P2P Strategy Renewal

Project Context

In 2008, the City of Windsor and County of Essex launched the Pathway to Potential (P2P) regional poverty reduction strategy. This initiative aimed to address the concerns about poverty levels in the Windsor-Essex region, encompassing several municipalities. P2P consisted of two intervention streams: an external organization focused on advocating for change and innovation, and funding for community-based organizations that directly served low-income residents. The funding was allocated through a Request for Proposal (RFP) process overseen by the Human and Health Services Department.

In 2017, P2P underwent a comprehensive renewal and introduced an updated poverty reduction strategy, the 9-Point Social Investment Plan, aimed at enhancing residents' assets through social investments. Around $2.1 million was invested annually by the City of Windsor and County of Essex since then. Currently, P2P supports 14 programs that assist vulnerable youth and families, address accessibility and financial barriers, and collaborate with community leaders.

In early 2024, a new Request for Proposals (RFP) cycle will provide an opportunity to enhance the poverty reduction strategy. To ensure the strategy aligns with current and future community needs, as well as establishing an effective RFP process, an internal and community consultation process will be conducted.

Project Purpose

The goal is to update the current poverty reduction strategy (the 9-Point Social Investment Plan) and align it with the vision of P2P for the next four years. This process includes engaging a diverse range of residents, community leaders, and organizations to identify barriers and issues faced by those living in poverty. The outcomes from the consultation would be a vision for Pathway to Potential, a revised roadmap of the 9-Point Social Investment Plan and new priorities identified for the next four years.

Survey

Service providers and community members had the opportunity to provide feedback on the issues and impacts of poverty within the Windsor-Essex region through surveys that closed on Friday, October 6, 2023.

Strategy Renewal Feedback Sessions

Along with StrategyCorp, we held two P2P Strategy Renewal feedback sessions at the end of November that were open to the public. Several Windsor-Essex residents attended a presentation of the updated P2P strategic framework and provided their feedback. Hybrid sessions were also held via Zoom for residents that were able to attend online.

For more information regarding the sessions, please visit the P2P home page.