Community Safety and Well-Being Plan

The Building Safer Communities Grant initiative is a partnership with Public Safety Canada, providing multi-year funding for community-led efforts to prevent and address risk factors associated with youth gun and gang violence. 

From 2023 to 2026, nearly $2.5 million is being invested in community initiatives through this grant, supporting priorities identified in Hamilton’s Building Safer Communities Multi-Year Plan. 

Informed by ongoing community engagement with youth, parents, guardians and service providers across Hamilton, the funding currently focuses on the following priorities: 

• Preventive programs that foster youth and community connections, build positive pathways through employment, recreation, mentorship and raise awareness about the realities of gang involvement. 
• Comprehensive support services that expand and initiate programs to assist youth exiting gangs, offering comprehensive support. 

Programming is focused on empowering Indigenous, Black, female and newcomer youth to achieve their goals. 

Community partners currently implementing these initiatives are as follows: 

• Hamilton East Kiwanis Boys and Girls Club 
• Centre de Santé Communautaire Hamilton Niagara Inc. 
• Empowerment Squared  
• Niwasa Kendaaswin Teg 
• NPAAMB - Indigenous Youth Employment & Training
• STAC Hamilton 
• Wesley Urban Ministries Inc. 
• YMCA of Hamilton/Burlington/Brantford 
• YWCA Hamilton  

Hamilton C.A.R.E.S. (Community Assistance and Resource Engagement System)

Empowering Youth and Families through Coordinated Support

Hamilton C.A.R.E.S. is a situation table that brings together a wide range of community agencies from health, education, justice, and social services sectors to offer coordinated and timely support for individuals and families facing urgent or elevated challenges. Approximately 20 local agencies collaborate to assess situations and connect individuals with the appropriate services and resources, ensuring that needs are met swiftly and effectively.

What is a Situation Table?

A situation table is a collaborative team of local agencies that meets regularly to proactively address cases of high or elevated risk. These tables are designed to foster swift and coordinated action, enabling agencies to assess situations in a collective and holistic way, share insights, and work together with youth and families to create solutions that build on their strengths and address immediate needs. By combining expertise and resources, these teams enhance their capacity to make a meaningful impact, providing a more effective response than any single organization working alone.

Hamilton C.A.R.E.S. Goals

• Increase service access and reduce barriers, ensuring people are connected to the right services at the right time.
• Provide proactive support to address needs before they escalate.
• Offer comprehensive, culturally responsive assistance that values the diverse backgrounds of individuals and families.
• Strengthen collaboration among community partners to create seamless and efficient service delivery.
• Raise awareness of service gaps and advocate for positive changes to better meet community needs.
• Enhance community safety and well-being by reducing risks and empowering individuals to thrive.

Hamilton C.A.R.E.S. Focus Area

Hamilton C.A.R.E.S. focuses on supporting youth and families with children aged 8 to 14 who are experiencing elevated risks. These situations involve:

• A high likelihood of immediate harm to individuals or others, with an emphasis on prevention.
• Risk factors that require a collaborative, multi-agency response, drawing on the strengths and expertise of various partners.
• A need for timely intervention to prevent further escalation and ensure positive outcomes, avoiding the need for emergency measures.

How does the Hamilton C.A.R.E.S. Situation Table work?

^{Image flow chart caption: Weekly meetings, multiple community agencies attend, discuss youth/family support (with their consent), identify agencies that can assist, share information and resources to creative supportive plan, initiate a timely response, connect youth/family to services.}

Community Partners
Hamilton C.A.R.E.S. includes a wide range of dedicated community partners, including: 

• Banyan Community Services Inc.
• Catholic Children’s Aid Society of Hamilton
• Hamilton Child and Family Supports (Formerly Children’s Aid Society)
• Centre de Sante Communautaire Hamilton/Niagara Inc.
• City of Hamilton; Children’s and Community Services; Housing Services; Ontario Works; Public Health; Recreation
• Hamilton Health Sciences, Child and Youth Mental Health Program McMaster Children’s Hospital
• Hamilton Police Services
• Hamilton Wentworth Catholic District School Board
• Hamilton Wentworth District School Board
• Lynwood Charlton Centre
• Niwasa Kendaaswin Teg
• St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton 
• The Good Shepherd Centre Hamilton
• The John Howard Society of Hamilton, Burlington & Area
• Wesley Urban Ministries Inc.
• YMCA of Hamilton/Burlington/Brantford
• YWCA Hamilton

For more information about the Hamilton C.A.R.E.S. situation table, please email [email protected].

This strategy identifies risk and protective factors that contribute to community safety and well-being, inform local challenges, identify targets to focus our efforts, and align resources for greatest impact in our community.

Aligning the City’s Hate Prevention and Mitigation Plan with broader community safety goals and building on partnerships with community initiatives such as Anti-Hate Coalition, Hamilton for All, and Hamilton Anti-Racism Resource Centre. The ongoing focus includes strengthening the city’s response to hate incidents, implementing proactive measures to reduce hate and discrimination, and creating inclusive community spaces that foster belonging and diverse interactions.

Residents, community partners, and other groups are working together to find solutions that improve safety and well-being in the community. These efforts brings everyone together to identify issues and develop projects and programs to address them. The goal is to create positive change for the community.

In addition to these main areas of focus, other partners, including City departments, are also exploring how Community Safety and Well-Being initiatives can support important causes, such as:

• Advocating for living wage and basic income
• Conducting gender-based safety audits
• Addressing gender-based violence and intimate partner violence
• Promoting Pride awareness
• Supporting initiatives such as “Hamilton for All” and the Anti-Hate Toolkit

From January to December 2024, the City of Hamilton partnered with YWCA Hamilton  to complete a Gender-Based Safety Audit. The audit focused on improving safety in public spaces for women, girls and gender-diverse people. It supports the City’s goal of creating safe and thriving neighbourhoods and responds to the declared epidemic of gender-based and intimate partner violence as a part of Hamilton’s Community Safety and Well-Being Plan.

Throughout 2024, the YWCA gathered feedback from community members, especially those who face barriers to inclusion, on how to enhance safety in public spaces.

On March 20, 2025, the Emergency and Community Services Committee of Council approved key recommendations from the audit. The City and its partners are now working to implement these recommendations.

High-level recommendations

The YWCA Hamilton’s Gender-Based Safety Audit outlines the following recommendations, requiring action by both the City of Hamilton and the broader community: 

• Education and training: Expand access to training in anti-racism, anti-oppression, gender identity and diversity, cultural competency and de-escalation.
• Safe public spaces: Improve safety infrastructure, increase security measures and enhance the overall upkeep of public areas.
• Accessible transportation: Make public transit and pedestrian routes safer and more inclusive.
• Systemic change: Address root causes of gender-based violence by reforming policies, laws, procedures and funding structures.

Who is involved

Several City departments are contributing to the development of an action plan, including: 

• Healthy and Safe Communities: Recreation, Children’s and Community Services, Housing Services, Lodges
• Public Works: Environmental Services, Transit, Transportation, Corporate Facilities
• Planning and Economic Development: Tourism and Culture, Economic Development
• City Manager’s Office: Government Relations, Public Engagement, Human Resources

What’s next

The City of Hamilton is leading the development of an action plan to implement the audit’s recommendations. This next phase will guide efforts to improve safety and inclusion across the city.