Framework level: Prevention
Strong Futures: Youth Crime Prevention Strategy
Strategy
Helping young people stay safe and avoid becoming involved in crime.
We will work with the community to help prevent youth crime by:
- Using data to find where support is needed most and investing in programs that work
- Listening to young people, staff, community members and people with lived experience
- Supporting young people's well-being and helping them build skills and confidence for the future
- Supports: Community safety priority
- Framework level: Social development and prevention
- Funding: Building Safer Communities Grant Program [link to new page in providers and partners]
Situation Table
Initiative
Professionals from different fields work together to reduce risk before harm happens.
Partnering agencies work together and share their resources to:
- Identify risk
- Coordinate wraparound supports to community members in need
- Prevent crisis
- Better support vulnerable individuals living in the community
- Supports: Community safety priority
- Framework level: Risk intervention
Learn more about the plan
Learn more about the Community Safety and Well-Being Plan, plus the strategies supporting it.
- Community Substance Use Strategy (PDF)
- Strong Futures: Youth Crime Prevention Strategy -- is there a PDF?
- Situation Table?