September 2021 Newsletter
Greetings from Neighbourhood Watch London!
September marks the beginning of fall, and we hope the new season brings you health, happiness, and peace of mind.
Ontario’s Vaccine Passport
Ontario’s new COVID vaccine passport plan was introduced this month. It requires residents to show proof they’ve been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to dine indoors at restaurants and go to gyms and theatres. Here are some highlights via CBC News Vaccine Passport (opens in a new tab). Meanwhile, the Middlesex London Health Unit has set up a new vaccination clinic at White Oaks Mall. The walk-in-clinic will operate from September 14th to September 25th. For information, go to the Health Unit’s website MLHU Vaccination Clinic (opens in a new tab)
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
On September 30th, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation will be recognized as a federal statutory holiday for the first time. It will be a designated paid holiday for federally-regulated employees. It’s held to promote awareness of the residential school system and the impact on Indigenous communities.
Mark Your Calendars
On Thursday October 7th, 2021 the Neighbourhood Watch London Annual General Meeting will be available for download by visiting this link. Once again, we are holding our AGM as a virtual event due to COVID.
Money Mules and Phishing: Strange “Animals” & Fraud Awareness
You’ve probably heard of phishing. For example, a scammer sends you an email from a recognizable company, in an attempt to trick you into providing financial information. But you may not be familiar with money mules. According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, there’s an increasing number of fraud networks that recruit unsuspecting victims to receive and transfer money from other victims. According to Money Mule Awareness (opens in a new tab) this is often done using bank wire transfers, email money transfers, money services, businesses and virtual currencies. On Thursday September 30th, at 1 p.m. Neighbourhood Watch London presents the third in a series of fraud awareness for seniors. Join Tom Cheel of the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre on a Zoom call that will be focusing on internet fraud. You can join via Zoom here (opens in a new tab).
Back to School
September is, of course, back to school time. London police recommend parents talk to their children about safety precautions and consider the following safety tips.
- Establish the safest route to school or the bus stop
- Encourage children to stick to the route and avoid shortcuts
- To always walk on the sidewalk or away from the roadway
- Remind children not talk to people they don’t know
For children learning from home, police also have some safety tips for parents.
- Have age appropriate conversations about digital use with children
- Establish your household expectations about things like text messages, location information sharing, etc.
- Explore parental controls to monitor what children can access through device management programs such as parental controls
Recognizing this can be a stressful time for families, the London District Catholic School Board has a feature on its website that offers advice on coping. For example, asking everyone to think about their level of calm and give it a score of one to ten. Finding Calm During Stressful Times (opens in a new tab)
For more information visit: Back to School Safety Tips (opens in a new tab)
Ideas in Action
Do you have a great idea for a community improvement project? The City of London is inviting residents to share their ideas through the Neighbourhood Decision Making program Neighbourhood Decision Making (opens in a new tab) Individual programs are eligible for up to $30,000 in funding. The deadline for applications is September 21, 2021. For more information email neighbourhogood@london.ca or phone 519 661-5336. Project ideas can also be submitted online by clicking https://getinvolved.london.ca/NDM (opens in a new tab)
The City of London is inviting residents to cast their ballots for the People’s Choice categories of the Urban Design Awards. By going online, you can help choose the winner from among 15 recent projects. Nominees include new residential high rises, rehabilitated heritage buildings and improved public spaces. Voting is open until the end of September. Urban Design Awards (opens in a new tab)
A Shout-out to a Local Hero on Twitter
This guy has been on ? PSD Koda responded to two separate B&E’s last night…both times Uniformed officers did great job containing buildings..PSD Koda was sent in and both times located suspects attempting to hide…nice try #2incustody (opens in a new tab) #londonpolicek9 (opens in a new tab) #k9ltw (opens in a new tab) #thenoseknows (opens in a new tab) pic.twitter.com/73736uLi1d (opens in a new tab)
— LondonPoliceK9?? (@k9_london) September 8, 2021 (opens in a new tab)
Work with your neighbours to help make your community better.
General membership in Neighbourhood Watch London is free.