(City of Red Deer)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

finding a consistent approach

Social Diversion pilot successful, but lots of room to grow

Oct 6, 2021 | 12:44 PM

The one-year pilot project that is Red Deer’s Social Diversion Team (SDT) has been largely successful, the folks behind it say.

The pilot was approved by city council in late 2020, then launched on-the-ground efforts in January, staffed by Safe Harbour Society team members.

“In the first six months, the Social Diversion Team responded to 878 events, averaging approximately six calls per day,” says Jeremy Bouw, Safe & Healthy Communities Supervisor for The City of Red Deer. “Each one of these calls represents an event that was diverted from our emergency medical services and policing resources, and also demonstrates our ability to respond to individuals in need with the right resources at the right time.”

The SDT functions when someone calls 2-1-1 upon seeing a person in distress, typically experiencing issues related to mental health, addictions or homelessness. 2-1-1 works as a dispatch to inform the SDT their assistance is required.

Most of its work has been done in the downtown core.

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“We have had really great feedback from downtown businesses, where a majority of our calls stem from,” says Stephanie MacDonald, Program Manager with Safe Harbour. “The Social Diversion Team has been very effective in both working with the individual to connect them with the resources they need, as well as provide positive outcomes for the businesses that have called us.”

MacDonald explains the SDT is comprised of a Licensed Practical Nurse and Social Diversion Specialist who are “uniquely prepared and qualified” to provide support, at the same time taking some of the burden from RCMP.

“Social Diversion can come in, connect, give resources, help them move along, and often they know the client, have built a relationship previously, and it’s a different response from when an RCMP officer shows up,” she explains.

“In the beginning, there was an individual who was loitering at a location downtown, and the Social Diversion Team had shown up. He needed transport and a warm coat, and had made a comment to the team, saying ‘Wow, this is really different’ because usually, he said, he’d end up in the back of a police car, and in handcuffs.”

MacDonald is clear that RCMP are nonetheless well-equipped, and often drop off clients at Safe Harbour or other agencies.

If a call is suitable for the SDT, but the SDT is experiencing heavy call volume, RCMP are one option to provide response. This is often done with its Police and Crisis (PAC) unit. RCMP may also respond if the call comes in after hours.

According to Bouw, from February to August, there were 26 after-hours calls per month on average, with a high of 60 in August.

rdnewsNOW asked Red Deer RCMP if and how members have adapted the way they approach helping with calls to ensure there’s a consistent approach with that of the Social Diversion Team.

Inspector Holly Glassford says if a person ends up in the back of a police car, it’s likely there’s criminality involved. She admits it is possible there are situations where a person hasn’t done anything criminal, but becomes defensive with police because of past experience.

“We know and understand that community safety is a collaborative approach, and that not all calls are police calls. Our officers are trained to risk assess the situation when they attend a scene. We’ve always had a checklist in place where we ask does this client or individual require further resources to ensure their safety. Those supports are sometimes a call away to an outreach centre, social services, suicide prevention, or for medical attention,” says Glassford.

“We haven’t had any evolution in our training. If anything, we just ensure our officers are provided with all resources, and new ones that are available in the city. It is important there’s a consistent response, but unfortunately that’s pretty difficult when dealing with two agencies who have different training. It would be great if our Social Diversion Team could expand as they do such great work.”

Bouw says the pilot is set to expire at the end of November, but city council will be presented with a chance to extend and/or expand it prior to that date.

MacDonald believes the best option would be to, at the very least, extend the team’s hours.