“Where we are falling short is there is so much demand on the downstream end, demand for jailing people, for more enforcement that we never really get to the upstream approaches that we know prevent crime and victimization,” says Michael Parkinson, Community Engagement Coordinator and Drug Strategy Specialist, Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council. CTV news, Nov 26, 2019.
Five candidates running for Parliament in Cambridge discussed how they could keep the cost of living down for people, and what the federal government should do to address the opioid crisis, during a panel discussion Monday. Green Party candidate Michelle Braniff highlighted the importance of going upstream to avoid another opioid crisis and remembered that Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council alerted about this crisis before it occurred. CBC Radio, Sept 30, 2019.
An article featuring the effort of the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council (WRCPC), the Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region (SASCWR) and Kitchener’s Registry Theatre to bring Chelsea’s Story to Waterloo Region. Spoke, Sept 24, 2019.
“An Ontario school board is reviewing a new curriculum that would teach Grade 7 and 8 students how to avoid being trafficked for sex. The lesson plans are aimed at kids around the age of 13 — when experts say young people become targets of sex traffickers. TK Pritchard developed the curriculum at the Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region after being approached by teachers who were looking for teaching resources on the subject. CBC news, Sept 5, 2019.
“We identified prescription opioids as a leading cause of death back in 2008. We produced the first scale and typology of the problem. We did research on naloxone and make it available along with real time overdose monitoring. That recommendation was made because of the concern of the bootleg fentanyls would land here one day and would manifest themselves as clusters of overdoses in the community,” says Michael Parkinson, Community Engagement Coordinator and Drug Strategy Specialist, Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council. Kitchener Today, September 3, 2019.
A joint effort between the Coalition of Muslim Women of KW and the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council saw the release of a report on Islamophobia in Waterloo Region. The report was based off consultations with the local Muslim community back in November 2018. Dr. Sarah Shafiq, with the Coalition of Muslim Women of KW, presented their findings to the police services board on Wednesday. Kitchener Today, June 19, 2019.
A report was presented to the police services board, updating them on the state of youth drug use in Waterloo Region. Michael Parkinson, Community Engagement Coordinator, Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council says they spoke with the most vulnerable youth groups for their report. “Distant to opportunity, young people who are using substances and who don’t enjoy the same kinds of opportunities for engagement in school, in the community, that many others in Waterloo Region do enjoy,” he told the board on Wednesday. 570 News, June 20, 2019.
In 2013, before Matt White moved from Toronto to Kitchener, he had heard of the inquest into the death of inmate Ashley Smith at the Grand Valley Institution for Women. “That’s when I first learned that there was a prison in Kitchener,” says White, who is the artistic director of locally-based theatre company Green Light Arts. “I knew that I wanted to explore, investigate and learn more about the prison system in a theatrical context, specifically through Ashley’s story,” he adds. The Record, May 10, 2019.
A new report, Conversations of Substance: Youth in Waterloo Region on Issues of Substance Use, aims to shine a light on that predicament by illuminating real stories of local youths who admit to using drugs, finding out why they use them, and more importantly, what’s preventing them from connecting to supports. Commissioned by the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council, the report interviewed 33 individuals in Cambridge and Kitchener, aged 13 to 26, in search of a “grounded truth” about their experience with drugs, and the relationships and environments influencing use. Cambridge Times and The Record, May 11, 2019.
Our friends from Solutions to Poverty Waterloo Region are aware of the importance for older adults to be able to fill out their taxes every year to improve their income levels. Solutions to Poverty wants to bring attention to the many tax clinics throughout Waterloo Region that complete taxes at no cost.
Learn more about it in the attached Tax Clinic Letter. Also, a list of the clinics is included in the Tax Clinic Listing 2019.
