ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

Date: December 8, 1999
Author/Local: Judy Rogers/7626
RTS No. 01172
CC File No. 3703

Council: December 14, 1999

TO: Vancouver City Council

FROM: City Manager

SUBJECT: Vancouver’s Coalition for Crime Prevention and Drug Treatment

-- A Coalition Building Plan for the year 2000

RECOMMENDATION

THAT Council approve the request for funding of $140,000 to support Vancouver’s Coalition for Crime Prevention and Drug Treatment activities for the year 2000; source of funds to be 2000 Operating Budget.

POLICY

Council has supported Coalition actions to prevent crime and improve drug treatment in Vancouver by granting funding requests in 1998 as well as in 1999.

PURPOSE

This report seeks Council approval for year 2000 funding support for the activities of Vancouver’s Coalition for Crime Prevention and Drug Treatment. Funding will provide for the support and facilitation of partner actions to improve crime prevention and drug treatment throughout the City and most urgently in the Downtown Eastside.

Background

Vancouver’s Coalition for Crime Prevention and Drug Treatment was created in October of 1997 under the strategic leadership of the Urban Safety Commission. Since its inception, the Coalition has grown from 20 partners, to more than 60 formal partners. The Coalition represents a diverse cross section of community partners committed to taking actions to improve crime prevention and drug treatment in Vancouver.

The Coalition partners include:

Vancouver School Board Vancouver Park Board
Vancouver Police Department Odd Squad Productions

Vancouver Board of Trade Vancouver Port Authority
Vancouver International Airport Authority Tourism Vancouver

University of British Columbia Simon Fraser University
S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Vancouver Foundation
United Way VanCity Credit Union
Downtown Vancouver BIA Vancouver Hotel Association
Rotary Club of Vancouver Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Health Canada Insurance Bureau of Canada
Insurance Corporation of BC Browning-Ferris Industries (BFI)
The Gathering Place Kaiser Youth Foundation
The United Youth Movement Collingwood Community Policing Centre
Robson Street BIA The British Columbia Regiment
Vancouver Recovery Club Vancouver Family Court & Youth Justice Committee
Boys & Girls Club of Greater Vancouver Taiwanese-Canadian Cultural Society
Hope in Vision Downtown Vancouver Association
Downtown Eastside Youth Activities Society
(DEYAS) Salvation Army
Mount Pleasant BIA Mount Pleasant CPO
BARWATCH Granville Street Community Policing Centre
Gastown Community Policing Centre Volunteer Vancouver
Kerrisdale BIA Kensington Community Centre
Alcohol-Drug Education Service First United Church
Vancouver Economic Development Commission Chinatown Police Community Services Centre
YWCA of Vancouver Grandview-Woodlands Community Policing Centre
Davie Street Community Police Office Cedar Cottage Community Policing Centre
Concert Properties Ltd. Canadian Bankers Association
Renfrew Collingwood Drug and Alcohol Committee Vancouver Police & Native Liaison Society
Anglican Diocese of New Westminster BC Coalition for Safer

Together We Can Communities

NEW Partners joining the Coalition since our last report to Council in January 1999

Partner Actions

Coalition partners continue to make valuable contributions in the City of Vancouver to improve crime prevention and drug treatment, both in the Downtown Eastside as well as in other communities throughout the City. Examples of significant Coalition activities in 1999 included:

Successful co-applicant to the National Crime Prevention Centre for $5 million dollars to fund the Downtown Eastside Community Revitalization program.

Drug Prevention Awareness Flyer for youth and their parents – created through a collaborative partnership of Coalition partners and others, the Flyer was distributed to over 220,000 households, schools and community centres throughout Vancouver.

October 22 1999, Community Crime Prevention Forum - developed by a group of Coalition partners, the forum attracted approximately 200 participants to explore ways to strengthen community crime prevention in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland.

Adopt-a-School – a partnership between the Rotary Club of Vancouver and the Vancouver School Board to provide a hot-lunch program, support a drug and alcohol prevention program and begin a literacy program for students at Norquay school in East Vancouver.

UBC’s presence in the Downtown Eastside - UBC continues to consult with service providers and residents in the DTES to identify ways to contribute in the area. One idea includes the development of a student volunteer program to assist service agencies in a variety of ways.

Economic Revitalization in the Downtown Eastside- the Vancouver Economic Development Commission held over 40 meetings with community stakeholders to explore ways to economically revitalize the Downtown Eastside. Several tangible projects emerged from these consultations including the Downtown Eastside Street Market.

Looking Ahead

The year 2000 will be another very busy year for Vancouver’s Coalition. In addition to on-going projects, such as Neighbourhood Watch on the Road, (supported by Browning-Ferris Industries in partnership with the Vancouver Police), and Youth Patrols in Stanley Park, (supported by ICBC in partnership with the Vancouver Park Board and the Vancouver Police), the Coalition will undertake a number of new initiatives. Many of these initiatives will relate to work that Coalition partners are doing in support of the DTES Community Revitalization program.

DTES Perspective

Vancouver’s Coalition for Crime Prevention and Drug Treatment continues to assist the City of Vancouver with its’ strategy for the Downtown Eastside. As a co-sponsor in the application to the National Crime Prevention Centre for $5 million dollars, Vancouver’s Coalition has worked closely with the City to develop and implement this initiative. The Coalition currently participates on the City’s Policy Committee on the DTES and on the City’s DTES Revitalization Program Core Working Team. In the year 2000, the Coalition will further expand this role and sit on the Evaluation Steering Committee for the project.

Coalition partners are supporting the DTES Community Revitalization program in a variety of ways. Some partners, such as DEYAS, YWCA – Crabtree Corner and the Vancouver Economic Development Commission, are playing an active role in the community development and consultation component of the project. While others, such as UBC, are engaging the process from the periphery, looking to contribute to areas of agreement for action. Coalition partners will continue to be asked to contribute to the DTES Community Revitalization program, working in partnership with the community, with other Coalition partners and with the other levels of government, to help bring real change to the area.

City-wide Perspective

Despite the heightened attention currently being directed toward the Downtown Eastside, Vancouver’s Coalition for Crime Prevention and Drug Treatment continues to have a city-wide focus. A Coalition Building Plan has been developed to reflect and further support this broad based, city-wide focus.

Overview of the Coalition Building Plan for the year 2000

Coalition Goals

Vancouver’s Coalition for Crime Prevention and Drug Treatment has a two-pronged mandate to involve the community in actions that:

· decrease property crime; and
· improve drug treatment.

Coalition Communication Objectives

To motivate all levels of government to work together to coordinate crime prevention and drug treatment efforts throughout the City.

To raise public awareness about the need to improve crime prevention and drug treatment throughout Vancouver.

To motivate community involvement in solutions by providing the public, particularly youth, with accurate information about crime prevention and drug treatment.

Coalition Building Plan for the year 2000

This plan focuses on several key areas to help build and strengthen Vancouver’s Coalition and expand its activities and its overall impact on Vancouver’s broader community.

Strengthening our Partnerships

Expand the number and variety of Coalition partners

This initiative will require the City’s continued leadership to encourage greater community involvement in crime prevention and drug treatment activities. The City will also need to continue efforts to include and co-ordinate all three levels of government as well as other relevant agencies in Coalition activities where appropriate.

Maintain regular contact with Coalition partners

Continue to encourage Coalition partners to contribute to crime prevention and drug treatment by involving their organizations in specific actions that compliment their mandates. Although significant gains were made in this area in 1999, plans for the upcoming year will provide new opportunities to link with Coalition partners, helping to support them to take actions to help make Vancouver a safer City. As well as working with individual Coalition partners, special support will be given to Coalition Working Teams formed to address specific issues in a concrete and action-centred way, especially in the Downtown Eastside and surrounding communities.

New opportunities for increased communication in the year 2000

This will include building an informative Coalition web page that will include crime prevention and drug treatment information and Coalition activity updates. The web site will be linked to the City of Vancouver page as well as to Coalition partner pages.

Increased recognition for partner contributions to Coalition goals

Mayor Owen will unveil a Coalition Partner Recognition program in the spring of 2000, bringing more formal recognition to some of the contributions made by Coalition partners to help prevent crime and improve drug treatment in our City. Vancouver’s Coalition will continue to recognize partners through media opportunities and Coalition publications.

Other city-wide initiatives that have been planned for the first six months of the year 2000 include:

- Continuum of Care / Mayor’s Forums, to discuss the Downtown Eastside program and city-wide initiatives focusing on the Continuum of Care – 4 Pillar Approach to drug treatment.

- Regional Mayor’s Forum, with Mayors from surrounding municipalities to encourage a co-ordinated approach to crime prevention and drug treatment throughout the region. In 2000, focus will be on the Continuum of Care – 4 Pillar Approach to drug treatment.

- Working Team actions in the DTES, working with Coalition partners, community members and other key stakeholders to implement actions that build on areas of agreement identified in the DTES Community Revitalization process.

Public Education

Another key area of activity for Vancouver’s Coalition in the year 2000 will focus on public education, bringing information about crime prevention and drug treatment to as broad an audience as possible.

Continuum of Care Forums / Mayor’s Forums

Vancouver’s Coalition is currently developing several Public Forums to support greater public discussion about the Continuum of Care Approach to drug treatment, exploring the four-pillars including prevention, treatment, harm reduction and enforcement. Coalition partners will host three or four forums drawing on their broad and diverse networks. A panel with representatives from each of the four pillars will discuss the Continuum of Care approach from their unique perspectives, leaving significant time for questions and discussion. The Communication Department at the City of Vancouver is looking at ways to complement these events within their public education programming.

Drug Prevention Awareness Flyer

The Coalition also intends to produce a follow-up piece to the Drug Prevention Awareness Flyer. The Coalition will again rely on the expertise of a Working Team to design and implement this follow-up initiative targeting youth.

Strengthen media links

Vancouver’s Coalition will look at strengthening links with key Vancouver media to assist with public education. Specifically, the Coalition would like to build on the generous contributions that the Vancouver Sun, Rogers Cable and CKNW made to our 1999 public education initiatives.

These vehicles to increase public education will compliment the Coalition’s quarterly Newsletter and Discussion Paper, (see attached). The public education component of the Coalition Building Plan for the year 2000 will compliment the work that the City’s Communication Department is doing around public education in the DTES.

Other Jurisdictions

Finally, steps will be taken to monitor initiatives related to crime prevention and drug treatment being embraced in other cities throughout the world. This base of information will be shared with members throughout the Coalition, encouraging a more informed, broad based perspective to the issues at hand.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

The proposed budget for January - December, 2000 is $ 140,000, detailed as follows:

Project Co-ordination $ 38,500
Public Education, consisting of $ 28,000

- Continuum of Care Forums / Mayor’s Forums - $4,000
- Quarterly Newsletter - $9,000
- Discussion Paper - $1,000
- Drug Awareness Prevention Flyer - $8,000
- Web page design and development - $2,000
- Coalition Partner Recognition Program - $4,000

Coalition Building - Partner Contact $65,500
consisting of:

- Coalition Liaison Officer - $53,500
- Administrative/Office/Technology Support - $12,000

Research $8,000

TOTAL $140,000

This request represents an increase in the funding for the Urban Safety Commission from the $130,000 included in the 1999 Operating Budget. Should Council support this increase, the additional funding will be provided in the 2000 Operating Budget.

CONCLUSION

1999 was a very busy and exciting year for Vancouver’s Coalition for Crime Prevention and Drug Treatment. From being the successful co-applicant for $5 million dollars awarded by the National Crime Prevention Committee to help revitalize the DTES, to developing the Community Crime Prevention Forum and the Drug Prevention Awareness Flyer, Vancouver’s Coalition for Crime Prevention and Drug Treatment continues to make significant contributions throughout the City.

What has been especially encouraging over this past year is watching Coalition partners, with diverse interests and opinions, come together to address complex issues, building areas of agreement for action. The Drug Prevention Education Flyer provides a prime example of the type of tangible outcomes that grow from such dynamic partnerships.

In the last year, over 14 organizations joined Vancouver’s Coalition and many more expressed interest in the work that the Coalition is doing. As this momentum continues to grow, it is supported by a growing recognition among all of our partners – the community, the City and all other levels of government, that we must work together to prevent crime and improve drug treatment throughout Vancouver. Mayor Owen has provided strong leadership in this area emphasizing the need for ongoing partnerships to ensure that Vancouver remains one of the best Cities to live in the world.

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(c) 1998 City of Vancouver