June 12, 2025: Celebrating the passing of the Peel’s Community Safety and Well-being Plan Update. Pictured (from left to right): Gurpreet. Malhotra, CEO, Indus Community Services; Mary Beth Moellenkamp, CEO, Peel Children’s Aid Society; Martin Reid, Regional Councillor, Ward 9; Sean Meagher, Coordinator, Metamorphosis; Nancy Polsinelli, Commissioner of Health Services, Region of Peel, Steve Jacques, Commissioner of Human Services, Region of Peel, Sharon Mayne, CEO of Catholic Family Services of Peel Dufferin, Varsha Naik, Executive Director, The Regional Diversity Roundtable, Kelly Henderson, Executive Director;Associated Youth Services of Peel, Liz Estey Noad , Program Director, Health Equity, Partnerships and Innovation, Region of Peel, Brian Laundry , Director, Health Strategy, Planning and Partnerships at Region of Peel, Jason Hastings, Director, Social Development, Planning and Partnerships, Region of Peel, Dani Mills, Director, Strategic Partnerships and Youth Advocacy, Our Place Peel.
Last week, Nonprofit leaders and the Metamorphosis Network came to Peel Regional council to make deputations endorsing the Community Safety and Well-being Plan refresh, for one underlying reason. Collaboration.
Over the last year, nonprofit leaders have been collaborating with Peel Region staff and our safety partners to help craft the update to the CSWB plan, because we know that the experience and knowledge from the sector will improve outcomes for the people we serve.
In one presentation, Dani Mills, the Director of Strategic Partnerships and Youth Advocacy at Our Place Peel, described their iRise program, a youth violence intervention program designed to support youth navigating complex challenges in their lives. It is a collaboration with Associated Youth Services of Peel, Victims Services of Peel, and the Peel District School Board, and aims to empower youth to find healthier coping strategies, positive outlets, and stronger support systems.
The example is just one way organizations are enthusiastic about the update. “The endorsement of the Community Safety and Well-Being Refresh, will allow our community to continue our collaboration, and collective impact,” Mills said. “To de-silo our efforts, rebuild trust in systems, and co-create equitable opportunities with youth and community members across Peel.”
If there is one thing we are certain of, it’s that increased investment in the services people need, early on, upstream, helps them avoid people ending up in crises. Early investment avoids real, painful consequences in peoples’ lives, and expensive and complex interventions to turn things around. In fact, we believe there is no other way to avoid the human and economic costs of hardship, than when proper investment is not made in services that help people before they reach desperation.
Solutions need to be co-designed, co-developed, co-contributed and finalized with input from the community. Metamorphosis and the nonprofit sector looks forward to continuing to participate in a robust and comprehensive way. We look forward to working together to collaborate on upstream investments that make lives better. As part of the CSWB refresh, and in all the work we do, the nonprofit sector is laser focused on advocating on behalf of our clients, to help the community feel safe.
