To Noll, who has experience as a certified addictions counsellor and has worked in education training others to do such work, the training piece is not new, but working with businesses is a unique component of the program.

“We educate them on very basic things,” such as de-escalation skills, Noll said.

When faced with people dealing with mental illness, drug or addiction issues, or homelessness – some of the issues seemingly more prevalent in the downtown – business owners can feel at a loss, Noll said.

“Business owners are scared. They don’t know what to do or how to help,” she said.

Noll, who has been clean from her own addictions for 18 years, has been working to bridge these two communities.

“I really bring a lot of reality into it. This is somebody’s brother, father, sister, mother,” she said.

Situations that might have generated calls to police in the past can often be resolved more easily without them. Noll says often the people she engages with just need someone to listen, and she is able to be that someone.

“I can meet them where they’re at and I can identify,” she said.

At the same time, she admits the work is difficult, with homelessness being one of the biggest issues she’s encountered.

“It’s hard when you’ve got to stand face to face with someone and say ‘I don’t know. I don’t know where you can find shelter,’” she said.

But she’s also experienced significant successes, such as helping individuals get into detox treatment programs.

She also provided naloxone training to businesses, and said because of the training, a business was able to save a life.

The business community seems to appreciate Noll’s presence in the downtown.

“We’ve had nothing but positive feedback,” Downtown Guelph Business Association executive director Marty Williams said.

Williams said the country is in the midst of an opioid epidemic and, in Guelph, it’s showing up in the downtown.

The Downtown Welcoming Streets Initiative is “not going to solve all problems and it’s not going to make this all go away,” he said, but it’s a step in the right direction for business owners and individuals who desire to figure out how to be helpful.

“It’s all about being respectful and being understanding,” he said, noting that the people dealing with complex addictions and mental health issues are fellow citizens and human beings.

“We have to do what we can,” Williams said. “We’re not going to be able to criminalize or police our way out of this.”

Guelph’s police chief agreed.

“There can be some very challenging individuals downtown, but maybe the police response isn’t exactly what’s needed,” said Chief Jeff DeRuyter.

The outreach worker helps to raise awareness for businesses and other stakeholders of some of the other agencies available to support the needs of people dealing with addictions, mental illness and poverty, he said. She is also someone who can help people navigate the various systems.

It’s a program whose value is recognized, said DeRuyter.

“By all accounts, it has been well received in our downtown community and I think we’d like to see it continue,” he said.

Noll, for her part, has no interest in leaving the job any time soon.

“This is a project where I’ve poured my heart and soul into it,” Noll said. “With education and with more outreach, I really believe that there can be a difference.”