Mayor's Community Safety Awards

On November 20, 2023, two individuals and four community projects will receive recognition during the 13th Annual Mayor’s Community Safety Awards for their outstanding work in the community.

Always a highlight of the awards ceremony, inspiring videos featuring the recipients and the important work they do aired online and on local television, allowing for more citizens to watch.

COMMUNITY HERO AWARD

Jon Green

Jon Green is an active team member of Elevate NWO, a not-for-profit organization that believes individuals experiencing chronic homelessness can be successfully housed. As an outreach worker, Jon compassionately approaches and supports individuals living unsheltered in our community, delivers nutritious breakfasts five days a week, participates in routine wellness checks, connects people with supports and harm reduction services, and coordinates regular clean-ups. He is now a familiar face in the community due to his warm demeanour and non-judgmental approach. Through continuous networking and outreach, Jon strives to facilitate ongoing support and build a safer community for everyone.

Award sponsored by Apex Investigation & Security

YOUNG LEADER AWARD

Winner McGuire

Winner McGuire is a dynamic young leader and the current co-president of the Regional Multicultural Youth Council (RMYC). She helps immigrants, Indigenous youth and people of colour navigate societal and institutional barriers and guides them towards a successful future. She has even led RMYC to form a Black Youth Committee. Believing education empowers women, she inspires young girls to stay in school and follow their passions. Winner has participated in RMYC’s Girl Power Program and organizes workshops to increase awareness about human trafficking among young women. She is currently working for the RMYC Student Working Group to ensure schools are safe and conducive to efficient learning. Contributing to the organization since middle school, Winner endeavours to create a healthy, safe and socially just society.

Award sponsored by Generator

OUTSTANDING COMMUNITY PROJECT

Expressive Arts Program

The Expressive Arts Program was formed at NorWest Community Health Centres in 2019 to improve community well-being. People struggling with mental health challenges find comfort and companionship in this welcoming group. Over 16 weeks, a NorWest community health worker and a community expressive arts facilitator teach participants ways to utilize art as a means of expressing their emotions, coping with stress, and building confidence. The instructors create a comfortable environment for everyone, fostering a sense of belonging and inclusion that buffers the experience of social anxiety. Through this program, people find an inspiring community to support their efforts and positively channel their energy into creative projects. The Expressive Arts Program infuses growth and friendship, leading to a safer and more supportive community.

Award sponsored by Enbridge Gas Inc.

OUTSTANDING COMMUNITY PROJECT

People with Lived Experience Advisory Committee

The People with Lived Experience (PWLE) Advisory Committee has contributed to building a safer community for over five years. Comprised of individuals with diverse backgrounds of lived and / or living experience who come together to share their knowledge, wisdom, and experiences to help address community challenges, including systemic barriers. They make recommendations and provide consultations to local organizations catering to Thunder Bay’s specific needs. Their valuable insights and input extend to several initiatives, including the Thunder Bay Drug Strategy and its various Working Groups, Community Safety & Well-Being Thunder Bay and its diverse Action Tables, the Poverty Reduction Strategy, and other community projects. The dedication and commitment of the PWLE Advisory Committee is integral to making Thunder Bay a safer community for all.

Award sponsored by GardaWorld

OUTSTANDING COMMUNITY PROJECT

Voices of Youth Project by Regional Multicultural Youth Council in partnership with Nishnawbe Aski Nation Oshkaatisak Youth Council

The Voices of Youth project is a joint effort by RMYC and NAN Oshkaatisak Council to rekindle young people’s passion for learning and to combat the disruptive impacts that the COVID-19 pandemic had on young people’s education. The Voices of Youth project offered a platform for young people to share the impacts of the pandemic on their mental well-being, their academic performance, and on their social lives. It trained peers to lead activities and workshops that steer students towards more positive outcomes. It also gathered feedback and suggestions from the students on ways to make the post-pandemic world a better place. Helping Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth realize their full potential, the Voices of Youth project provided an important opportunity to learn and become involved in creating a safer community.

Award sponsored by Circle K

OUTSTANDING COMMUNITY PROJECT

Poverty-Free Thunder Bay

Poverty-Free Thunder Bay (PFTB) is a collaborative coalition of changemakers advocating for the elimination of poverty and its consequences within the community. It is a forum created by members of Kinna-aweya Community Legal Clinic, Thunder Bay and District Injured Workers Support Group, Thunder Bay & District Labour Council and affiliates, United Church Guaranteed Livable Income Network, Northwestern Ontario Women’s Centre, Thunder Bay Health Coalition, Thunder Bay and District Health Unit and concerned citizens to champion social transformation. At present PFTB has three working groups. The first group focuses on advocating to double the monthly rates for people on Ontario Works and those on Ontario Disability Support Program. The second group focuses on establishing a National Guaranteed Livable Basic Income. The third working group is advocating for improvements to the local transit system, including increased accessibility and a fare-free system for individuals with low income.

Award sponsored by Matawa First Nations Management

On November 14, 2022, two individuals and four community projects received recognition during the 12th Annual Mayor’s Community Safety Awards for their outstanding work in the community.

Always a highlight of the awards ceremony, inspiring videos featuring the recipients and the important work they do aired online and on local television, allowing for more citizens to watch.

A printed brochure and the videos below highlight each award recipient. 

COMMUNITY HERO AWARD

Bryan Tucker, Advocate

When Bryan Tucker saw inmates struggling with substance use, he helped form a weekly Men’s Addiction Support Group where he facilitates and, as a person in recovery, shares as a participant. To help break down stigma and improve mental health for the corrections community, Bryan belongs to his workplace Health and Wellness Committee, and recently joined as a peer support volunteer for Boots on the Ground. He also joined the Thunder Bay Drug Awareness Committee, helped organize a

Corrections Staff Family Day to promote mental health supports, and shared his own experience with mental health, addictions, and recovery on stage at the 2022 Rockin’ Recovery event.

Award sponsored by Apex Investigation & Security

 

YOUNG LEADER AWARD

Tisha Duncan

Tisha Duncan is an exemplary young leader, peer mentor, and role model with the Regional Multicultural Youth Council (RMYC). She organizes youth-led activities like Girl Power and Band of Brothers day camps for kids in high-risk neighbourhoods, assists with RMYC’s after-school and tutoring programs, promotes RMYC’s peer mentoring and student ambassador programs, and helped launch Pathways to Education to encourage vulnerable students to stay in school. Tisha sees how social isolation, poverty, racism, and negative influences can lead to violence and reaches out to groups and agencies to help kids feel a sense of safety and belonging.

Award sponsored by Generator

OUTSTANDING COMMUNITY PROJECT

Hospice Northwest

A Personal Lens on Grief

In April 2022, Hospice Northwest asked the community to share their grief experiences by taking a photo that shows what grief looks like to them. These images, together with a brief story page, created A Personal Lens on Grief, a month-long exhibit at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery. There were three workshops associated with the event during three Saturdays in April: Grief Through Movement, Expressive Art, and a Movie Night showing the completed video. This project allowed viewers and visitors to witness the impacts of grief and create a community of support. The photos encouraged discussion about a difficult topic and gave Hospice Northwest a window to educate Thunder Bay about its grief support services.

Award sponsored by Circle K.

OUTSTANDING COMMUNITY PROJECT

Niizhaayek Alliance

Founded and led by 2SLGBTQ+ Indigiqueer youth, the non-profit Niizhaayek Alliance works to reduce the stigma and risks experienced by the 2SLGBTQ+ community. In addition to offering workshops, talks, sharing circles, and an annual Ontario-wide 2SLGBTQ+ youth gathering, the Alliance uses its platform to promote relevant 2SLGBTQ+ resources and events. Its podcast series, The In-Between People, features 2SLGBTQ+ Indigiqueer change-makers breaking new ground in healthcare, fashion, art, and performance. By creating safe spaces for youth to connect to positive role models, peers, and elders, while celebrating 2S identity and culture, Niizhaayek Alliance improves safety and well-being, and empowers 2SLGBTQ+ Indigiqueer youth.

Award sponsored by GardaWorld

OUTSTANDING COMMUNITY PROJECT

Team DEK

Created by a grieving mother who lost her daughter to addiction, Team DEK brings together concerned citizens, care providers, affected family members, persons accessing services, and community leaders to find and create appropriate responses to the ongoing addiction crisis. The DEK

Foundation is a grassroots, non-profit, volunteer-run organization that works tirelessly on numerous awareness and fundraising events throughout the year to help stop the stigma surrounding addiction, and carry out important advocacy efforts to increase resources and improve the lives of individuals and families battling addiction. Team DEK also supports existing organizations who meet the complex needs of vulnerable people – like donating lunches to the NorWest Community Health Centre Outreach Team for street delivery. Team DEK’s efforts contribute to the overall health and safety of the community.

Award sponsored by Enbridge Gas Inc.

OUTSTANDING COMMUNITY PROJECT

Elevate NWO

Leading the Community Response to Unsheltered Homelessness

Elevate staff and leadership believe that individuals experiencing chronic homelessness can be successfully housed. With respect and dignity, Elevate coordinates support for people experiencing unsheltered homelessness by ensuring that amenities, services, and health/harm reduction supports are delivered to sleeping rough locations. Approaching and supporting individuals compassionately can increase success in securing housing, and interventions are often assisted by peers with lived experience who receive an honorarium, recognition for their service, and important work experience. Community partners include: The City of Thunder Bay, Thunder Bay Police Service, Thunder Bay District Health Unit Street Outreach Nursing, Nishnawbe Aski Nation, Elizabeth Fry Society of NWO,

Thunder Bay Indigenous Friendship Centre, NorWest Community Health Centre Outreach Team, Thunder Bay District Social Services Administration Board, and local businesses.

Award sponsored by Matawa First Nations Management

On December 6, 2021, two individuals and four community projects received recognition during the 11th Annual Mayor’s Community Safety Awards for their outstanding work in the community.

Always a highlight of the awards ceremony, inspiring videos featuring the recipients and the important work they do aired online and on local television, allowing for more citizens to watch.

2021 Award Recipients

COMMUNITY HERO AWARD- Ma-Nee Chacaby, Anishinaabe Elder

Ma-Nee Chacaby, a Two-Spirit Ojibwa-Cree elder and storyteller, generously shares her skills with

the Thunder Bay community. Her visibility as an out and proud Two-Spirit person — in the film Fire Song, in text with her own story A Two- Spirit Journey: The Autobiography of a Lesbian Ojibwa-Cree Elder, and through digital story-telling — helps increase public awareness for 2SLGBTIQ+ experiences, and broadens the conversation around crucial Indigenous history like the impacts of residential and day schools. For decades, Ma-Nee’s community work and volunteering has been extensive.

She spends time counselling youth who find themselves at risk of poor outcomes, individuals struggling with addictions and homelessness, and people living with HIV. Ma-Nee encourages and supports language revitalization, ensures that cultural teachings survive to reach future generations, and improves a sense of community belonging and safety through her mentorship of youth. In addition to serving on many committees, including the City of Thunder Bay Elders Advisory Council, Ma-Nee mentors a number of grassroots groups and supportstheir vital community safety and well-being efforts.

Award sponsored by Apex Investigation & Security

YOUNG LEADER AWARD - Cornelius Beaver

Cornelius is a creative, compassionate, courageous, Two- Spirit young person from Nibinamik

(Summer Beaver) First Nation who inspires and supports youth and the creation of safe spaces. Since 2017, Cornelius has volunteered with the Regional Multicultural Youth Council to plan and lead community events for peers at Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School. They welcomed First Nations students from remote and rural northern communities and provided outreach and support to children and youth in public housing. They facilitated Youth Embracing Diversity in Education workshops and staff development seminars for local school boards and played a lead role in coordinating a community forum at Lakehead University, where 250 high school students watched and discussed the film, Coming Together to Talk - Chi Pi Kaaki Too Yang. Cornelius uses storytelling

to encourage change. Through Magnus Theatre in Education Project, Cornelius has helped produce plays that focus on residential school, reconciliation, consent, migration, invisible disabilities, and more. With Roots to Harvest, Cornelius worked in the Urban Youth Farming and Seasonal Horticultural Outdoor Worker programs, which led to collaborating with other youth to produce a podcast series, Growing Through it: Stories from the Ground Up.

Award sponsored by Generator

OUTSTANDING COMMUNITY PROJECT - Matawa Safe Sobering Site

The Matawa Safe Sobering Site supports Matawa students from Aroland, Constance Lake, Eabametoong, Ginoogaming, Long Lake #58, Marten Falls, Neskantaga, Nibinamik, and Webequie who need safe and supervised detoxification and stabilization support. Matawa Safe Sobering Site is located on site at the Matawa Education and Care Centre (MECC) and provides a safe, culturally appropriate space for intoxicated students to stabilize. When students arrive at the site, they receive confidential services on a voluntary basis without judgement. Basic needs are met as well as access to harm reduction supplies. Under the direction of health care providers, MECC staff provide trauma-informed care, including supportive counselling to encourage harm reduction and prevent relapse.

Students leave with a discharge/recovery plan that includes referral to appropriate treatment including: MECC mental health workers, St. Joseph’s Care Group mental health and addiction counsellors, nurse practitioners, psychiatrists and psychologists, and family counsellors. Everyone works together to find positive solutions to help students academically, socially, and personally. Redirecting students who are intoxicated to a culturally appropriate place of care and compassion reduces strain on Thunder Bay Police Service and Emergency Medical Services resources, and

students are cared for through a lens of harm reduction and healing, rather than criminalization.

Award sponsored by Enbridge Gas Inc.

OUTSTANDING COMMUNITY PROJECT - On-Call Crisis Response

The Seven Youth Inquest made strong recommendations for funding to support youth transitioning to

Thunder Bay from remote northern communities to attend high school. Northern Nishnawbe Education Council (NNEC) responded by establishing an On-Call Crisis Response service to provide respectful, culturally-appropriate after-hours support to ensure students’ well-being and safety. On call workers frequently check known ‘hot spots’ where students might engage in unsafe activity, report incidents, track calls, follow up with students receiving medical attention, talk to boarding parents, ensure students are home by curfew, and become part of the students’ lives.

If a student is missing, on-call workers follow established missing student protocols. When crises occur, on call workers use non-physical interventions. If safety is threatened, they work closely with Thunder Bay’s emergency services, including Thunder Bay Police Service and Emergency Medical Services. In addition to providing healthy living and role modeling to their students, on-call workers participate in daily NNEC school-organized recreation and community programs. They also interact with St. Joseph’s Care Group’s Balmoral Centre, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, Shelter House Street Outreach Service (SOS), City of Thunder Bay sports and recreation programs, Youth Council Workers, the Regional Multicultural Youth Council, and other service providers to ensure the best possible outcomes for students.

Award sponsored by Circle K

OUTSTANDING COMMUNITY PROJECT - Care Bus

The COVID-19 pandemic increased the risk for people experiencing homelessness. Grassroots community groups called for the community to find an immediate community response to individuals who have limited supports and access to warm spaces. This call to action was made due to individuals dying in our community. The District of Thunder Bay Social Services Administration Board collaborated with NorWest Community Health Centres, Thunder Bay Drug Strategy, and People Advocating for Change through Empowerment to develop and launch a Care Bus in partnership with Thunder Bay City Transit. The Care Bus was implemented for a 7-week period in March 2021.

A City Transit bus, staffed with Harm Reduction Outreach Workers and System Navigators, provided a safe, warm, dry place for individuals to seek shelter, rest, supplies and supports. The Care Bus provided assistance to over 3600 individuals by providing food and water, hygiene supplies, personal  protective equipment, warm clothing, first aid, social support services, transport to the warming centre, COVID-19 isolation shelter or emergency shelter, and aided safer consumption through distribution of harm reduction supply kits. In addition, individuals who needed access to withdrawal management services or medical support were assisted with transport to service organizations. The Care Bus initiative offered an innovative, empathic, compassionate and collaborative response and provided an immediate and timely response to thousands of individuals with emergent, life-threatening needs.

Award sponsored by Matawa First Nations Management

OUTSTANDING COMMUNITY PROJECT - Indigenous Food Circle

Since 2016, the Indigenous Food Circle (IFC), a coalition of Indigenous-led and Indigenous-serving organizations in the Thunder Bay region, has worked to increase Indigenous food security and food sovereignty. When COVID-19 struck, federal and philanthropic funding allowed IFC to connect pandemic response teams in remote communities with regional food suppliers and distributors so they could develop their own relationships for bulk food ordering.

IFC also partnered with the Good Food Box program to facilitate fresh food distribution to households in nine road accessible First Nations. To help get fruits and vegetables to elementary students in Northern Ontario, IFC connected the Northern Fruit and Vegetable Program (NFVP) to 13 remote Indigenous communities. With funding from Community Food Centers Canada, IFC provided direct food supports to communities facing significant struggles, and supported remote First Nations to choose projects they deemed most beneficial for their communities. Twenty-nine communities benefited through immediate food orders, increased food storage infrastructure, tools to help build self-sufficiency and equipment for sourcing traditional foods. IFC contributed, along with numerous other community organizations, to the development of a Community Emergency Food Response Plan to strengthen networks, streamline communication, avoid duplication, and utilize resources more efficiently.

Award sponsored by Thunder Bay Police Services Board

*Each Outstanding Community Project received a $1,000 award from their sponsor to support community safety efforts.

In 2019, two individuals and four community projects were recognized during the Ninth Annual Mayor’s Community Safety Awards ceremony for their work to make Thunder Bay a safer community.

“It is an honour to stand with these outstanding individuals tonight who work tirelessly, day in and day out, to make Thunder Bay safer and more inclusive for everyone,” said Mayor Bill Mauro. “I offer my sincere congratulations to each award recipient and look forward to following along as they continue to make inroads towards improving our community now and into the future.”

Sponsors of this year’s event include Apex Investigation and Security, Generator, Circle K, Thunder Bay Police Service and Thunder Bay Police Services Board, Matawa First Nations Management and Enbridge Gas Inc. 

The 2019 Mayor’s Community Safety Award Recipients include:

Community Hero Award - Tessa Debruyne

 

A Street Outreach Worker for the Shelter House SOS Program, Tessa has excellent credentials - a Master of Social Work from Lakehead University - but more than that, she has the power of kindness to build trust and help empower vulnerably housed and homeless clients to find their voices and make changes. Part of a highly skilled and compassionate team, Tessa, in her role as driver, is on the road offering direct care to community members in need and helping move them out of harm’s way. With deep empathy and genuine belief in the power of people, Tessa feels privileged to work with vulnerable people, hear their incredible stories, know them personally, and care for them in ways that allow them to rely on her. As navigator and cheerleader, she works constantly to connect people to resources and services, and invests immeasurable emotional labour into ensuring the most vulnerable people in our community are safe and well.

Sponsor: Apex Investigation & Security 

Young Leader Award - Yamaan Alsumadi

Since arriving in Thunder Bay four years ago, Yamaan Alsumadi has been planting seeds of hope. An anti-racism activist with strong ties to her cultural community at the Mosque, Yamaan has helped youth build resiliency skills, positive identity, and self-esteem to motivate change in their lives and the lives of others. When co-president of the Regional Multicultural Youth Council, she attended the 2019 Canada We Want Conference in Toronto and returned home to help create Thunder Bay We Want ¾  an inclusive community committed to reconciliation, improved race relations, and safe schools and neighbourhoods. Yamaan chaired a youth-facilitated event that invited 200 secondary students to view Michelle Desrosier’s film Coming Together to Talk, share their perspective of racism in Thunder Bay, and present possible solutions. Yamaan has served on Thunder Bay’s Anti-Racism Incident Reporting Working Group, and championed in-school activities such as the Canadian Cancer Society’s Relay for Life.

Today, Yamaan continues her advocacy to build welcoming environments for youth in our city while pursuing studies in nursing at Lakehead University.

Sponsor: Generator

Outstanding Community Project Award - Joint Mobile Crisis Response Team

 

Launched in June 2018 after years of hard work by a dedicated Steering Committee, the Joint Mobile Crisis Response (JMCR) Team has responded to over 1400 mental health related calls, plus over 600 calls that could not be served due to staffing and hours of operation. This collaborative partnership between the Thunder Bay Police Service, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, and the Canadian Mental Health Association pairs trained crisis workers with uniformed police officers to connect people in crisis with appropriate care and services, thus reducing the burden on community emergency response systems. The JMCR Team frees police officers to spend more time focusing on their primary mandate of public safety and ensures that people experiencing a mental health crisis have the immediate benefit of CMHA workers’ expertise. Northwest communities are looking to the JMCR Team as a best-practice model while they plan similar initiatives to support individuals in crisis.

Sponsor: Matawa First Nations Management

Outstanding Community Project Award - Thunder Bay Coalition to End Human Trafficking

 

Thunder Bay is one of the top six hubs of human trafficking in Ontario. To increase community awareness, Kris Carlson, Collin Graham, and Cindy Paypompee created the Thunder Bay Coalition to End Human Trafficking - a diverse group of over 30 individuals and organizations building awareness about all forms of human trafficking and the supports and services available to victims and survivors. The Coalition has been busy: on February 22, Ontario’s Human Trafficking Awareness Day, they hosted an awareness event at Intercity Shopping Centre to engage and educate the public; on July 30, the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, the Coalition hosted an information fair and BBQ at Minnesota Park. As Kris points out, “This is not an issue that one organization can handle by itself. When we start breaking down silos and working as a community that’s when we’ll become safer.”

Sponsor: Thunder Bay Police Service & Thunder Bay Police Services Board

Outstanding Community Project Award - Giant Hearts

Giant Hearts began when a group of parents saw gaps in their community and got to work immediately picking up garbage (100s of bags!) and doing needle and hazard cleanups in public places, streets and parks. As this grassroots volunteer team witnessed more need, they began weekly street outreach to help vulnerable Thunder Bay residents feel cared for and safe. Now, for just over a year, Giant Hearts has been installing Blessing Boxes around the city, at Fort William First Nation, and in the region. Currently, there are 17 tiny houses of hope hosted on lawns across the city, full of non-perishable food plus hygiene items, feminine products, and baby necessities, free for anyone in need. With help from local schools, Blessing Boxes will be constructed and installed until all those who want a box can get one. Giant Hearts doesn’t just talk about what a better, safer community looks like - they’re out there building it. Donations welcomed with gratitude.

Sponsor: Circle K 

Outstanding Community Project Award - Wake the Giant

 

To help improve the relationship between non-Indigenous and Indigenous people in Thunder Bay, a group of Dennis Franklin Cromarty teachers - Greg Chomut, Sean Spenrath, and A.J. Haapa - with the guidance of school leadership, students, and Elder John Gagnon, began to envision Wake the Giant. Their first outreach saw more than 300 businesses respond to the call to place highly visible Wake the Giant decals in their store windows as beacons of welcome and safety for Indigenous people, particularly youth. Then Wake the Giant Music Fest became a reality. Hundreds of supporters came on board, thousands of fans attended, and a message of reconciliation began to wake the hearts and minds of Thunder Bay and the North and challenged people to stand up against racism. As these committed organizers simply say, “When people get along better it will make Thunder Bay a safer place.” Wake The Giant is currently working with local businesses to provide workshops and generate job opportunities for Indigenous youth who travel to Thunder Bay for school.

Sponsor: Enbridge