City councillor proposes merger of poverty groups

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/01/2024 (736 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Brandon city councillor wants to revamp the municipality’s poverty committee by combining its efforts with another organization.

At the Dec. 18 Brandon City Council meeting, poverty council member Coun. Kris Desjarlais (Ward 2) gave notice that he would bring forward a motion at a future meeting to dissolve the committee and merge it with the Community Wellness Collaborative.

The collaborative works with non-profits and others to improve the wellness of the community. Projects they’ve worked on include the effort to bring a sobering centre to Brandon and trying to reinstate 24-7 public washroom access at Princess Park.

Desjarlais says a merger of the poverty committee and the collective makes sense because it aligns with the city’s strategic plan and a goal to work more closely with those who work in community service delivery.

“And the best way for us to do that, as a council, is to belong to something that’s community-driven like the collaborative, where we’ve got some similar overarching goals around homelessness and poverty alleviation, mental health and wellness and trauma-informed support services, a more holistic view of the work that we need to do in the community,” Desjarlais said, adding poverty would be just one issue the new organization would tackle.

The councillor said a merger could improve the messaging and communication between front-line workers, health and auxiliary services in the community and improve city council’s awareness and involvement in those efforts.

The members of the collaborative could provide their expertise more directly to council and help elected representatives achieve their goals.

For example, Desjarlais said the city could provide administrative support that would free time for the collaborative’s volunteers. It may also help the collaborative secure funding.

To this point, Desjarlais said, members of the collaborative and the committee have attended some of each other’s meetings to get to know each other and are ready to start talking about what a merger might look like.

However, any discussion of a merger at the council table will likely have to wait until 2024 budget deliberations are finished, he said.

Reached by phone on Friday, Robinson confirmed the collaborative is interested in the merger.

“Here’s an opportunity for us to bring these two parties together … that have the same desired outcomes, bring them together and work together,” he said. “The CWC itself has got a footprint of 30 to 40 different collaborators at any given time out there in the environment of Brandon doing good work.”

Robinson said a partnership would allow the collaborative’s on-the-ground members to take advantage of the city and committee’s energy, resources and access to different levels of government.

At a December city council meeting, Robinson said the collaborative’s goals include providing the city’s vulnerable residents with 24-7 access to food and downtown washrooms.

In a separate interview, Gravel-Ouelette echoed Robinson’s sentiments about both organizations could achieve more together.

“It makes sense that we come together because our mandates are so closely aligned,” Gravel-Ouelette said. “As far as how all the nuts and bolts on how that works out, we’re still in that process.”

In an email, Coun. Heather Karrouze (Ward 1) — also a member of the poverty committee — expressed support for a merger.

“The focus of both the Community Wellness Collaborative and the poverty committee is on addressing the needs of Brandon’s most vulnerable residents,” Karrouze said.

» cslark@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @ColinSlark