Greetings! We hope you are staying safe, as summer draws to a close. Like many of you, our NWL team members have been working from home during the pandemic. There are some exciting initiatives that will be rolled out in the months ahead as we look to enhance our digital presence and engage current and future members; notably in the local business community. We will keep you abreast of these developments.
Back to School
September is, of course, back to school. But with COVID, this will be a school year unlike any other. If you have kids in grades K-12, check with your local school board for up-to-date information Here are some useful links: TVDSB and London District Catholic School Board. In the time before school starts, there are things parents can do to help ease kids into the 2020/2021 school year according to the website Helping your kids adjust to going back to school after lockdown from Morneau Shepell; a leading HR company.
- Act as a sounding board. Listen to your child, because sometimes just talking about a problem can help.
- Take your child’s concerns seriously. This year, academic and social pressures may be compounded by stress over the pandemic.
- Help your child get into a routine after the summer. Try getting them to bed earlier a week before school begins.
- Brush up on reading and math skills together.
Driver Safety
COVID has meant changes to bussing policies for many Ontario school boards. Drivers are urged to use extra caution at all times near schools. But this year there may be more kids walking to class, so here are some reminders from the government of Canada’s website Get Prepared for Back to School Safety!
- Observe school speed zones. Children crossing the road can be easily distracted and step in harm’s way.
- Obey the crossing guard.
- Respect flashing signal lights.
- Parents should also avoid having young children at the school bus stop too early, where they can wander or get into mischief.
London Police COVID Update
London Police Headquarters gradually began to reopen to members of the public, by appointment, in August. This is being done with the appropriate health and safety measures in place such as wearing a mask, hand sanitizing, and maintaining social distance. Entry to the building will allowed 15 minutes before the time of an appointment. According to the LPS website:
“At this time, appointments are available for specific services including fingerprints (if required as part of the record check process) and Freedom of Information document pick up. LPS will not be accepting in-person record check applications or in-person Freedom of Information Requests.”
For more information visit London Police Service
COVID & Fraud
As you may have heard in the news, the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) plan has been hit by cases of identity theft. Criminal have preyed upon hundreds of people by assuming their identities to collect government cheques. According to recent media reports there have been as many as 20 cases in London. Jeff Thompson with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre is quoted in CBC.ca RCMP urges ‘diligence’ as identity theft linked to CERB soars as having this advice:
“It’s good practice for citizens to be doing due diligence at all times.”
“That really starts with checking your credit reports once a year, making sure there are no unauthorized activities, checking your financial statements, your bank accounts, your credit card statements making sure there’s no unauthorized charges, monitoring your mail, making sure you’re getting your mail and it’s not being stolen or redirected.”
Getting to Know Our Fellow Neighbourhood Watch London Members
We are grateful to our many active members, and we thought you might enjoy meeting some of them! In this edition of the NWL newsletter, we’d like to introduce you to Sandy, a dedicated Area Coordinator and resident of west London.
Hello Fellow Neighbourhood Watch Members
My name is Sandy Alsop and I have been the Coordinator for the Norton Estates 4 zone for over 30 years. I got interested in NW in the early 70’s when our home was broken into twice in the same year. Needless to say, our sense of security was affected and it took a long time to feel safe again.
When we moved to another neighbourhood in the same area, I took it upon myself to get the neighbourhood involved in NW. I knew it worked; so it wasn’t a “hard sell” to get residents on board.
Zones were designated and captains and co-captains were assigned to each zone. Information for Resident Lists was gathered and soon the WATCH was running smoothly and efficiently.
Initially, we had over 200 homes in our WATCH. In 2002, I requested that our WATCH be downsized to 64 homes. They included the homes on Westbury Ave. Westbury Place and Wentworth Court. Far more manageable.
In 2003, I petitioned to get streetlights on Westbury Ave. Looking back, it was a lot of work but well worth the effort. To this day, I still look at our street and am pleased that our street is well lite and safe.
There have been many changes in the NW Program, since the installation, in our area. But the mandate remains the same—Neighbours working together to prevent crime. Communication is the key and makes for a very friendly and caring community.
My goal for 2020 is to ensure that all information is up to date and to obtain email addresses for all residents. This will allow me to send newsletters electronically; reducing my costs.
The NW Program is a great asset to Londoners and I hope it will continue to serve our residents.
Sandy Alsop
And to close, here’s a great local piece via twitter
Thank you everyone, and we look forward to reaching out to you again with our September newsletter! And don’t forget – we still need your help two very important projects:
Friendly Call
In our June NWL newsletter, we told you about Friendly Call, and we would like to remind you about this new initiative. Over55 Skills at Work is helping to reach out to people during COVID by linking volunteers with people who would benefit from a friendly telephone conversation. If you would like to request the service or you want more information please visit www.friendlycall.ca
The Longevity Economy
This project is led by our community partner, Over 55. The Longevity Economy is focused on highlighting the value of mature workers, job seekers and entrepreneurs, and adding their highly under utilized value to our local labour market and businesses.
Over 55 is currently seeking research participants – job seekers age 55+ – to participate in a short interview. This process takes less than 30 minutes, and participants will receive a gift card to a local retailer as a thank you. Learn more at www.worklonger.ca.