Kenora Bear Clan Starting Operations with Soft Launch

Kenora, ON – Work is currently underway to create a Bear Clan Chapter in Kenora. This work is being carried out by a number of organizations led by the Kenora Chiefs Advisory, the Kenora Ontario Provincial Police, and the Kenora District Services Board (KDSB).

The Kenora chapter is being modelled after the one founded in Winnipeg Manitoba in 2015, with several chapters now operating across the country.

This new model is running off a community council, which is compromised of representatives from local organizations.

The goal and vision of this team are to have a fully-funded model with paid employees which will allow for long term effectiveness and growth, which in turn will create the ability to close the barrier on current gaps in service.

The group will work towards achieving crime prevention in a non-violent, non-threatening, non-judgmental and supportive manner. This goal is achieved through both reconciliation and relationship building, which are vital steps to making this model succeed.

A soft launch for the Bear Clan Patrol will begin Friday, July 24, starting at 2 p.m., with the crew conducting patrols from 2 p.m. to 12 a.m., Friday to Monday.

There is funding in place now from both the KDSB and Ministry of Solicitor General that will help with the long-term stability and operations of this program, with more information on the funding being announced at the soft launch.

The soft launch of this program was made possible with support from the Kenora and Lake of the Woods Regional Community Foundation and if you would like more information about how to support the Bear Plan Patrol, please contact Stefanie Bryant at Stefanie.bryant@kenorachiefs.ca.

For media inquires please contact:

Daphne Armstrong, Kenora Chiefs Advisory, aphne.armstrong@kenorachiefs.ca

Daryl Redsky, Makwa Ganaatamaage Coordinator at AAFS,204-979-7759 or elkclan@hotmail.ca

Jeffery Duggan, OPP jeffrey.duggan@opp.ca

Adam Illman, OPP adam.illman@opp.ca