The Orillia Public Library's efforts to help homeless and vulnerable people live better lives have been recognized by the province.
The library received the Minister's Award for Innovation at the Ontario Library Association's awards gala, which was held last week in conjunction with its annual Super Conference in Toronto.
The award "recognizes successful new approaches that demonstrate a positive impact in a community and are of continued value to public libraries." The certificate was signed by Stan Cho, minister of tourism, culture and gaming.
"We were pretty excited to get this award because we know how important this is to our community and our staff," said Meagan Wilkinson, chief executive officer of the of the Orillia Public Library.
In 2022, the library created a position for a social worker, rather than a security guard, through funding from the City of Orillia, Wilkinson noted.
Kathryn Stapley, human services co-ordinator, is the second person in the role. She's been on the job for 18 months.
"She's really made it her own and cemented partnerships and collaboration with staff," said Wilkinson.
Stapley is a registered social service worker with years of experience working in child protection across Simcoe County.
"System navigation and connecting people to services is my jam," Stapley said.
She said the whole library has made the program successful, representing a shift in thinking and action toward vulnerable people.
"I think it's great recognition for the library. I'm really proud to be a part of this," she said.
What Stapley does is look for people who need help. She can by notified by staff about someone in the library who needs help or by another local social service agency. She also goes out with The Lighthouse outreach team once a week to encampments.
"It helps me to identify folks so if they are in the library and struggling, I know them and can approach them," she said.
Stapley is a point of contact, assessing people's needs and referring them to community services such as The Lighthouse shelter, The Sharing Place Food Centre, the Salvation Army, the Canadian Mental Health Association and others.
She also runs library programs such as Coffee and Connect. Snacks are provided and sometimes guest speakers from Ontario Works, the Ontario Disability Support Program or The Lighthouse educate people about health and services available.
"It's really just a safe space for people to hang out," Stapley said.
Wilkinson said Orillia is fortunate to have a social worker because the role is uncommon in small- and medium-sized libraries. It is becoming common in large libraries.
"We were fortunate that city council suggested we look for a social worker rather than a security guard when we were really struggling with a lot of escalating behaviours in 2019," she said.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic ended, the number of people experiencing homelessness has escalated, said Wilkinson.
"We had to have a way to keep staff and the public safe," she said.
The pilot project proved itself a success and is now has permanent funding.
"Our incident rates were cut in half — less calls to the police, less trespasses and suspensions served. It was really helping to de-escalate behaviours so that members of the public could successfully be in the public library safely," Wilkinson said.
Other libraries in Simcoe County that now have social workers are in Barrie, Innisfil and Collingwood.
"Security guards can't do the social work that a human services co-ordinator can do, so this position is about supporting people before the situation escalates, whereas security guards deal with them after the situation has already escalated," Wilkinson said.
Many large libraries, including Barrie's, have both security and social workers, she said.
The Orillia library has a $70,000 grant from the County of Simcoe to enhance the program. Barrie, Innisfil and Collingwood libraries also got grant money.
"It has been really helpful to provide something tangible. I can offer them snacks. If they are living in a tent and it's broken, I have supplemental supplies," Stapley said, pointing to her cupboard with tents, snacks and clothing.
She can also offer people a bus ticket or a LINX Transit ticket so they can get across the county.
"This is a very accessible service and inconspicuous being in the library," she said.
The local library has long been a warming centre in the winter and a cooling centre in the summer, but with the addition of the human services co-ordinator, that service has expanded beyond a simple opening of the doors.
"We set up chairs so people have a place to sit, and we have hot drinks and snacks," said Stapley.
The dedicated space creates a more welcoming place with a sense of belonging, she added.