Fort St. John receives $75K for Safe Community Situation Table to help address public safety concerns

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. – The City of Fort St. John is getting provincial funding for a new effort to tackle and reduce public safety issues like mental health, addictions, and poverty.

The BC government is providing the city with a $75,000 grant to fund the creation of a Safe Community Situation Table, a panel of local front-line workers that identifies at-risk people and provides them with help tailored to their specific needs.

The city applied for funding to create the table in November 2023. The announcement comes after many residents and business owners reported feeling unsafe in Fort St. John at public engagement opportunities.

“Every person in every community wants to feel safe,” says Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth. “The incidents of violence and vandalism that have emerged in recent years in B.C. communities, particularly in the northeast, are very concerning.”

“That’s why we are working with the community of Fort St. John to implement a Safe Community Situation Table that will strengthen their ability to respond to challenges they are facing, better protect people, and swiftly connect them to essential services.”

The table will be made up of representatives from agencies like the RCMP, social services, housing providers, mental health and community organizations, and Northern Health.

“I am grateful for the province’s generous support of the Fort St. John situation table, which will enable us to bolster our community’s efforts in addressing complex social issues and providing timely assistance to those in need,” says Fort St. John Mayor Lila Hansen.

“Together, we continue to build a stronger, more resilient community where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.”

Alongside the table, the city has taken other steps to address public safety over the last year, including urging Minister Farnworth to pass the Community Safety Act amid an uptick in crime, as well as launching and expanding programs focused on at-risk youth.

To date, the BC government has funded 44 situation tables and Indigenous intervention circles across the province. There are 36 of them are currently operating.