Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath recently announced that the City of Hamilton will be holding a Community Safety Summit on Monday, November 10 at LiUNA Station.
A City of Hamilton press release says that they are aiming to bring together “residents, community organizations and local leaders to address community safety concerns and strengthen collaboration across the city.”
The city says that the Summit will explore issues such as “hate, gender-based violence, and youth and gun violence.”
“Participants will hear from experts with the Hamilton Police Service and community agencies, take part in facilitated discussions and help identify next steps toward a stronger, more inclusive Hamilton,” continues the release.
The seven-hour free event will run from 8:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. in LiUNA Station’s King George Ballroom.
Registration for the Summit must be made by Nov. 5 at hamilton.ca/communitysafetysummit.
The event will reportedly not be livestreamed.
Residents are also encouraged to share their feedback through the Community Safety Input page on the city’s Engage Hamilton site.
That webpage can be accessed at engage.hamilton.ca/communitysafetyinput and will be open until Nov. 24.
Horwath says that the Summit “is about coming together as a community to listen, learn, and work toward real solutions.”
“By understanding each other’s experiences and challenges, we are building a city where everyone feels safe and supported,” she continued.
The city says that the Summit will include an expert panel, a review of current trends and data on community safety, and facilitated roundtable discussions.
Panellists on youth and gun violence will be Denise Scott, the Senior Director of Children, Youth and Family Services at Wesley Urban Ministries and Erin Buckle, the Program and Service Manager at the John Howard Society.
Lyndon George, the Executive Director of the Hamilton Anti-Racism Resource Centre and Horwath’s former constituency manager for Hamilton Centre, will be speaking as an “anti-hate expert.”
The Hamilton Anti-Racism Resource Centre has previously called on the city to end “encampment evictions.”
Meanwhile, Danielle Ridge, the Executive Director of the Native Women’s Centre and Co-chair of the Women’s Abuse Working Group, will discuss gender-based violence.
There will also be speakers from the Hamilton Police Service.
Sergeant Jason Tadeson and Staff Sergeant Candace Culp will discuss youth crime, Staff Sergeant Ryan Hashimoto will discuss hate crimes, Sergeant Andrea Buri will discuss intimate partner violence, and Staff Sergeant Michelle Wiley will talk about gun violence.
The city has also released a schedule for the day:
8:30 a.m. – Registration
9:00 a.m. – Welcome and Opening Remarks
9:15 a.m. – Setting the Context: Understanding Safety in Hamilton Today
10:35 a.m. – Break
10:50 a.m. – Expert Panel: Tackling Key Safety Challenges
12:00 a.m. – Networking Lunch
1:00 p.m. – Breakout Discussions – Community Conversations on Key Issues
2:00 p.m. – Break
2:15 p.m. – Report Back and Collective Discussion
2:30 p.m. – Moving Forward: What Comes Next?
2:50 p.m. – Closing Remarks
3:00 p.m. – Information Networking and Departure
Based in Hamilton, he reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. He has been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. In 2017, he received the Chancellor Full Tuition Scholarship from the University of Ottawa (BA, 2022). He has also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal. He formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
