OSVG STRATEGY REFRESH 2022

Crime Prevention Ottawa has been working collaboratively with partner agencies to address street violence in the city. The Ottawa Street Violence and Gang Strategy (OSVGS) seeks to address both the root causes that lead to street-level violence as well as the immediate trauma of violent incidents. These root causes include poverty, trauma, marginalization, racism and the global drug trade. Individuals involved in street-level violence are for the most part young men who grew up in poverty and experienced marginalization and racism. There are many needs that must be addressed to achieve systemic change. We have also been working to change the way that we build a common understanding about these issues through our collaborative discussions about messaging. The OSVGS is a collective impact strategy which is evaluated then refreshed, every three years.

This time, CPO has retained Hefid Solutions and its partner, CTlabs to develop this collective impact strategy.

To learn more about preventing crime in your neighbourhood please visit: https://www.crimepreventionottawa.ca/

An Overview:

How to Participate:

Fill out an Online Survey by November 20, 2022.
Have our Team speak to your group. An honorarium will be paid.
Share the survey links with your community and networks: French Survey; English Survey.

Let’s Hear You!

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The Community Engagement Team

Valerie Assoi is a School Board Trustee for Conseil des écoles catholiques du Centre-Est (CECCE). She is a Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) expert and conflict resolution and mediation specialist. Val sits on the boards of many organizations including the City for All Women Initiative. She possesses certifications in facilitation, adult education, auditing, monitoring, and evaluation. She has facilitated many community consultative sessions, board retreats and training in Canada and abroad. Val has a master’s degree in Conflict Studies from St Paul University and a bachelor’s in business studies. Valerie is a Senior Associate of Hefid Solutions.

Sahada Alolo, Ph.D., is the Director of the Mental Health Guiding Council. She was the manager of Community Engagement at Multi-faith Housing Initiative (MHI) where she serves as a liaison between MHI and the 70+ different faith communities that are members of MHI.

Sahada is also the president of the Ottawa Muslim Women’s Organization, the co-chair of the Community Equity Council of the Ottawa Police and serves on the board of directors of the Ottawa Snow Suit Fund. Sahada is a Senior Associate of Hefid Solutions.

Serge Banyongen, Ph.D., is the immediate past president of the Cameroon Community Association, (COCACO). Serge Banyongen is a lecturer at Ottawa University and the University of Quebec en Outaouais (UQO). He teaches International Relations and Strategic Communications. He is the author of several books, book chapters, and numerous scientific articles in International Relations, Political Science, Media Studies and Strategic Communications, and Intercultural Communication. These publications have appeared in some of the most respected journals. Serge is a senior Associate of Hefid Solutions.

Godlove Ngwafusi is an uncompromising and unrelenting African descendant community leader who will do what it takes, and go to any length, to ensure that his African-descendant brothers and sisters are giving the very best of themselves, and getting back what they fully deserve, without race-based obstructions and restrictions. As Coordinator of the Anti-Black Racism Committee of the African Canadian Association Ottawa (ACAO), Godlove scales the length and breadth of every hurdle and obstruction thrown in the path of African descendants, to ensure that the sons and daughters of African extraction live and love and fully perform of their God-given potential, without having to contend with artificial racial restrictions strewn on their path to total self-realization. Godlove is an anti-racism advocate, a public speaker, and a trained communicator. He holds a master’s degree. Godlove is an Associate of Hefid Solutions.

Hodan Egale is President of the Somali Canadian Youth Centre, which emphasizes positive growth in youth, leadership development, and prevention of antisocial behaviour. She is also a member of the Young Leaders Advisory Council and sits on Community Equity Council. She currently works for the federal government. She previously served as an Administrative Officer for the Ottawa Local Immigration Partnership, which is a collaborative community initiative that works to strengthen Ottawa’s capacity to attract, settle and integrate immigrants. Hodan is a recipient of the IWSO Community Award for Youth Leadership, Honour Society Award, Lieutenant Governor Award, and Volunteer Award. Hodan holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Carleton University and currently pursuing a master’s degree in conflict studies at St Paul University. Hodan is an Associate of Hefid Solutions.

Ayan Dualeh is the founder and President of Samawada. She is a social entrepreneur and a graduate of Carleton University. Ayan has dedicated much of her working life to finding solutions to Ottawa’s most pressing social issues by creating spaces that allow for marginalized people to thrive and realize their potential. She is the founder of Gateways To Success, a program that bridges the gap between access and youth in the Ottawa community through mentorship; Women’s Power Lunch, a platform in which women from any background can seek knowledge and inspiration from other women in the community. Ayan is most well-known for being the founder of the Harmony Iftar Dinner, a staple for most of Ottawa’s social calendar. Ayan sits on the Ottawa Muslims Women Organization board as the vice-president. She also holds a seat on the board of Young Voices Canada and is on the advisory committee for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Strategic Planning Project. Ayan is an Associate of Hefid Solutions.

Hector Addison is an educator, mental health advocate, community developer, EDI consultant, and entrepreneur. He advocates for criminal justice reform. He is the co-founder of the African Canadian Association of Ottawa (ACAO), an umbrella organization serving 65,000 of Ottawa’s black population through its 53 member organizations. Hector sits on several tables and boards of organizations. He holds a master’s degree from Ohio University in the USA. He has certifications in project management and cloud computing. He has led many community engagements throughout Canada and USA. Hector is an executive partner of Hefid Solutions.

Phil Culhane is a Strategic Advisor with over 25 years working with Design Thinking methodologies to engage communities in complex change initiatives. Phil has conducted over 200 engagement-based projects. He has over 15 years working with municipal, regional, national and international policing issues, from Race-based Traffic Stops, through Guns and Gangs, to running international anti-human traffick projects with the FBI, Interpol and other global agencies.

Phil has led many projects where a key focus was giving authentic voice to marginalized stakeholders, centering their voices in safe spaces, and ensuring that no appropriation of voice took place. Among others, Phil has worked with adults with autism, federal inmates, the 2SLGBTQI community, women fleeing violence, Canada’s ACB community, and a number of indigenous communities, both as individuals and as First Nations.

For this project, Phil’s company was the original proponent, as another company within his consulting group had done a previous strategy for CPO. Phil envisioned completely flipping the governance and structural model, giving voice and accountability to the community, and enabling place-based rather than whole-system responses. Previous work has made Phil quite aware that his presence at the front of a room doesn’t always convey a sense of safety, particularly when working to create safe spaces for communities, so he will not lead any consultations, and may not be present in rooms if his presence creates a sense of concern.

OSVG STRATEGY REFRESH 2022

How to Participate:

The Community Engagement Team

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