School supplies contest. Changes at ... draw for a chance to win a backpack filled with books and other school supplies.
Fall 2017
Housing Update Your city, your community and you
Ermias Nagatu bikes to break barriers to education
Scholarship information School supplies contest Changes at Neptune
Also inside: community resources and events, new CEO, Tenants First update and more
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Spring Moon: a journey connecting communities Mixed Company Theatre and OUA present Spring Moon
The stars aligned when Mixed Company Theatre connected with female, Chinese seniors in Operating Unit A (OUA) to act in a play called Spring Moon. The seniors took to the stage to tell their real-life stories of immigration alongside emerging actors, exploring intergenerational differences and culture. Tenant and actress, Donghong Huo, 62, says that the play was a great experience and helped her in more ways than one. “I have found it somewhat difficult integrating into society because I don’t speak fluent English. Through the play, I was able to communicate with other people and attempt to learn more about the Canadian way and society. In addition, I was able to learn some English from the Chinese young people when they were helping with the play.”
Photo credit: Dahlia Katz and Yuli Scheidt
The production was supported by an all-female team, with a total of five performances at The Citadel. “We wanted to give voice to a community and have them experience something they’ve never done before and feel inspired,” said Artistic Director Simon Malbogat of Mixed Company Theatre. “I hope that after watching the play, the audience understood the real-life experiences of immigrants coming to the county,” says Donghong. “This includes their struggles with isolation and depression, along with great triumphs as they navigate along their way.”
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Changes at Neptune The public spaces in the buildings in the Neptune community have recently been upgraded and freshly painted as part of the Building Capital Repair plan. Community Housing Supervisor Ray Marcelo says the painting work at Neptune included public corridors, ceilings, laundry rooms, apartment and service doors, stairwells, front vestibules and back doors. Unit door locks have been replaced with high security locks and new ceramic tiles have been installed in hallways and lobby areas. Ray says that people are pleased with the renovations. Tenants have made comments such as, “I feel safer now and there’s less vandalism,” and, “I’m feeling good because I have a nice place I can call home.” After the painting work was completed, the mailboxes were replaced and the laundry room was renovated.
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WIN: you could be one of 30 lucky winners to receive a backpack full of school supplies! Tell us in 50 words or less why education is important to you. You’ll be entered in a draw for a chance to win a backpack filled with books and other school supplies. Submit your entry by October 31: • Email:
[email protected] • Message: facebook.com/TorontoCommunityHousing • Mail: Housing Update, 931 Yonge St., 7th floor, Toronto, ON M4W 2H2
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Meet: Ermias Nagatu Ermias Nagatu is helping to eliminate systemic barriers to education in support of Pathways to Education. Ermias, 24, is a graduate of York University and a Pathways alumnus in Regent Park. He biked 2,000-km from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Toronto this spring to raise $10,000 for youth programming for Pathways to Education. The ride, called RideTOInspire (R2I), was important to Ermias. “It allowed me to give back to my community, the same community that supported me,” he said. “This programming was crucial to my success.”
Charlie’s FreeWheels, a local non-profit that teaches bicycle mechanics and repair to youth in Regent Park and Moss Park.” What does Ermias hope comes out of this? "Ultimately, I hope that this bike ride inspires youth across the country; they too can take action and become agents of change both within their own communities and on a larger scale." Ermias plans to apply to medical schools this fall.
Pathways to Education is an organization dedicated to providing resources to youth from low-income communities. The network of support helps them graduate from high school and build the foundation for their successful future. Ermias says the idea came to him about a year ago when thinking about how he could make a larger impact in his community. “My riding partner and I received a lot of mentorship and resources from Jason Shim, a Pathways staff member. We also received a significant amount of support from Cover photo credit: Nike Valeus
Let us know Who do you think we should write about next? Email
[email protected]
Toronto Community Housing Scholarships Are you a student living in Toronto Community Housing? Heading to postsecondary school and need a way to pay for tuition? We're working with community partners across the city to offer scholarship opportunities to youth and students living in TCHC communities.
Investing in Our Diversity Scholarship The Investing in Our Diversity Scholarship is an annual scholarship program that recognizes high school students and recent high school graduates involved in anti-racism, diversity and community-building initiatives in their community. The scholarship awards up to $4,000 in tuition towards the first year of postsecondary education or training and matching second-year scholarships to successful candidates.
Limitless Heights Scholarship The Building our Future: Limitless Heights Scholarship Program provides Lawrence Heights and Neptune residents of all ages with financial support for postsecondary education or training. The program offers up to $3,000 for tuition and a $300 bursary to help cover additional costs including books, laboratory materials, transportation and childcare services.
It’s time to head back to school! Looking for after-school homework support? We're working with community partners across the city to offer academic support to youth and students living in TCHC communities.
Learn more about some of these programs below:
Toronto Public Library
Home Run Scholars
Need a quiet place to study? Toronto Public Library (TPL) branches across the city offer study spaces for group and individual study. A library card also gives you free access to computers, wireless internet and printers.
The Home Run Scholars After School program is a dynamic program designed to support youth in grades 1 to 6. TCHC, in partnership with Jays Care Foundation, provides a fun afterschool environment where children can learn, develop life skills and build the confidence necessary to take on life’s challenges. This program runs in 21 TCHC communities across the city.
Brainfuse Homework got you stumped? Check out Brainfuse, a free tool offered by the TPL that offers online homework help and resources for students in grades 1 to 12. The program offers practice tests, support for adult learners, writing assistance, skill building and more. You can access Brainfuse online, every day from 2 to 11 p.m. torontopubliclibrary.ca/brainfuse
Want to learn more about the programs we have available? Email RCSprograms @torontohousing.ca
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Have your say Here are some of the improvements we’ve made to services after hearing from you.
TELL US HOW WE'RE DOING Want to make a complaint or send a compliment? Here's how:
YOUR COMMENT: Tenants told us they were experiencing call wait times for the Client Care Centre that were several minutes long.
Call 416-981-5500 Email
[email protected] Remember to ask for your reference number
OUR SOLUTION: In response, we worked to address our staffing gaps, added a quality monitoring system for agents and improved our technology. Now, 90 per cent of calls are answered within 90 seconds.
90% of calls to the Client Care Centre answered within 90 seconds
YOUR COMMENT: Tenants told us that they felt that most of the Participatory Budget (PB) money for community improvements was being used for capital repair projects instead. They also said that the current PB process is challenging and resourceintensive, sometimes producing unfair results.
OUR SOLUTION: We have paused the PB program for 2017 and are working to develop two new processes to replace it: one for tenant input on the Building Repair Capital plan and another for tenant decision-making about Community Investments projects.
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Find out more about the PB redesign We consulted with tenants over the summer about the new Community Investment process and also ran a pilot project on a new Building Repair Capital process. The results will be presented to the Board later this year. To learn more, email Samira.Rehman @torontohousing.ca
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UPDATE: Tenants First City Council has approved the Tenants First Phase 1 Implementation Plan. Tenants First is all about improving the lives of Toronto Community Housing (TCHC) tenants through better funding, better service delivery, better access to services and better building conditions. No tenants will lose their home or their subsidy because of Tenants First. The Phase 1 plan calls for a new Seniors Housing and Services entity to manage TCHC’s 83 seniors-designated buildings and for more funding, a smaller portfolio and a refocused mandate to support Toronto Community Housing to be a better landlord. The City has sought input from TCHC tenants at every step of the process. As the City’s Tenants First project team and Toronto Community Housing work together to implement Phase 1, we will continue to seek input from tenants through the Tenant Advisory Panel and a public consultation process.
We start turning on the heat in September According to the Toronto rental apartment heat bylaw, building temperatures should be at least 21 C from September 15 to June 1. Building staff monitor the temperature in most buildings and we use this bylaw to decide when to turn the heat on and off. Thank you for your patience as we turn on the heating systems in our buildings.
Office of Diversity and Human Rights You can file a complaint if you believe that someone has violated your rights under Toronto Community Housing’s Human Rights, Harassment and Fair Access policy. If you feel you have been discriminated or harassed on any human rights grounds, you can file a complaint online at torontohousing.ca/ human-rights-complaint-form.
APPROVED: Tenant Charter We’re pleased to announce that Toronto Community Housing’s Board of Directors has approved our first ever Tenant Charter. Written by tenants and staff, the Charter reflects our company’s values: Community Collaboration, Accountability, Integrity and Respect. It also communicates our commitment to service and sets out accountabilities for both tenants and employees. Look for a copy in your mailbox soon or visit: torontohousing.ca/tenant-charter
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Free community events Family Sundays at the Gardiner Every Sunday until December 17 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Gardiner Museum, 111 Queens Park gardinermuseum.on.ca/learn-create/familysundays Toronto Jobs Career Fair October 18 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Free when you register online torontojobs.ca/career-resources/ career-fairs World Press Photo Exhibition 2017 October 3 to 24 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Brookfield Place, Allen Lambert Galleria, 181 Bay St. worldpressphoto.org/ exhibitions/2017-exhibition/toronto
Volunteer and internship opportunities Make industry connections, learn new skills and build your resumé. Toronto International Film Festival tiff.net/volunteer Manulife Financial manulife.com/Student-Programs Art Gallery of Ontario ago.net/volunteer-opportunities Nuit Blanche Toronto nbto.com/contact-us.html
Spring cleaning contest winners Congrats to the cleaning tips contest winners: Lindsay Cable and Tara-Lee Ferguson. Each winner received a cart full of cleaning supplies from our partner Tridel.
This document is available in other languages الرجاء االتصال بهذا الرقم،للحصول على نسخة مترجمة لطلب نسخة مترجمة416-981-5500 اتصل على الرقم. અનુવાદિત કોપી મેળવવા માટે ૪૧૬–૯૮૧–૫૫૦૦ પર ફોન કરો. 致電416-981-5500要求翻譯副本。 : با شماره زیر تماس بگیرید،ب رای دریافت ترجمه فارسی 416-981-5500 Veuillez appeler le 416 981-5500 pour demander une version traduite. Καλέστε 416-981-5500 για να ζητήσετε ένα μεταφρασμένο αντίγραφο. અનુવાદ િત કોપી મેળવવા માટે ૪૧૬–૯૮૧–૫૫૦૦ પર ફોન કરો. Chiamare il 416-981-5500 per chiedere una copia tradotta. 번역본을 원하시면 416-981-5500으로 전화해 주십시오. Aby otrzymać tłumaczenie należy zadzwonić pod numer 416-981-5500. Ligue para 416-981-5500 para solicitar uma cópia traduzida. Позвоните 416-981-5500, чтобы получить переведенную копию. Wac 416-981-5500 si aad u weydiisato koobi turjuman. Llamen al 416-981-5500 para pedir un ejemplar traducido. xU nkhopngau;g;Gg; gpujpia ngw 416-981-5500 ,yf;fj;ij miof;fTk. Frɛ 416-981-5500 na bisa krataa no asekyerɛ wↄ Akan kasa mu. Vui lòng gọi số 416-981-5500 để hỏi lấy một bản dịch.
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Get connected FREE yearly credit (welcome policy) A yearly credit is available to residents with low incomes that can be used to register for any City-run recreation program. Programs include arts and sports for many levels. Anyone receiving social assistance (Ontario Works) and living in Toronto is preapproved to receive this credit. To learn more, talk to your case worker or to Parks, Forestry and Recreation staff at a community centre, visit toronto.ca/wp or call 311.
FREE Toronto Public Health ecounselling service Toronto Public Health now offers free, private and anonymous online counselling for Toronto residents. A nurse and dietitian are available to provide helpful information on a wide range of topics, including mental health promotion, parenting/pregnancy, sexual health promotion and more. Service is available Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (except statutory holidays). If you have questions about this service, call 416-338-7600.
Older adult discounts Adults who are 60 years or older can receive a 50-per-cent discount when they register for City-run adult programs. For more information, contact a customer service representative at 416-338-4386 or visit toronto.ca/60plus.
Free or low-cost programs Many community centres offer free recreational drop-in programs, including leisure swimming and skating and drop-in programs for children, youth and older adults. Visit toronto.ca/lowcostrecreation for more information.
Ontario Works partnership to help manage rental payments Toronto Community Housing and Ontario Works (OW) are working together to improve customer service and help maintain successful tenancies. Our goal is to keep evictions for not paying rent (arrears) to a minimum for households that are receiving assistance from OW. We are committed to working with tenants and external supports or service agencies to keep tenants housed and to make sure that rent is paid. To learn more, contact your Tenant Services Coordinator, Superintendent, Property Manager or OW case worker.
Get in touch Client Care Centre 416-981-5500
The Client Care Centre is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week
Community Safety Unit 416-921-2323
Toronto Crime Stoppers 416-222-8477 @TOHousing
Email:
[email protected] Website: torontohousing.ca
TorontoCommunityHousing torontohousing
Read more about >>>>> scholarship opportunities on page 6
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