Our vision: Community Safety and Well-being

Working with community partners, our vision is to build a community where everyone feels safe, respected and heard, where differences are seen and celebrated, where we all know we belong, and where we all can thrive. And to work together across sectors in new and innovative ways to help individual organizations succeed in their mandates and to find ways to better support belonging, safety and well-being in our community.

Hope is essential. 

That might sound like a bad bumper sticker - a platitude for all the change and uncertainty we’ve been through over the past few years. But it’s true. Hope drives us forward. In Strathcona County, hope leads to action.  

In 2021, Strathcona County began work on a new strategy: Community Safety and Well-being (CSWB). This strategy is about finding solutions to the root causes of social challenges while promoting the well-being of community members. It started with listening. Over five months, we met with over 300 individuals from 66 different groups and organizations. What we learned from those conversations became the Community Safety and Well-being What We Heard Report. 

What We Heard Report

• CSWB What We Heard Report (18.6 MB)

The CSWB What We Heard Report summarizes the community conversations and highlights the lived experiences of our community members. Through the community conversations, five interconnected priorities emerged that reflect the shared experiences and challenges in our community. 

1. Community safety
2. Complexity of needs
3. Mental health and addictions
4. Basic needs
5. Connection and belonging

This report shares a future vision for Strathcona County, emerging from the voices of our community members: a vision of an inclusive community.

Community Safety and Well-being Strategy

• Community Safety and Well-being Strategy (13.5 MB)

Thanks to the openness of the people who were part of the CSWB engagement, the findings painted a rich picture of the issues, trends, concerns and opportunities that exist at this time in our community and affect the well-being and safety of our community members. The priorities voiced by our community members have become the strategic priorities of the developing CSWB Strategy.
 
Addressing Community Safety and Well-being priorities in Strathcona County is an important and complex job. After reading the CSWB Strategy, you will better understand our aspirations and the key components of the common agenda we are building together, with our community partners, towards safety and well-being in the County.

Taking action with our partners

We did a lot of listening and now it is time to work together, taking action to build a safe, supported and connected community for everyone. Strathcona County has created the Community Safety and Well-being Stewardship Committee, a group of community partners across sectors who have come together to address the strategic priorities identified in the CSWB Strategy.

Together, the members of the CSWB Stewardship Committee are finding innovative ways to collaborate and work towards achieving the goals outlined in the Community Safety and Well-being Strategy. 

Action tables

• Current action tables and work underway

Action tables focus on the CSWB strategic priorities and include a combination of Stewardship Committee members and other representatives of local organizations. Each action table works together to collectively respond to a specific need, opportunity, or challenge. Current action tables include:

Action Reports

• August 2024 Action Report (377.4 KB)
• February 2024 Action Report (807.4 KB)

Community Safety and Well-being Action Reports showcase initiatives and programs that make important contributions to community safety and well-being in Strathcona County. Each story shared highlights how we are working together to address the strategic priorities outlined in Strathcona County’s Community Safety and Well-being Strategy. Reports will be shared twice a year. 

Community partners: working together to make a difference