ASK Salt Spring: Answered - Ep 21 Alexander Fischer-Jean

Episode Date: February 10, 2024

Ask Salt Spring Answered talks to Alexander Fischer-Jean of Salt Spring Chamber of Commerce about the Ambassador Program.

You're listening to episode 21 of Ask Salt Spring Answered when we talk to Alexander Fisher-Green from the Chamber of Commerce about the Ambassador Program. Right, I'm here with Alexander Fisher-Jean, who is the Operations Manager of the Salt Spring Chamber of Commerce. And we've just been in a session with Ask Salt Spring with Gail Baker, and the topic today was the Ambassador Program. So tell me a little bit about the Ambassador Program. Thanks for having us, Damien. The ambassador program was an initiative with the Salt Spring Mental Health Network and the Salt Spring Chamber of Commerce. And it's to bring, I guess, mental health ambassadors

to the downtown core to really just to help.'s not limited to just mental health the ambassador program expands to it can be helping someone with a stroller into the the back of their car or finding available parking on a saturday market day there are just it's it's a welcoming it's directions it's um it's to bring help and guess, a greater sense of community to Ganges. Okay, and we heard today that some of the volunteers have already been in contact with the people who are homeless and who spend their days at Centennial Park or on Propane Beach. Is that a major focus of this, to help businesses and people feel safer? Is that part of the process? It is, yes. You know, the program just started two weeks ago.

We've had a couple of volunteer shifts go out. Yes, the concentration, the focus really is going to be on the Ganges downtown core. We won't be adventuring all the way to Fernwood or all the way down to Fulford. It's where we want to improve the vibrancy, the safety, and just a greater sense of community in Ganges. So yes, it's focused in the downtown core. And I think a lot of the discussion revolved around basically just talking to people and getting to understand their problems or difficulties or whatever and treating them as human beings as opposed to just people that some parts of the community might be frightened of or whatever. Exactly. You know anyone can be going through something uh depression or you know their life

events that can that can change um the outlook of someone's life and to be able to to be there for someone to to recognize uh someone to have that familiar face uh for someone to to perhaps go to and talk to, it's tremendous. And we want to build those relationships with anyone. It's not just individuals who are marginalized. It would be for anyone. And it's not, again, focused solely on the mental health. It is an ambassador program to show kindness for Salt Spring.

Right. Now, this has come together with virtually no budget. I gather $5,000 was sort of the start-up for this. How can people help if they want to help financially? Yes, we did receive a very small grant from the CRD to launch the program, and that would just cover starting up costs, the purchase of beverage backpacks, the training, some of the background checks and such for criminal record checks.

There's a couple of startup costs. But yes, if you wish to donate, it would be tremendously beneficial to the program and to the initiative. You can reach out to our email addresses, ssiambassadors at gmail.com, or you can always stop by the Salt Spring Chamber of Commerce office, talk to myself. Again, my name's Alexander, and I can move this forward. Yes. Now, so far, I think you've got seven to eight volunteers.

Is there a capacity for the program at this point or no limit to how many volunteers you could have? There is no limit. The many hands makes light work. The more help we can get, the more shifts we can schedule, the more availability of just someone being there. With this just starting up two weeks ago, we can only cover so many hours in a day or in a week. And if you want to volunteer, we would greatly appreciate your help. Okay, now it's interesting actually, I sort of associated the green vest

with the YVR ambassadors in a way. But it's much more than that here, obviously, where they're just telling people how to get to their flights and stuff at YVR. But it's not to the extent of, say, the Guardian Angels in New York City, where they are actually taking a very kind of hands-on approach and interventionist approach to problems that they seek, right? It's correct. We chose the color green because the color palette does go for kindness, for approachability, for neutrality.

So, yeah, the blue vests are going to be the Visitor Information Center volunteers roaming around, and then the green vests are your ambassadors roaming around. And, yes. So there are other – I wasn't aware of the blue vest part of it. That's a different color vest, and they're going to be giving directions more. They're talking about activities, events, guiding towards washrooms and public washroom facilities, kayak rentals. They're a visitor information center volunteer. This is really a mental health ambassador. And because that scope is so large, it can be from supporting the RCMP office in responding quicker to something that would not be necessarily minor, to have that less official look. It's not an individual in a uniform. a civilian-closed, friendly face that's recognizable and that may just be there to give a snack or a bottle of water.

It could be a shoulder to cry on. It could be someone to vent and share some of your challenges that you're going through that day. It doesn't have to be always so serious, but they may be able to respond quicker as they're a roving ambassador. And then when something is of that escalated nature, we have someone who is trained and that could also contact the RCMP quicker as they are the ones who are on the lookout. Okay, and I gather that some people have had training in administering naloxone, which of course is the drug that you use to combat overdoses of fentanyl, and some will be carrying a kit.

So that's quite an interesting and very valuable service, I think. Yes, depending on the volunteer and their past experience, their training levels, some of them will be carrying it. Some are more comfortable just administering and such. There are kits readily available in the community, the health unit. All RCMP officers carry one as well. So they are already available and can be administered by those who have the appropriate training and are confident in doing so. Okay, and I think, you know, this is obviously a brand new program, but it's had a very encouraging

start, I think, hasn't it? Because some of the volunteers who were here today were telling us about stories of people that they'd met and how well they'd been received everywhere they went? It is extremely well received by the community, by both business owners and by individuals, the residents and the population. Both see it as a benefit. The business owners, that's why the chamber is heavily involved because we represent the businesses on the island, and we want to improve life on Ganges and the safety and such. So this is why the Chamber's contributing and participating, but it's the individuals who recognize fellow ambassadors as friends, as someone who they know, who they feel comfortable in opening up to, and perhaps seeking help from them. It's not a stranger. Right. And once again, our email address was ssiambassadors at gmail.com for anybody who

wants to get involved, or pop into the Chamber of Commerce office and talk to Alexander. Thanks very much, Alexander, for coming in today. And it's been great to talk to you. And you're listening to Cheer.fm. I greatly appreciate it. Thank you so much for having me.