Discussing safety and well-being in Elmwood
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This article was published 02/11/2022 (211 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
In the past three years, safety from illness has been uppermost in many people’s minds, but other concerns still have the capacity to become either barriers or opportunities. Two of those issues were the subjects of an evening of discussion and learning at the Chalmers Neighbourhood Renewal Corporation at 180 Poplar St. in Elmwood.
The Oct. 20 event was the third in a series this fall designed to help residents of the neighbourhood deal with issues in their lives. Making the area safer for everyone wasd discussed on Oct. 20, as Jason Videla and Rick Schroder discussed the implications of the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act. As representatives of Manitoba Justice, the two speakers were well-qualified to speak about topics including safe injection sites, slumlords, and various types of crime in the neighbourhood.
The topic was evidently very relevant as participants asked questions, related their own experiences, and advanced their own theories regarding the source of the problem. Following that discussion were two short presentations, one on the Elmwood Unity Walk, successor to the Bear Clan Patrol. The second dealt with the Emergency Paramedics in the Community Program, an initiative involving advanced-care paramedics trained to offer advanced care to people in distress.
After that came a presentation entitled Insights into Hoarding Disorder with Spencer Martin of the OCD Centre Manitoba. Although a home littered and piled high with newspapers or old takeout containers is stereotypical of hoarders, the speaker noted that “anything that gets in the way of life is hoarding.” Some of the techniques for dealing with the disorder, resources for further study, and other helpful hints were all part of the presentation.
Participant Andrea Mantler noted that the topic of crime was relevant to her own area of Glenelm, as one of the major issues is people breaking into garages by prying doors open.
“It was good to find out where we can let people know if there’s a problem,” she said, adding that she would now be able to pass the information on to anyone who needs it.
Esme V., a six-year resident of the neighbourhood who preferred not to include her last name, said that the workshops at the Chalmers Neighbourhood Renewal Corporation are always interesting. The instructors “make it easy for everybody to understand.”
With more events coming this winter, relevance and clarity are key.
Susan Huebert
Elmwood community correspondent
Susan Huebert is a community correspondent for Elmwood