Letter: Clarifying Facts and Reaffirming Our Commitment to Community - Safe n Sound
Safe n Sound's board chair responds to criticism of their program and invites community members and municipal representatives to work together on bridging the gaps they fill in our community.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
We are writing in response to recent statements that have circulated regarding our organization, Safe n Sound’s transparency and professionalism. These claims of disinformation are unfounded and undermine the critical work being done to support some of the most vulnerable members of our community.
Financial Transparency and Accountability
Our registered charity takes financial accountability seriously. Our audited statements are publicly available on the Canada Revenue Agency website, and we post our financial statements directly on our own website for ease of access. These are also presented at our Annual Membership Meeting, which for the previous fiscal year took place on May 13th at the Harmony Center.
Our audits are prepared by a reputable financial firm, BakerTilly, formerly BDO, both with deep expertise in the non-profit sector.
Furthermore, we are in the final stages of launching our strategic plan developed through a community needs assessment, which included sessions with our Board of Directors, community members, partner agencies, and participants with lived experience.
These processes demonstrate both transparency and accountability in how we operate and set priorities.
Meeting Community Needs Where Gaps Exist
The reality is that poverty, housing instability, and substance use are not created by community drop-ins or shelters, nor are these programs to blame. These challenges stem from larger systemic issues—unaffordable housing, underfunded healthcare, lack of safe transportation, and the deep impacts of colonialism and inequity. Our role has not caused these crises, but to meet people where they are and help reduce harm when other systems have left them behind.
For example, our two-year pilot Overnight Warming Program - which was funded by Grey County - offers space for people who cannot access traditional emergency shelters, such as rural motel programs or women’s shelters. Without such programs, many would be left with no safe option during dangerous weather conditions.
The voices and needs of our vulnerable community members we serve are amplified by our management and executive director in their seats at tables such as the Homelessness Response Steering Committee, the Community Safety and Wellbeing Advisory Committee, the Community Drug and Alcohol Strategy, and the STAR Table.
Partnerships and Collaboration
We are proud to work alongside many other community agencies, faith groups, and health and social service providers. Together, we are creating practical solutions and pathways of care that respond to urgent needs. This collaboration underscores our professionalism and demonstrates that our work is rooted in solidarity, not isolation.
We also welcome individuals with interest to join our membership, our Board of Directors, or one of our committees such as Fundraising, Community Engagement and Advocacy, and Lived Experience Committees. More details and application forms can be found on our website, along with a signup to our monthly newsletter.
Valuing Lived Experience
A common misconception is that professionalism only comes through formal education or traditional pathways. We strongly believe that lived experience is a form of expertise. Many of our staff and volunteers bring firsthand knowledge of housing instability, poverty, or substance misuse. Their voices and insights are invaluable in shaping services that are effective, respectful, and grounded in reality.
Hiring and uplifting people with lived experience is not a weakness—it is a strength. It breaks down barriers of mistrust, challenges stigma, and ensures that services are guided by those who know the issues most intimately. Suggesting otherwise reflects biases that overlook the importance of community wisdom and the professionalism it represents.
Education and Collective Learning
Beyond direct services, we are also investing in Sound Ideas - A Community Education Series as a way to strengthen understanding, advocacy, and resilience. Each month, we will host two explorative discussions—one designed for service agencies and one for community members—on topics that reflect urgent community needs. These sessions are an opportunity to present, learn, and unlearn together, bridging knowledge gaps and building shared solutions of mutual aid for the betterment of our community.
Our first session, held last week, was titled Displacement by Design: Challenging Discrimination within the Housing Sector. It sparked important conversations about biases and barriers to housing and the role we can all play in dismantling them. Our next two sessions are taking place on September 11th and October 14th in the Auditorium of the Owen Sound Library, with the evening sessions beginning at 6:30pm.
We welcome community partners to present on topics, or if community members would like an exploration of a topic, please reach out, and we can help connect with local leaders who could create a session specific to the community's need/desire.
This initiative reflects our belief that lasting change requires both practical supports and shifts in how we think about community care and justice.
Calling on All Forms of Governance to Work Collaboratively
What became clear from the voice of Sasha Fernando and others in attendance is the lack of municipal leadership in Owen Sound to address the systems of oppression shaping the social determinants of health.
Related - Letter to the Editor from Sasha Fernando:
These failures have negatively impacted our community’s most vulnerable people, and show a lack of collaboration across levels of governance to prioritize affordable housing and harm reduction services.
To shift blame onto the social sector—when our role is to support those falling through the gaps—is to deflect accountability from our elected officials and the public trust they hold.
These issues are not exclusive to only Owen Sound, but are faced provincially, nationally and internationally. We see great cities, including those of mixed rural/urban communities creating combined efforts to ensure accountability.
In our neighbouring Region of Waterloo Wellington, City Planners meet with a Lived Experience Working Group (LEWG) at all levels of planning to ensure that existing builds and future developments consider all vulnerable community members' needs. This is an example of a form of accountability that we ought to expect from our city leaders during housing crises.
We must shift the paradigm—from blaming personal choices to holding accountable the policy choices that create poverty and homelessness. It is unjust to blame unhoused people for ‘choosing’ poverty or homelessness, when it is the choices of elected officials and capitalist leaders that determine whether our communities have access to housing, safety, and care.
Leadership decisions determine our livelihoods, which is why the voices of marginalized communities must be amplified at every level.
Building Trust, Not Division
It is disheartening to see false claims spread in an effort to create mistrust and block the development/progression of much-needed resources. Disinformation not only harms our organization but jeopardizes community support, funding, and—most importantly—the lives of people who depend on these services.
We invite those with questions or concerns to review our publicly available financial documents or to reach out directly. We remain committed to transparency, accountability, and care.
Our focus is, and will continue to be, on supporting our neighbours through compassion and collaboration, while addressing the systemic gaps that create these challenges in the first place.
With care,
On behalf of Safe n Sound Residential
Rachel Paterson
Safe n Sound Board Chair
Letters to the Editor do not necessarily reflect the opinions or beliefs of The Owen Sound Current and its editor or publisher.
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