Outreach worker to help vulnerable people in downtown Guelph

Guelph police are getting called more and more by business owners reporting people acting erratically in the downtown core.

But sometimes, these people need help accessing services, not police intervention, Guelph Police Chief JeffDeRuytersaid.

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It's why the community has launched a new five-month pilot project, dubbed Downtown Guelph Welcoming Streets Initiative.

As part of the project, an outreach worker will build relationships with anyone who is downtown and struggling with complex issues, such as mental illness, addictions or homelessness.

DeRuyter said the outreach worker, who will be employed by Guelph Community Health Centre, will be able to connect with individuals who need help on a personal level, having"street level life experiences" themselves.

The outreach worker will be able to "give them some guidance, referrals, to direct them to the appropriate agencies, and just to offer them support," DeRuyter said.

Policing can be expensive

The idea is inspired by the Downtown Kitchener Discovery Team, which talks to individuals one-on-one to resolve issues or problems, rather than getting police involved.

While police will maintain a presence downtown, DeRuyter said the outreach worker is another way to address the problems they are seeing in the core.

It's also considered a less expensive way of responding to reports of people acting out or behaving inappropriately.

"Policing, we're expensive, and the answer can't always be to throw more police at it when we're dealing with many social issues," he said.

"As we look at the cost of policing, we need to be creative in our approaches and look at new initiatives and this was one that certainly seemed to make sense."