Abstract

A Social Vision for the New City of Hamilton:
Development of a Municipal Social Development Strategy

Joe-Anne Priel and Sherri Torjman

Hamilton, along with many other Canadian cities, is facing a range of serious social concerns. Local governments have had to assume more responsibility for a wider range of services with no associated financing increases. It is becoming more difficult for local governments to confront the varied and complex social challenges. However, the difficulties have spurred innovation and created the opportunity for local leadership and more concerted action.

In 2001, Hamilton’s Social and Public Health Services Department and the local Human Services Managers Group , engaged the Caledon Institute in the development of a Social Vision (entitled A Social Vision for the New City of Hamilton ). The document has two main sections: a social vision (an overall view of Hamilton, highlighting the city’s assets and challenges); and associated flagship initiatives (broad potential examples of the concepts discussed). The suggested flagship areas are Children and Families, Skills Development and Affordable Housing.

The purpose of the Social Development Strategy is to advance a social agenda for Hamilton. A Strategy will assist the community to shift its attention away from responding to federal/provincial policy initiatives to proactively implementing local approaches to social development. Although the City of Hamilton is the lead catalyst for the Social Development Strategy, consultation with a range of key community partners and the public will be required to identify roles and responsibilities, resource requirements, governance structures, public participation processes, priority areas, and monitoring mechanisms.

The Roundtable forum will be comprised of three parts: (1) Overview of the Social Vision; (2) Update on the Social Development Strategy; and (3) Discussion on applying the Social Vision and suggestions for Strategy implementation. Representatives from both the Caledon Institute and the Hamilton Social and Public Health Services Department will participate in the presentation as well as forum facilitation.

Bio

The Social Vision document was written by Sherri Torjman, Eric Leviten-Reid, and Paul Heisler of the Caledon Institute of Social Policy.

Sherri Torjman is Vice-President of the Caledon Institute of Social Policy. She is the author of many Caledon reports including Reclaiming our Humanity, The Social Dimension of Sustainable Development, Strategies for a Caring Society, Survival-of-the-Fittest Employment Policy, From Information to Application: How Communities Learn, Reintegrating the Unemployed Through Customized Training and Are Outcomes the Best Outcome? Sherri Torjman wrote the welfare series of reports for the National Council of Welfare and has authored four books on disability policy. She has worked for the House of Commons Committee on the Disabled, the House of Commons Committee on Child Care and the Royal Commission on New Reproductive Technologies. Sherri Torjman taught a course in social policy at McGill University and is a former Board Member of The Trillium Foundation.

Further bio information for the remaining authors can be found at http://www.caledoninst.org/ under ‘Staff’.

Joe-Anne Priel, General Manager of the Social & Public Health Services, graduated from the University of Alberta in 1985 with a Degree in Business specializing in Organizational Design and Industrial Relations. She previously has worked for the Alberta Provincial Government in many roles over the course of thirty years - mainly in the training and development field as well as Social Services. Her major initiatives since arriving in Hamilton include the Social Development Strategy, implementing a new departmental structure, initiating a ‘Gallery Walks’ consultation with staff to improve morale, and several continuous improvement projects in various service delivery areas.

Graduated from High School in 1969 and began a career with the Alberta Provincial Public Service. After ten years in an administrative capacity decided to further her education and enrolled in the Commerce Program at the University of Alberta. Graduated in 1985 with a Bachelor's Degree in Business with specializations in Organizational Analysis and Industrial Relations. Returned to the Alberta Public Service where she held many interesting and increasingly challenging positions mainly within the field of training and development.

Was offered a position with the City of Hamilton and moved east in the fall of 2000. Currently is the General Manager of Public Health and Community Services which has a budget of $281M and a staff complement of 1239 full-time employees. This department offers a unique blend of human services including public health, welfare assistance, management of the child care system, two long-term care facilities, employment services for those that have difficulty accessing the labour market, culture and recreation programming, and homelessness initiatives. This is only a small sampling of the business done by her department in trying to make a difference in the community of Hamilton.

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