DOWNTOWN REGINA COMMUNITY SUPPORT TEAM

Contact Information

Call our team at 306-537-3727 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday to Friday for assistance:

A non-emergent safety, security, or well-being concern downtown
You or someone you know is in distress downtown
You or someone you know is in need of immediate access to food, water, or shelter downtown. (MAP)

What is the Downtown Regina Community Support Team?

The Downtown Regina Community Support team consists of four civilians who conduct year-round, daily foot circuits in the Regina Downtown Business Improvement District. Traveling in pairs, the team connects with priority community members affected by mental health, substance use and homelessness, supporting them through street outreach actions. These actions involve making phone calls, finding services, escorting people to services and helping those in crisis fill out paperwork when needed. The Downtown Regina Community Support team members collaborate with community agencies to facilitate priority community members, access to relevant services such as food, shelter, health care, risk prevention/harm reduction and crisis counseling. The Downtown Regina Community Support Team’s extensive training in the areas of mental health, de-escalation, mediation, harm reduction, trauma and culturally informed practices and crime prevention helps them assess safety, security and well-being concerns downtown. The Downtown Regina Community Support team is a pilot project running from June 21, 2021-June 15, 2022.

Regular duties for the Downtown Regina Community Support team consist of the following:

Walking the downtown Regina district
Checking in with downtown businesses
Responding to non-emergent calls from members, the public and the police
Connecting with priority people, identifying their needs and offering support, if required
Attending community functions
Engaging with the public and answering inquiries
Attending community meetings related to safety, security, homelessness, substance use and mental health crises
Attending workshops and sessions in order to stay up to date on training

Who employs the Downtown Regina Community Support Team?

The Downtown Regina Community Support Team operates under a Memorandum of Agreement developed and entered into by Regina Downtown and the City of Regina. The Downtown Regina Community Support Team is employed by the Regina Downtown Business Improvement District with oversight from the Community Well-Being Steering Committee.

What is the Community Well Being Steering Committee?

The Community Well Being Steering Committee is a guiding body that meets quarterly to discuss the progress of the program as well as offer guidance to the Supervisor and Downtown Regina Community Support team and ensures the project is meeting its success measures. The Community Well Being Steering Committee consists of a member of RDBID, RPS, City of Regina, a community organization stakeholder, an Indigenous Elder and a community member with a first voice/lived experience. The committee is also responsible for hiring the Downtown Regina Community Support team Supervisor.

Program Objectives

Decrease the amount of safety and security concerns in downtown Regina.
Improve the perception of downtown safety and security amongst citizens in downtown Regina.
Improve access to services for priority people downtown.
Decrease the calls to the Regina Police Service for non-emergent safety, security and wellness concerns.
Improve the safety and well-being for all people downtown.
Strengthen community identity and morale.
Identify gaps in access to social services.
Foster a better environment for individual, social and economic health and prosperity in downtown Regina.

Building Bridges

We understand that it will take time for the public to get to know the Downtown Community Support Team and vice versa. Trust will not be built overnight and much of the trust will be built on the street as the team walks the downtown. To further build relationships with community organizations and those accessing their services, the Downtown Regina Community Support team will spend, a minimum of fifty hours volunteering at local community based organizations as well as attend a minimum of ten community events. If you are interested in having the team volunteer with your organization, or attend your event, please contact the CSP Supervisor at cspsupervisor@cspregina.ca.

Mission Statement

CSP aims to connect and engage with all individuals who access Downtown Regina. We aspire to bridge gaps in services and enhance safety for all who live, work and access downtown through street outreach and community collaboration.

Vision Statement

A safe and vibrant downtown where all are welcomed.

Need more information about the Downtown Regina Community Support Team:

Email: cspsupervisor@cspregina.ca

Phone: 306-537-3727

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

We will put people first.

CSP will show integrity and compassion while interacting with the community.

CSP will operate through a trauma informed and culturally sensitive lens.

CSP will prioritize safety for all community members accessing the downtown.

We will work from a harm reduction approach.

CSP will meet people where they are at and prioritize individual needs.

CSP believes every individual is deserving of dignity and respect, even on their worst days.

Practice openness while recognizing the diverse needs of our community.

CSP will learn as we go and embrace continuous learning.

CSP will be flexible and adapt service delivery when needed.

Safety for all is paramount.

CSP will listen to the safety concerns of members and our community.

CSP acknowledges that improving overall safety will positively impact the downtown business community.

CSP will work to improve responses to safety concerns, as knowing when and what type of intervention is necessary can equate to cost savings for both the city and taxpayers.

Build relationships to cultivate community connections.

CSP will establish relationships with individuals to create trust.

CSP will collaborate with other service providers to bridge gaps and provide access to resources and support.

CSP will provide opportunity for understanding between stakeholders and downtown visitors through opening avenues of communication.

DOWNTOWN REGINA COMMUNITY SUPPORT TEAM BIOS

Jason

Jason has worked extensively in residential and community-based programs with Ranch Ehrlo Society in both Regina and Prince Albert as well as a front-line care worker at Turning Leaf here in Regina. Over the past 15 years he has worked in leadership positions in both programs. Jason’s focus has been on delivering culturally focused therapeutic programing in wilderness environments.

Jason was born and raised in Regina and has studied Religious Studies and Gender Studies at the University of Regina. He has a passion for helping people and has dedicated many hours over the years to volunteering in various capacities including disaster relief and clean up, community events and harm reduction initiatives.

He joined the Downtown Regina Community Support Team in May of 2022 and is excited to begin serving the Regina community as a Downtown Community Support Team member.

Jason enjoys spending his free time fishing, hiking, camping and kayaking in and around the many lakes and rivers of Northern Saskatchewan.

Kayla

Kayla is a Métis woman from Muskaday First Nation, born and raised in Regina. She joined the Downtown Regina Community Support Team in May of 2022.

Kayla has been a family support worker with the Ranch Ehrlo Society and is currently a child support worker with the YWCA, assisting children who have been apprehended. She has experience working in family preservation, addictions and mental health.

Kayla also has lived experience and a passion for meeting people where they are. She is very excited to be a member of Regina’s Downtown Community Support Team as a Community Support Worker.

Kayla is currently taking classes and is focused on entering a psychiatric nursing program in the future. In her personal life she enjoys spending time with her two children, ages one and three, her partner and their three dogs.

Elizabeth

Elizabeth has been involved in youth work, corrections and outreach for nearly ten years.

Born and raised in Regina, Elizabeth studied Social Work at the University of Regina. She has worked in Regina, Prince Albert, and Edmonton with organizations such as Regina’s Paul Dojack Youth Centre and Edmonton’s Oak Hill Ranch.

Elizabeth brings lived experience to her position on the Community Support team. She explains that her mother struggled with addictions and mental health issues.

“I wanted to help people like her – people who fall through the cracks,” she said.

As a team member with the Community Support Program, Elizabeth is working to create an inclusive, comfortable space for all to enjoy. She has an active toddler who shares her time in camping and hiking, swimming and playing outdoors. When Elizabeth isn’t trying to keep up with her son, she enjoys beading, watching documentaries and attempting to keep her houseplants alive.

Courtney

Courtney was born and raised in southern Ontario and moved to Regina in March of 2022. She has worked with the Canadian Red Cross as an Emergency Care Worker assisting with Covid-19 related responses as well as with wildfire evacuations. She has also worked on a variety of humanitarian projects throughout Western Canada.

Courtney was involved in providing humanitarian aid in 2006 to individuals and families in New Orleans who were impacted by Hurricane Katrina. In August of 2014 she went to Haiti to help re-build homes that had been reduced to rubble following the 2010 earthquake.

Courtney has a diploma in Disaster and Emergency Management from Edmonton’s NAIT Polytechnic. She joined the Downtown Community Support Program as a Community Support Worker in May of 2022. Courtney enjoys camping and trips to the mountains. She also loves trying new foods, travelling, and learning about the ways in which people in other parts of the world experience life.