This project involved our crew producing about twenty individual videos about various social agencies including the Nottawasaga Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police.

Collaborate Nottawasaga is a situation table focused on dealing with ‘acutely elevated risks’ within Adjala Tosorontio, New Tecumseth, York County, and Simcoe County. It was initiated on October 26, 2016, and it includes more than 30 local support and advocacy groups that work in areas ranging from law enforcement to housing, food security to mental health, security for women and children to emergency services, and various other areas of social investment.

Representatives meet once a week at the OPP Detachment in Nottawasaga, where they are able to present cases that require immediate attention.

An acutely elevated risk is a situation in our community where there is a very high probability that if someone does not intervene very soon - within the next 48 hours - things are going to get a lot worse. These are risky situations that are on the verge of becoming emergency situations, which will subsequently require the services of our community’s crisis and emergency response system. In these types of situation, there are often warning signs - risk factors - that alert professionals from the various groups that meet at the table to the probability that rapid intervention is needed to prevent crisis. This Collaborative approach identifies families, individuals and groups in the community that are at an acutely elevated risk and connects them with the appropriate service that can help resolve the immediate need.

They are also able to detach the person from some of the decision making process regarding the treatment or services they need.

The Collaborate Nottawasaga Crisis Table is exactly what its name implies. It is a very large boardroom table at the Nottawasaga OPP detachment where professionals from just about every local service come together once a week to discuss issues pertaining to local residents and newcomers to the area. Through collaboration, these agencies can better serve those in need as they can eliminate the pinball effect of bouncing the person in need of help from one agency to another. One referral by any of the agencies involved initiates conversation by these professionals of various genres of assistance who then decide collaboratively the best course of action to help the subject attain the help they need.

Many referrals originate with the OPP; however, all attending groups are welcome to bring a case to the situation table.

The idea of a series of informative videos about the groups that make up the Situation Table was the brainchild of OPP Constable Kirsten Buligan, who sits at the table. She had been in discussion with her OPP counterpart in Orillia, who is one of the original members of the Sy-STEM Links team that is designing an online and kiosk based information hub to help the homeless and others in need. Our team at the OCANetwork, also known as Five Points Media, are also original members of that team. The The Sy-STEM Links Introductory Video and the Sy-STEM Links Promo Video can be seen through these links.

That concept, according to Constable Buligan, was exactly what they wanted for the Collaborate Nottawasaga Situation Table videos.

This project is budgeted; however, the community-oriented philosophy of Five Points Media, and our open policy of working with charities and other not-for-profit groups to help the community were also apparently very appealing.

All principle shooting and editing for this project was completed in October 2017.

Collaborative Nottawasaga is comprised of the Adjala Tosorontio Fire Department, CMHA - Simcoe County, Connexions, Contact, The Door, HealthLink, Krasman Centre, The Loft. Mary McGill at Stevenson Memorial Hospital, Matthew's House Hospice, My Sister's Place, New Tecumseth Fire Department, Ontario Works, Ontario Provincial Police - Nottawasaga, Out of the Cold, Parole and Probation, The Well, York Support Services Network - YSSN, and others not recorded