Community ambassador program launched on International Avenue
Wearing bright purple jackets, carrying first aid and naloxone kits, community ambassadors are out along International Avenue looking to meet people in the community.
“Really I want to make connections with businesses and people on the street,” said ambassador Carmen Poon.
The east Calgary ambassador helper program launched in the spring with enough money from federal funding for two ambassadors.
The goal is to create a safe and vibrant environment while also connecting people to social services they need. The ambassadors have gone through extensive training including for opioid poisoning and suicide prevention.
“With a planning background for me it’s really about understanding the spaces we live in…that are not private buildings," said ambassador Ivan Osorio.
"It’s these open parks and streets and sidewalks, all those spaces where life really goes on how can we make that better for everyone,” .
Osorio and Poon also both speak Spanish which they say helps bridge cultural and language barriers.
COMMUNITY COLLABORATION
The outreach program is a collaboration between the International Avenue BRZ and 12 Community Safety Initiative, which is a crime prevention group.
“One of their main aspects is to really let people know about all the good things you can find out here. There’s over 425 businesses within 35 blocks,” said Alison Karim-McSwiney, the executive director of International Avenue BRZ.
Karim-McSwiney said the ambassadors are there to welcome people to 17th Avenue SE and offer neighbourly help, such as providing directions or pointing out hidden gems.
But they are also there to help make connections on the street and connect people to social services they need.
Karim-McSwiney said there has been an increase of people experiencing homelessness over the past four years.
“What we’ve found recently particularly with COVID-19 is there’s been a real tipping point that’s happened out here. We’re seeing significant amount of social disorder that we haven’t been seeing before,” said Karim-McSwiney.
“There’s a lot of people that are living rough in the area and as a result we’re trying to help them to essentially get off the street and be connected with services.”
Karim-McSwiney said the plan is to hire two more ambassadors in the fall, when the source of funding will come from a city grant.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Serial sexual offender linked to unsolved 1970s homicides of four Calgary girls, women
An investigation into unsolved historical homicides from the 1970s has linked the deaths of two girls and two young women in and around Calgary to a now-deceased serial offender.
Woman with liver failure rejected for a transplant after medical review highlights alcohol use
For nearly three months, Amanda Huska has been in an Ontario hospital, part of it on life support, because of severe liver failure. Her history of alcohol use is getting in the way of her only potential treatment: a liver transplant.
A look back on Alberta's record-breaking wildfire season: Preparing for potential challenges in 2024
By the end of the 2023 wildfire season in Alberta, 1,088 wildfires had burned more than 2.2 million hectares of land, and this year, the wildfire season is already in full swing.
Video appears to show Sean 'Diddy' Combs beating singer Cassie in hotel hallway in 2016
Security video aired by CNN appears to show Sean 'Diddy' Combs physically assaulting singer Cassie in a Los Angeles hotel hallway in 2016.
B.C. man 'attacked suddenly' by adult grizzly near Alberta border: RCMP
A B.C. man is recovering from multiple injuries after he was "attacked suddenly" by an adult grizzly bear near Elkford Thursday afternoon.
Anglers reel in 3.5-metre-long tiger shark off coast of Florida: 'She found my bait'
A group of fishers said it took roughly 20 minutes to reel in this 3.5-metre-long tiger shark off the coast of Florida.
Australia's richest woman seeks removal of her portrait from exhibition
Art is subjective. And while many artists long to share their work with the world, there's no guarantee that the audience will understand it, or even like it.
Scottie Scheffler isn't the first pro golfer to be arrested during a tournament
Scottie Scheffler's arrest hours before his second-round tee time at the PGA Championship in Louisville, Kentucky, will go down as one of the most shocking in professional golf history. It certainly wasn't the first, though.
Canadian convicted of attacking Nancy Pelosi's husband with a hammer sentenced to 30 years
The man convicted of attempting to kidnap then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and attacking her husband with a hammer was sentenced Friday to 30 years in prison.