A committee aimed to provide assistance from several groups to people in one place is still a long way off, but members of city council are interested in the idea and wish to help.
In November, city council members were pitched by the Flin Flon Neighbourhood Revitalization Corporation (FFNRC), calling for the creation of what the group calls a “community mobilization committee.” The group, as outlined by a letter sent to council late last year, would combine several different local groups, organizations, provincial and federal government institutions on one committee to solve issues that may involve more than one group working together at a time.
The FFNRC has not since presented anything further to city council, but a pair of councillors spoke up in favour of such a group being started in Flin Flon.
Councillor Judy Eagle said during the Jan. 17 meeting of Flin Flon city council that the FFNRC group was in preliminary discussions, saying it was still early but there were encouraging signs for such a group to start.
“They're still in formative stages. There are three different models that this committee can use to address an individual who's maybe in a trauma situation or needing huge help and that's where all of the involved participants would be able to come in and work with them as professionals - but it is just getting off the ground," she said.
Councillor Alison Dallas-Funk agreed, but said the group was still far away from having a formal, working committee.
“They don't even really have it figured out yet - what that looks like for them. They have to still get the concrete plan down, get their funding, get their granting. It's a huge pilot project to take on, so they're trying to shadow it after a program that's already down there,” she said.
“We're there to support them, so they really need to have their plan in place and it isn't yet.”
Dallas-Funk, who is also the executive director at the Lord’s Bounty Food Bank, is often in contact with people in Flin Flon who have fallen on hard times and are seeking help - and help, in times where a person may need to get it from several different sources with no clear road map, can be difficult to find. She said after an initial article in The Reminder late last year about the letter sent to council about a possible committee, she received calls from people in need of assistance, thinking she could help out.
“I had multiple calls at the food bank to redirect people in the right direction, because they thought that I was already doing that. I was able to kind of already start implementing, with a few people. access to other areas because we knew who to call,” she said.
Eagle, a lawyer by trade, said she had encountered many people through her work who could benefit from such a committee.
“In my professional life, there are many, many people that I've heard from because they don't know who to call - and they are in trouble. It isn't just criminal matters or family law matters or whatever - it could be medical, it could be all kinds of things,” she said.
“When you deal with vulnerable populations, they do need to be able to know what that road is. This committee, when it gets up and running, with the plan that they're choosing that they know is tried and true, it's going to be immensely helpful for people and it's going to help them through some really tough situations. It’s a good thing.”
