Bullying is such a serious and complex issue that we, as community members, need to move beyond awareness in order to learn ways to address it more effectively. The multi award winning Bullying Prevention Program of Western Ottawa Community Resource Centre (WOCRC) has taken a lead on this issue by forming the Ottawa Bullying Prevention Coalition. The Coalition is made up of service providers and stakeholders from across private and professional sectors as well as geographic locations in Ottawa. Key partners include Ottawa Public Health, Ottawa Police, Ottawa School Boards, CHEO, Community Health and Resource Centers, and many more. They recently received three year funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation to establish city-wide standards and approaches from which to support a continuum of meaningful, consistent and sustainable services. Broadly speaking, the Coalition will build the capacity of community members to address bullying, coordinate collaborative initiatives, and put research into practice. More specifically, the priority areas of the Coalition are to:

• Create an inventory of evidence based tools and approaches to prevent, intervene and respond to bullying
• Build a website to coordinate accessible and equitable access to community information and services across Ottawa
• Identify and accommodate distinct community needs
• Provide external support for schools and extra-curricular activities
• Build family capacity to report, support and respond in situations of bullying

Bullying is not just a school issue but a community issue that requires city-wide strategies to support all those impacted. Our vision is a safe, respectful and caring community that fosters healthy relationships for all. If you are interested in finding out more about the coalition contact Angela Lorusso at Lorusso@wocrc.ca.

VISION

A safe, respectful and caring community that fosters healthy relationships for all.

MANDATE

To bring together community stakeholders to create and implement an Ottawa Safe City Plan of Action designed to increase the capacity of community members to effectively and consistently support, report and respond to bullying in an evidence informed approach.

SERVICES 

OBPC Services: the OBPC offers a range of services and resources including training, workshops, conferences, and publications, checklist etc. for service providers, parents and youth.

OBPC supports policy development and implementation, evidence informed interventions, and guidelines and programs that create safe and inclusive spaces for everyone. Our goal is to help build our entire community’s capacity to support, report and respond to bullying.

In addition to this, the OBPC engages and involves key stakeholders across the city of Ottawa to support and implement our Ottawa Safe City Plan of Action designed to increase the capacity of community members to effectively and consistently respond to bullying in an evidence informed approach.

The OBPC website serves to create, and shares information, services and resources such as articles, publications, and tools for service providers, parents, and youth. Our website includes Ottawa mental health services and resources along with practical and informative information regarding bullying prevention and intervention.