Alert

Sep 22, 2023 - 3:00pm

Website Maintenance

Alert Level: Low

Please note that some online services will be unavailable on September 23 from 6am- 8am due to scheduled website maintenance. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Read More

of

Abbotsford ACCESS

Access - Action-oriented Community Collaborative for Equitable Services & Supports

Abbotsford ACCESS is an initiative of the City of Abbotsford’s Housing, Homelessness and Community Development team to enhance collaboration between local stakeholders, which include not-for-profit organizations, local government, health care, educational institutions, law enforcement and business. The initiative will build on work already taking place to increase collaboration among service providers, increase information dissemination in community, and identify actionable areas that can be better addressed by working together to support a robust healthy community. To achieve this, Abbotsford ACCESS operates under a multi-layered structure including the Abbotsford ACCESS Partner Group, and action-oriented Working Groups specific to focus areas identified by the community of health and social service providers (further breakdown of layers below).

The City of Abbotsford will provide leadership to develop and implement initiatives alongside community partners, facilitating a collaborative approach moving forward. The goal of Abbotsford ACCESS will be to fully achieve positive change, improve collaboration and synergy in community relationships and ensure meaningful community engagement on issues affecting the community.

While the focus of Abbotsford ACCESS encompasses a broad framework of upstream social initiatives, community partners - through analysis of needs and strategic planning - will determine the key areas of focus. Key areas of focus could include areas such as community mental health, substance use, poverty reduction (food equity, financial literacy, etc.), cultural diversity, or access to housing.

Abbotsford ACCESS will ensure that all of the social determinants of health across all demographics and ethnic groups in the community are at the forefront of initiatives that are undertaken, with a focus on people who are more susceptible or vulnerable than others.

Abbotsford ACCESS will focus on:
1. Increasing awareness of resources in the community: for service providers and for the community at large.
2. Increasing understanding of the issues around focus areas through promotion of national, provincial and regional health observances and the events and activities planned by Abbotsford ACCESS partners and other community agencies that mark these.
3. Creating opportunities for the formation of partnerships and collaborations to address specific needs, where they would not have otherwise.
4. Supporting the work of community groups, new and existing partnerships, and its own action-oriented Working Groups as they relate to key focus areas.
5. Supporting funding applications for specific projects, as needed, to support the goals of such new partnerships, capitalizing on this cooperation to raise more funds than would be possible individually.
6. Evaluating the impact of Abbotsford ACCESS on community and service delivery.

Abbotsford ACCESS Structure

As a community driven initiative, Abbotsford ACCESS is made up of ‘Partners’, which are the organizations and agencies that form it. Partners are government and non-government agencies and organizations, and both not-for-profit and supporting for-profit organizations whose areas of focus and expertise align with those of Abbotsford ACCESS to have the ability to move Abbotsford ACCESS initiatives forward.

Partner representatives are the individuals – preferably in a leadership capacity – who represent the Abbotsford ACCESS Partner Group organizations at the monthly Partner meeting. Whenever possible, Partner representatives will attend all Partner meetings and actively commit to, and participate in, the work of Abbotsford ACCESS. A key role of Partner representatives is that of information conduit between their organization and Abbotsford ACCESS. If a representative is unable to attend a meeting, they may designate an alternate to represent them.

The Abbotsford ACCESS Partner Group meets monthly to receive progress updates from the Working Groups, and to discuss a wide array of social challenges and potential solutions in Abbotsford.
- Abbotsford ACCESS Partner Group will be a formal structure including a Chair and Co-Chair as well as formal agendas and minutes to ensure business and direction is recorded; Both Chairs will also be members of the Core Leadership Team (CLT); Voting and formal motions can only be undertaken by official Partner representatives.
- Suggestions for new Partners will come from current Abbotsford ACCESS partners to the CLT and discussed at the CLT table. If in agreement, members of the CLT will recommend the nominee to the Partnership. Nominees will provide a brief descriptive summary of their organization to aid the process. Partners will vote to accept the nominee into the partnership either at a monthly Partner meeting, or via email. Upon approval to become an official Partner, the nominated organization will receive an invitation to join as a Partner by the Housing, Homelessness and Community Development, or Community Collaboration Specialist on behalf the Abbotsford ACCESS Partner Group. New partners receive a full orientation regarding Abbotsford ACCESS’s purpose, structure and operation.
Working Groups (WG) focus on specific focus areas as directed by the Partner Group and upcoming strategic plan. The service provider community will identify focus areas, and working groups will come together where there is commitment on the part of the members of the group to work together through collaboration, including both responses and upstream work. Each WG must have at least one Abbotsford ACCESS Partner representative as a member who will also be the Chair and reports back to the Partner Group at the monthly meetings; the remainder of the working group can either be Partner representatives or invested individuals from community agencies who are included in the WG as needed or desired.
In order to facilitate effective and sustainable operation of the Abbotsford ACCESS initiative, three support teams will exist, all with different functions, and will include:
1. Core Leadership Team (CLT) – The CLT includes a small number of individuals (Partner Reps) representative of the larger Partnership who meet regularly to guide the growth of Abbotsford ACCESS including partnership growth and sustainability as well as oversight of protocol development and implementation.
2. Impact Evaluation Team (IET) – This team will work to develop and implement an impact evaluation strategy, and ensure that partner expectations are met.
3. Communications and Promotions Team (CPT) – Led by the City of Abbotsford Communications Department, this team will develop and implements a communications and promotions strategy around the initiatives of Abbotsford ACCESS, including raising Abbotsford ACCESS profile and ensuring internal and external communications expectations are met.
Abbotsford ACCESS is an interconnected network of individuals, agencies, societies and organizations, who share a common desire to improve the health and well-being of the members of Abbotsford. Their email addresses collectively make-up the Abbotsford ACCESS Network, which will receive weekly communication of collated information from the service provider community (program updates, funding opportunities, job postings etc.) and invitations to all Abbotsford ACCESS events, workshops, training and forums. Individuals and organizations who are part of the Abbotsford ACCESS Network are encouraged to email their information to the Community Collaboration Specialist to share with the Network on a weekly basis.

Agency Awareness and Connections Breakfast Events

Past Events

October 19, 2022