New 'night ambassadors' coming to ByWard Market

The ByWard Market District Authority (BMDA) will be running a "night ambassador" program this year, one it says will improve safety in the downtown Ottawa hotspot and enhance visitors' experiences. 

Starting June 27, four ambassadors will be on standby to help visitors find safe rides home and to intervene and de-escalate when they see potential conflicts arise.

They'll also be able to provide people with first aid, phone chargers and water.

"It's a safety program and also a well-being and caring program," said nightlife commissioner Mathieu Grondin. "I want people who may have had bad experiences here to come back and know that there's going to be people watching their backs for them."

The pilot program is funded with $35,000 from Ottawa's nightlife office and run by the BMDA.

The night ambassadors will be in the market on Fridays and Saturdays from 9:30 p.m. to 4 a.m. The project will run until early November, according to a city press release.

'Eyes on the street'

There are already ambassadors in the market during the day, and the night ambassadors will be an extension of that role "with a bit of a different mandate," said BMDA executive director Zachary Dayler.

"It's almost like a lifeguard model," Dayler said. "We're spotting what's going on and we're making sure that people are aware of the safety concerns." 

Four night ambassadors will work at the same time, in teams of two. One pair will be stationed in a kiosk and the other will roam the streets. 

Though police officers, paramedics and staff from local businesses already monitor the ByWard Market to ensure visitors are safe, Dayler said the ambassadors will be "an additional layer of eyes on the street."

The pilot project, Grondin added, is also intended to help workers who keep the ByWard Market vibrant after the sun goes down.

"One thing from consulting the nightlife council that came up was that sometimes staff that work here in bars and restaurants, when they end their shifts, they don't feel safe walking back to their cars," he said.

"They'll be able to reach out to this team that can accompany them."

Facets of a nightlife economy

The night ambassador model was inspired by similar Canadian programs that have seen success, according to Grondin and Dayler.

The BMDA team met with groups like Good Night Out Vancouver, an outreach team, and CrewMed, which provides first responders for events in Ottawa.

Ottawa's version will be partially passive, providing support just through their presence. 

"We've learned things like making sure that people can charge their cellphones at night is really important, or that they have a place to wait for that ride or even have somebody to call their parent," Dayler said. 

The team can also diffuse or de-escalate harassment or violence when they see it, said Grondin, in partnership with the security staff who already work at the businesses.

The program's success will be measured by community feedback, the number of calls for service they receive, and the number and scale of interventions the ambassadors perform, Dayler said.

He's optimistic about its results, noting he hopes it becomes a "citywide initiative that we can expand into other nightlife districts and areas." 

"I hope it's something that we can look back on in four or five years and say, it started in ByWard."