A refresh of the County of Haliburton’s community safety and wellbeing (CSWB) plan is underway with an updated document to be presented to the upper-tier’s new council in November and adopted by spring 2027.
Sue Tiffin, the County’s director of community outreach, told council at its June 24 meeting that since the current plan is now four years old, an update is required, per the province’s Community Safety and Policing Act. Work has been underway since June, with Tiffin and other staff evaluating the policy that was first adopted in early 2022.
“We have connected with other colleagues and municipalities across the province regarding best practices,” Tiffin said. “Generally, there are three approaches we can take – light touch, medium touch or deep dive. Our advisory committee is recommending we adopt a light touch to the plan.”
Through the CSWB plan, Tiffin said she’s partnered with more than a dozen other community organizations to develop a system bringing agencies with different focuses and mandates together in Haliburton County.
Among those involved are the John Howard Society, Haliburton Highlands Health Services, Heat Bank Haliburton County, Peterborough AIDS Resource Network, the Canadian Mental Health Association, City of Kawartha Lakes housing and homelessness services; Fleming Crew, Point in Time and the County’s three food bank organizations.
The County also offers outreach days every month. Assistance is available for people looking for tax supports, heat and hydro assistance, food, help with Ontario Works or Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) applications, housing supports, guidance on skills and education training, adult justice services, and help through the community paramedic services, which includes harm reduction and hepatitis C testing.
“Whenever possible, the outreach team is able to make a connection that results in a warm hand-off from service provider to service provider,”
Tiffin said, noting that making initial connections and building trust can help with referrals. Tiffin said she tries to make sure services are accessible to people across the County. Earlier this month, staff held sessions at the Minden courthouse (July 8) and in Haliburton village (July 14) at the CMHA’s Coming Full Circle program hub. There will be other opportunities to connect July 21 at the John Howard Society in Minden and July 29 at the Wilberforce Food Hub, both from 1 to 3 p.m.
Another key feature of the CSWB plan has been expanded offerings for seniors through the seniors active living centre (SALC). Between July 2025 and March 31, Tiffin said 981 people participated in 501 activities and services offered through SALC.
“Programs were offered for 218 days throughout the 2025-26 fiscal year – we were only running for nine months, but we were very happy with the turnout,” Tiffin said, noting programming for the 2026-27 year is in full swing.
Tiffin said she expects to wrap the first phase of the update this month, with community engagement running in August and September. She said the County will be releasing a survey looking for public feedback. A new draft plan will be developed in October, presented to council in November and finalized by January, with plans to adopt and market the new plan next April and May.
