A Community Crisis Response Program (CCRP) works to provide support and resources to communities impacted by violent and traumatic incidents.
The CCRP in Toronto provides immediate supports, mobilizes local resources to address individual/group needs, coordinates community debriefings and facilitates information sharing. Long-term supports offered by the program include establishing training and education sessions, facilitating community safety audits, and fostering the development of innovative, community safety projects.
Highlights of the CCRP:
- The Community Crisis Response Program (CCRP) works across the City of Toronto in partnership with community members, agencies, and internal City divisions to enhance community safety and wellbeing.
- The CCRP team supports communities with the development of safety networks that create neighbourhood strategies which focus on Crisis Intervention, Crisis Prevention, and Crisis Preparation.
- Crisis Intervention: providing support to communities after a violent or traumatic incident.
- Crisis Prevention: supporting education, development of strategies and methods and making systemic policy recommendations that may prevent future violent incidents.
- Crisis Preparation: developing local safety networks which can provide cohesive and collaborative responses to critical incidents.
- CCRP works with communities to identify concerns and develop localized strategies including the development of a coordinated community crisis response protocol.
- When communities have been impacted by violent and traumatic incidents, the CCRP further supports communities with the recovery and healing process.
- Violent and traumatic incidents include: shootings, shots fired, stabbings/slashings, swarming, community conflicts, gun/gang related activity, and raids/ execution of major search warrants.
Response Protocol:
- Members of the public are reminded to call 911 in emergency situations. The CCRP is not a first response program; it is automatically activated 12-72 hours after a violent incident occurs.
- Each day, the CCRP staff gather and receive information on critical incidents from the police, news media, municipal services, community organizations and local place-based networks. CCRP staff communicate with community stakeholders to arrange needs assessments for crisis response activities and to mobilize supports where necessary.
For more information about the program or to find out if there are similar supports in your area, please see below: