Edmonton’s Successful COTT Program to be Expanded and Renewed for Three Years
Taking a Collaborative Approach to Transit Safety
We know that in order to improve safety on Edmonton’s Transit System, we must be able to respond to situations with the appropriate resources in a compassionate way that prioritizes safety and wellbeing for all. Transit safety is an issue that has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic over the past several years, and is something that your City Council and I have been working diligently to address. In order to maintain a successful community safety ecosystem, taking a collaborative leadership approach is essential — this means diversifying our first response methods and empowering both law enforcement and social agencies to work together. With the City of Edmonton, EPS and our social agency partners on board to find new solutions to safety issues, the Community Outreach Transit Team (COTT) was born.
COTT is a partnership between a Transit Peace Officer and a Bent Arrow outreach worker who proactively patrol the transit system. COTT uses human-centered and trauma-informed lenses to guide their interactions with community members. In July 2021, Bent Arrow Traditional Healing Society was selected as the partner for COTT . Bent Arrow Traditional Healing Society is an organization that builds upon the strengths of Indigenous Children, youth and families to create opportunities and enable them to grow spiritually, emotionally, physically and mentally.
During COTT’s first year, with 2 teams operational, the program had:
- 2700 general interactions;
- 510 engagements where specific referrals were made;
- Clients physically connected 30 different agencies or services;
- 250 unique individuals were provided ongoing support (since Jan 2022)
Since then, the COTT team has expanded to five teams, which has allowed them to increase its service coverage hours from five to seven days a week and from 10 hours per day to 20 hours per day. I was very supportive of City Council’s decision to continue to fund Transit Safety initiatives in the 2023–2026 Budget, and am pleased to announce that COTT is expanding their program to have a total of seven teams, with the contract being extended for another three years! These social agency workers and members of law enforcement will be able to build relationships and make connections with people who use and operate our transit system, while reducing harm and providing access to services.
Cheryl Whiskeyjack is the Executive Director of Bent Arrow Traditional Healing Society, and has been a critical partner in developing the COTT program. She believes in the power of collaborative leadership too, and knows that when multidisciplinary teams work together, we can work to build a safer transit system.
“Bent Arrow has long seen the wisdom of working in partnership. Our mission statement speaks of the path to wellness which involves all four parts of ourselves and in doing so, we would be able to walk proudly in two worlds. We are now at the point in our evolution where we invite our community partners to also walk in two worlds, to understand what strength there is in doing so. COTT is an example of seeing the City walk with us as an Indigenous social agency, where the City and EPS walk in our world to support community members.”
— Cheryl Whiskeyjack, Executive Director of Bent Arrow Traditional Healing Society
I look forward to continuing to explore opportunities for law enforcement and social agencies to work alongside one another, and know that together, we can build a safer and more inclusive Edmonton for all of us.
