Building Safer Communities Update

We are pleased to share some updates on the Building Safer Communities (BSC) Project below.

BSC Grant Update

Since the summer, 17 community organizations have started implementing upstream mental health and substance use crisis prevention activities for African, Caribbean, Black Identifying (ACBi), First Nations, Inuit and Métis (Indigenous), and racialized youth. These projects will also be highlighted to Regional Council on November 5 (read the update to Council here on pages 3 - 5).

Recognizing the impact of these activities within our Region, we plan to launch another BSC granting cycle this winter. This call for proposals will support the delivery of culturally appropriate mental health, substance use, and crisis response activities for ACBi and Indigenous youth. We will share more details about the grant in early December.

Youth Decision Making Team

Building on the success of our 2024 Youth Decision Making (YDM) Team, we will be launching another YDM process to help allocate BSC funding for the upcoming grant. This Team will consist of local youth (ages 16–29) committed to building a safer community for ACBi and Indigenous youth in Waterloo Region. Applications for the YDM Team will open this week and close on November 19 at noon.

Community Conversations

Developing alternative crisis response models for ACBi and Indigenous youth is a key outcome for the BSC project. Our team is planning community conversations with local partners in the coming months to better understand the mental health, substance use, and crisis response needs of ACBi and Indigenous youth.