Mary Boushel wants your help. The manager of strategic initiatives in Health Services at the Region of Peel is new to her role, but is already impressed with the collaboration and creativity in Peel. When the severity of the novel coronavirus became evident, she said Region staff and others convened the Community Response Table. As bad as the illness and isolation are on most people, the impact on the disenfranchised, ill, homeless, and abused can be devastating without the supports provided by charities, non-profits and volunteers.
- Click below to see Mary’s presentation (14 minutes).
The Community Response Table helps ensure that vulnerable populations are still seen. Community organizations, municipal representatives and Region staff meet online/by phone three times a week for an hour each time. They find “real-time” solutions, Mary told the 36 participants of the Erin Mills Connects Community Forum on Zoom at the end of April.
“The pandemic has just highlighted how urgent those needs are”
Mary mentions an example where an organization’s clients needed food, and two other groups stepped up with donations and volunteers to deliver it.
“As we’ve been doing the work with the Community Response Table, it has only further highlighted …the need around those areas [of greatest priority].” Mary said that the Region had started work on its Community Safety and Well-being Plan last year, and identified systematic discrimination, family violence, and mental health and addictions for greatest attention. “The pandemic has just highlighted how urgent those needs are,” she adds.
If you or your organization can contribute to the Community Response Table or the Community Safety and Well-being Plan consultations, please reach out.
Learn more about the Community Response Table
- Email to: COVID19CommResponse@peelregion.ca
Join consultations for the Community Safety and Well-being Plan
- Follow us on Instagram or Twitter @PeelCSWB to get more information on consultations:
- Questions? email peelcswb@gmail.com
KIDS' WELLNESS 