City of Edmonton pilot project in Chinatown ending this year
A City-funded project pairing Edmonton police officers with social workers in Edmonton’s Chinatown is coming to an end this year. Business leaders in Chinatown say they’re worried about what comes next for the neighborhood.
“People who are coming out the remand centre or provincial jails, are left at their own device, and they head to Chinatown to seek social agencies and support, and we don’t want these people to fall back into the system,” said Sandy Pon, the chair of the Chinatown Transformation Collaborative.
Pon leads the group tasked with revitalizing the area in Chinatown located near several social agencies that serve Edmonton’s vulnerable population.
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A two-year, $15 million City-funded pilot project, running out of this building in the heart of Chinatown, is coming to an end at the end of this year.
RELATED: Community members react to City allocating new funding to Chinatown’s recovery
Healthy Streets Operation Centre pairs police officers with paramedics and social workers to patrol Edmonton’s inner-city to prevent crime and connect homeless edmontonians with social services and healthcare.
Pon says the two-year pilot project has already made a marked difference in the neighbourhood.
“The merchants, the businesses, people living in the area, have a certain level of confidence, that there’s somebody they can reach out to,” said Pon.
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Edmonton police telling CityNews through an email, they’ll continue to work with paramedics to patrol the area and provide aid. As well as work with social agencies to provide support to vulnerable Edmontonians on city streets. Police said the collaboration with health and social workers was valuable experience.
“This approach will continue in the future when there are issues identified by citizens or statistical data. Efficiencies identified during HSOC are also helping EPS develop strategies to address similar issues throughout the city.”
As the pilot project comes to an end, Edmonton city council voting to take $480,000 from the Downtown Vibrancy Fund and transfer it to the Chinatown vibrancy fund, a program designed to bring visitors to the area through festivals and events as well as provide security shutters for businesses.
