Building Safer Communities: Addressing Violence and Crime in St. John's

Implement pop-up veggie & food markets around town (ensure walkability to get fresh, affordable groceries) Maybe subsidize these foods!

Being able to walk safely

Walking in my neighbourhood without being struck by a reckless/drunk driver

Coordinate with citizens and improve 311 so that we can know when a safety (and other) request has been actioned.

Empower individuals by supporting martial arts training

I am a 6th degree black belt in Aikido who has been practicing this martial art for 40+ years. I have seen many individuals transformed in a positive manner over the years, gaining confidence and self-mastery. Movies and sporting events (like MMA) have given martial arts an extremely bad image. But in reality, they offer positive social benefits. In Japan, judo is part of the regular gym curriculum in schools. In many European countries, martial arts dojos are subsidized by municipal governments, often providing spaces for this activity (like in their equivalent of the Paul Reynolds Centre). Indeed, we must make legal, social and other changes to address bullying and domestic violence, but this will take time. In the meantime, we can empower individuals -- especially the most vulnerable, like 2SLGBTQ+ youth and women -- to defend themselves. There are many highly trained martial arts teachers already in St. John's, many of whom are struggling to keep their dojos financially sustainable; having municipal support would be a great asset. This is too complex an issue to outline in a short description, and I would be happy to meet with you to discuss further or to provide you with a more detailed proposal. Thank you for considering this request.

Offer more mental health and addictions services. The majority of crimes in our city stem from ppl with mental health or addiction issues.

Reduce Vehicle Speeds

The biggest danger to people's safety is the large, heavy vehicles being driven at a high rate of speed. The speed issue can be addressed by reducing speed limits (e.g. 30 km/h throughout downtown) and changing the design of the streets to reflect that speed limit (i.e. traffic calming)

INCLUSION Matters for everyone who calls St. John's Home.

Making the City More ACCESSIBLE.. Educating people on AUTISM and other invisible disabilities, mental health is another area that needs to be looked at here in the CITY .

24/7 Warming/ Community Center

A shorter term solution to help with making downtown a safer place, could involve setting up a warming center that’s opened and staffed 24/7 to make sure people have a place to relax and socialize instead of wandering the bus stops and downtown area. If people have the ability to pop in grab some snacks and a coffee it creates a safe space for them with no expectation of buying something to sit as most restaurants and businesses have. By staffing this center with outreach workers you’ll also be helping to create a point of contact for people trying to access support services.

Supportive housing

Some folks due to traumatic events early in life and were never able to acquire skills that allow them maintain stable housing such as cleaning skills, documenting/paperwork, maintain good relationship with landlord, etc. By creating more supportive housing units/programs we can help keep vulnerable members of our community safe while creating more jobs. Especially programs that focus on early intervention in vulnerable youth

More education incentives for low-income families

The level of literacy people have suggests their probability of participating in violence and crime. Give incentives for adults to learn how to read, and for youths to continue their education. These incentives could be grants. Maybe have low-income families go to post-secondary education to be free (or significantly cheaper).