Neighbourhood Safety
Supporting a Safe Community
Here in West Broadway, we want our businesses to succeed, and for staff to feel safe at work. Neighbourhood safety is a very complex issue and we'd like to expand on what our BIZ members can expect from us:
- Community Patrol | Scroll down to read more details about our new patrol program.
- Needle Cleanup | In partnership with N'Dinawemak's Community Care Team. Found sharps on your property, or near your business? Contact us and we'll get them cleaned up right away.
- Grants | We offer a Safety & Security Grant to all of our members. This program provides up to $5,000 to help you make improvements like lighting, cameras, unbreakable glass and more.
- Referrals | The BIZ has close relationships with our City Councillor, our neighbourhood associations and organizations that support those experiencing homelessness. Do you need a connection? Let us make the introduction.
- Workshops & Community Consultation | We want to hear from businesses about what could be done to support them, and what they are seeing on a day-to-day basis. We can organize workshops & training for our members on request.
- Advocacy | We are constantly advocating for a safer, healthier community with other BIZ areas and community partners. We believe that everyone deserves to be housed, to be part of a community, to be cared for and safe -- particularly our BIZ members. We also believe that our members are unfairly shouldering many of the issues that come from unstable housing, mental health and addictions in our community. We are actively calling on all levels of government to properly fund services and supports for those in need.
Community Safety Host Patrol - Pilot Program
In July of 2026, we're launching an innovative new patrol to support safety for our businesses, community and visitors.
The pilot puts trained Community Safety Hosts on the ground in West Broadway as a proactive patrol. They are licensed security guards who are trauma-informed, and their work is relationship-based rather than enforcement-based: de-escalation, wellness checks, helping people connect to services, and a steady, familiar presence in the area. It is built as an alternative to conventional security, shaped around the way things actually come up here.
What makes this patrol different?
Community Safety Hosts are recruited specifically because of who they are. Priority is given to Indigenous individuals and people with lived experience navigating the systems - child welfare, housing insecurity, and the broader complex of systems most present in the communities they serve. They are hired not despite those backgrounds but because of the authentic connection, insight, and relational ability those experiences produce. They can de-escalate situations, administer naloxone, and help people get where they need to be instead of creating challenges for businesses & customers.
In other words, they can meet people in our community where they're at.
Service objectives:
- Visible, predictable circulation on Sherbrook, Broadway and the BIZ corridor. Multiple walks per day at consistent times so businesses, residents, and people using the neighbourhood can recognize and anticipate the team.
- Relationship-based contact with people in the public realm. Connection over enforcement. Referrals to supports rather than displacement. Priority for repeat contact with people experiencing homelessness, mental health crises, or substance use needs.
- Drop-in check-ins with consented businesses and anchor organizations. Light-touch presence to build awareness, gather feedback, and identify emerging issues before they escalate.
- Call-out response to consenting coalition locations. Non-emergency situations where 911 is not the appropriate response. De-escalation, support, and navigation assistance. Hosts are on foot and respond at a walking pace; this is not an emergency attendance service.
- Safe walks on request. Within the coverage window.
Important things to know:
- Only businesses that opt in receive the service, so taking part is what connects your premises to it.
- You choose the level of involvement that fits you, from a line you call when something comes up, through to regular check-ins.
- Joining takes a few minutes. After you submit the form, a short service agreement is sent to your authorized representative to sign, and that is it.
- Dispatchers will respond to your call/text during working hours.
The signup form can be accessed here.
If you have questions before you fill it out, you can reach out to Eric at [email protected] or the team at [email protected] and they will walk you through it.
This one-year community safety pilot is supported with funding from The Government of Manitoba and Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries.