The rash of crime and untreated cases of drug addiction and mental health issues have not gone unnoticed by members of North Bay City Council.
Asked if he would bring friends from out of town to North Bay’s downtown, North Bay City Councillor Dave Mendicino confirmed that he would but “I understand why someone would not want to. I’ve seen circumstances in the downtown where mothers have children and they encounter someone and they are afraid.”
A Main Street West jewellery store was broken into for the third time over the weekend, the culprits smashing the front door of Pearls and making off with thousands of dollars worth of merchandise. Pearls had been holding liquidation sales as the owners plan to cease operations.
Monday evening, a few blocks to the northeast of that crime scene, NBPS reports a delivery driver was robbed at knifepoint by three men still at large. They relieved the victim of his wallet and vehicle after one of the men punched him in the incident on Front Street.
Mayor Al McDonald said a committee formed following the election is doing much of the leg-work in trying to find solutions for downtown.
Councillor Dave Mendicino is spearheading an initiative as part of that committee by borrowing from a successful project in Guelph, Ontario.
Mendicino spoke passionately about the project and the positive effects it has had in Guelph. “More often than not these people are not dangerous. It’s not their fault…These individuals need resources [so they can be helped] and I think that’s part of the issue, as well.”
Mendicino would like to see aspects of the Downtown Guelph Welcoming Streets Initiative pilot program introduced locally. An outreach worker, familiar with street experiences themselves, will form relationships with those struggling and clustering in the downtown core. Whether homeless, mentally ill, addicted — or any combination of the three, the outreach worker would offer support plus guidance to the appropriate agencies.
The committee is comprised of various downtown stakeholders and Mendicino said they quickly identified the drug addiction and mental health issues but did not know how to proceed until hearing about the study.
“We have been working with some mental health and addiction providers and the goal is to provide some resource to get a mental health and addiction worker patrolling the downtown soon,” said Mendicino.
