hart2


The City of Fort Wayne is fortunate to have excellent social workers as part of our Fort Wayne Police Department. The month of March is National Social Worker Month and serves as an opportunity to highlight the importance of social workers. The theme for this year’s special month is Empowering Social Workers.

We want to recognize and thank Amber Leichty, Tamra Powell, Darcy Robins, and Madalyn Robrock for the outstanding work being done each day by our team of social workers. Please know that you are valued and appreciated.

An ongoing success story centers around HART (Hope and Recovery Team, made up of social workers and detectives) as the team in 2023 followed up with 1,341 addicted individuals to help with treatment and recovery services, reached 2,996 unhoused individuals with Handing Out Hope and Street Outreach events, and engaged the community with 29,820 page views on social media.

Social work continues to be in high demand, with several states reporting shortages of social workers and other mental health services providers. Social workers are also on the forefront of pressing issues, including providing services to our aging population, treating people affected by an ongoing opioid addiction crisis, and helping people find affordable housing and adequate health care. National Social Worker Month - Empowering Social Workers underscores the need for all of us to better support social workers to address societal issues.

From left to right are our social workers for the City of Fort Wayne - Madalyn Robrock, Amber Leichty, Tamra Powell and Darcy Robins.

 

FWFD2

We’re fortunate to live in a safe city. Mayor Tom Henry and his City Administration continue to be encouraged and impressed with the levels of service being provided by the Fort Wayne Police and Fire departments. We all take comfort in knowing that public safety personnel will be there for us. Last year saw many successes and we’re looking forward to the proactive plans for this year that are designed to make a lasting and meaningful impact in our community.

Downtown DeNoiseAI standard 1

December 27, 2023 -  
It was quite the year in Fort Wayne in 2023. 

The past 12 months saw a lot of positive change in our city, or as Mayor Tom Henry called it “a year of transformation.” From starting and completing several major developments projects to energizing the efforts of improving the quality of life in Southeast Fort Wayne, Fort Wayne citizens can be proud of the milestones and accomplishments that we experienced in 2023.

3

Fort Wayne is at the forefront of proactive initiatives designed to make a lasting and meaningful impact. Our community’s view of the world and having a global mindset were the focus of a recent Sister Cities International visit to Fort Wayne by several dignitaries from Takaoka, Japan.

Takaoka is Fort Wayne’s first sister city. The cities joined together in 1976. At a gathering at Citizens Square, Mayor Tom Henry and the mayor of Takaoka, Yuki Kakuda, signed a joint declaration to commemorate the continuation of the sister cities partnership between Fort Wayne and Takaoka.

In addition, Greater Fort Wayne Inc. and the Takaoka Chamber of Commerce signed a partnership document as a sign of commitment to exploring additional economic development opportunities in the future. This signing was a renewal of a document that was signed in 1994 by the Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce (predecessor to Greater Fort Wayne Inc.) and the Takaoka Chamber of Commerce.

Fort Wayne is honored to be a sister city with Takaoka. We’re so thankful for the sister cities partnership. The focus on learning and citizen diplomacy is to be commended. Fort Wayne and Takaoka share a commitment to making our cities and countries as places that give back and think of others. We’re fortunate to be part of a global effort aimed at friendship and peace.

Looking forward, we envision future growth and success for our respective cities. We also want to maintain and enhance the closeness of the sister cities program. By working together, we’ll be able to accomplish so much and gain an even better appreciation for one another.