The Well-Being Partnership has been working since 2020 to develop a multi-year plan (2021-2025), built from community feedback and supported by the local experts that provide programs and services to the Meaford community. The plan will outline actions that can be taken to minimize the risk factors in our community that negatively impact safety and well-being. By bringing together the partners from many sectors and creating a detailed plan, we are hoping to improve the overall well-being of our community in both the short and long-term.
Your perspective is important to us, and your feedback has helped shape the Well-Being Plan for the Municipality of Meaford.
If you would like to provide comments or feedback on well-being in our community, please email wellbeing@meaford.ca or send a written letter, attention to the Plan Coordinator, 21 Trowbridge Street W, Meaford ON. N4L 1A1.
Plan Development
The Well-Being Partnership has been working throughout 2020 and into 2021 to gather community perspectives on health, safety, and well-being. Through resident feedback and local data, we have identified five priority areas of focus for our Well-Being Plan:
- Mental Health & Addictions
- Poverty & Income
- Crime Prevention
- Supports & Programs for Youth
- Supports & Programs for Seniors
Through community consultation efforts in the spring of 2021, we worked to identify what strategies for change can be introduced through the Plan to address challenges to well-being in these five areas. Feedback from our community has been vital during this stage, as it helped shape our Plan, and identified how to improve well-being for the future.
Our Plan's development will be completed as of July 2021, when Council will receive the completed Well-Being Plan for their consideration. Plan Implementation will run from 2021 through to 2025.
FAQ
| What does Community Well-Being mean? |
|
Community well-being means something a little bit different to everyone, which is why it can seem a bit complicated. Overall, there are a number of factors that can impact our well-being as individual people, and as a community. Our well-being can be impacted by any number of things, including the food we eat, where we work, our education, our race or ethnicity, or what access we have to housing or health services. In general, when we discuss well-being in our community, we are referencing the endless number of factors in our lives that impact our sense of safety, health, happiness, and overall life satisfaction. |
| Why do we need a plan? |
| The provincial government has told municipalities that they must develop a “Community Safety and Well-Being Plan” by early 2021. Meaford Council has decided that the best way to do this is to bring together local experts and hear from our community. |
| Why is the Municipality of Meaford doing their own plan? |
|
The Municipality of Meaford is the only Municipality in all of Grey and Bruce counties to not directly participate under the Bruce-Grey Joint County Plan. After considering options to either participate in the joint Plan or to implement a local Plan, Council voted in favour of developing a local Plan for the Municipality of Meaford. Developing our own plan will allow positive outcomes to be localized to our community, increase focus across the entire geographic area (recognizing that issues can differ between Bognor, Annan, rural areas, and the urban area of Meaford), and strengthen partnerships in our own community. |
| Who is involved in the plan? |
|
Even though the responsibility for developing a plan falls with municipalities, Meaford is taking the approach that our plan should be a multi-sectoral partnership. For this reason, we are forming the plan under The Well-Being Partnership. The Well-Being Partnership includes community leaders from healthcare, emergency services, local government, police and community policing committees, child and youth social services, community services, and education. The Well-Being Partnership believes that a local plan will need to rely on community leaders, practitioners, and residents to develop a plan that’s truly representative of our community’s wants and needs. |
| How will the plan impact me/my family/my community? |
|
The plan will work to improve well-being in our municipality and over time implement “up-stream” activities as a method of early crime prevention, and improve the quality of life of our residents and community. We won’t know exactly what this looks like until we hear from residents on what changes can be made to better the community for everyone. Once we have identified the risks to safety and well-being in our community through community feedback, we will begin to implement measurable strategies to address these issues. This could include improved programming, multi-sectoral partnerships, and more for our community. We understand that everyone’s struggles and experiences are unique, which is why we would love to hear from you on what can be done to improve community well-being! |
| How do I get involved? |
|
The public consultation period for the Plan's development has concluded as of May 2021. However, there are still plenty of ways to keep involved in the process:
|
Contact Us
