When traumatic or violent incidents happen, they can have a lasting impact on communities. Crime Prevention Ottawa has worked with our community partners to put a framework in place to help neighbourhoods heal.
Local networks respond to local incidents
Post-Incident Neighbourhood Support Networks assist Ottawa communities to overcome the trauma of violent incidents. They
- help neighbourhoods coordinate support and resources by engaging local leaders
- mobilize existing local resources to address needs
- coordinate community discussions
- share information
These networks help reduce distress and restore cohesion. Ultimately, they reduce fear, help residents recover from trauma and build community resiliency.
Looking for support?
If your community is affected by a traumatic or violent incident, reach out to your Community Health and Resource Centre and your Community Police Officer.
You can also access these CPO tools for communities dealing with traumatic events:
- Neighbourhood Trauma: What to do when a violent or traumatic incident happens (available in French and Arabic)
- Helping children deal with trauma: Information for parents and teachers
- How to deal with traumatic or critical incidents: Information for community residents (intended for community leaders)
- How to respond to traumatic or critical incidents: Information for service providers
Psychological First Aid, from the USA, is another helpful resource.
About the Post-Incident approach
The Post-Incident Neighbourhood Suppport Framework is based on research conducted in four west-end Ottawa Community Housing neighbourhoods. Researchers studied reactions to traumatic incidents at a neighbourhood level – and how trauma affects residents’ interactions with one another, their neighbourhood and service providers.
The project found that neighbourhood violence and trauma are complex and require a coordinated, collaborative, multi-partner response. Immediately following a traumatic incident, residents need to be supported using a trauma-informed approach. To be successful, the approach needs to include longer-term community development work that focuses on building individual and community resiliency.
