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Cochraine District Social Services Admin seeks housing solution

By Ron Grech, The Daily Press (Timmins)

Thursday, August 1, 2013 7:36:28 EDT PM

TIMMINS – Iroquois Falls has provided a “perfect example” of how social housing for seniors should be funded.

Now, the Cochrane District Social Services Administration Board would like to see this model adopted on a broader scale.

The 10 supportive housing units in Iroquois Falls is unique in the sense that it is partially funded by the province through the North East Local Health Integration Network.

Brian Marks, director of housing services with the Cochrane District Social Services Administration Board, said it makes perfect sense for the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care to contribute to seniors housing.

“When we look at the long-term care crisis we’re facing in Timmins and the inappropriate useage of health-care facilities at Timmins and District Hospital, we know the burden can be lifted if the (health-related) supports could just be delivered where the seniors already live,” said Marks. “We’ve got hundreds of seniors who live in units that need supports, and they’re not getting them. So guess where they go?

“They end up in the emergency room or they end up on the third floor at TDH unnecessarily.”

Marks will be attending the Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference in Ottawa in two weeks, where he will be making a pitch to health ministry officials to provide more funding into seniors housing.

In the meantime, Marks and a team of representatives from CDSSAB were in Iroquois Falls Thursday, hosting the last in a series of five public consultation sessions on social housing.

The two previous days, they held sessions in Hearst, Kapuskasing, Smooth Rock Falls and Cochrane.

The information being collected from these sessions will be used to develop a 10-year housing plan for the district. The intent is to ensure social housing needs are met in communities throughout the district.

“We’ve been getting good suggestions on some of the things that absolutely need to be considered in a housing plan,” said Marks.

“Certainly the common issue across all of the communities is seniors. We know the seniors population in Northern Ontario is aging at a greater rate than the provincial average. It’s a critical issue. Seniors want to age in their communities. They don’t want to have to move someplace else to get care.”

The public consultation meetings held this week were attended by residents, people with an interest in seniors’ housing, municipal leaders, community developers, and representatives from the Aboriginal community.

Marks said he is hoping to have a draft form of the plan recirculated to the communities by September.

“I have deadlines with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing to have it in before the end of September so the ministry can have their 90-day review. It has to be in place by Jan. 1, 2014.

“It’s an aggressive timeline only because a lot of the income data isn’t available from Statistics Canada until sometime in October.”

jillumbach General Information, Resources

Building a Healthy Bridges Initiative

As we at the Bruce Grey Poverty Task Force move forward in our planning it is good to learn from other communities.  Lyn Jackson writes about Building a Health Bridges Initiative in her blog (July 13th, 2013)  http://www.ahaprocess.com/blog/archives/1043

Picture if you will a successful Bridges community—one where all sectors and economic classes are working together toward a healthy, sustainable community. A community where lives are being strengthened. A community where those in poverty are provided the opportunity and tools to build a stable life. A community where strong planning and communication are working in sync. Can you envision this?

As you work at building this community (and it is possible), I encourage you to think through and consider laying a strong foundation for the work. Where do I suggest you begin?

  1. By communicating, communicating, and then communicating some more. Bring together those with the passion and vision to move this initiative forward. Talk with those who do not understand the work or who want to keep doing the work without including others. The more you communicate, the more people will learn about the initiative. Those that can really help make things happen will step up to join you.
  2. Collaborate with those already walking the path toward building a sustainable community. Come together and discuss what you have in common. Make sure everyone understands the language you are using. Use strengths that others can provide for the initiative. Find those in your community who can fill in the gaps for strengths that are not already represented. Make sure you have all three economic classes at the table.
  3. Work on your funding as part of the initiative. You can have a wonderful group of people working on building a sustainable community, but without funds you fill find yourself struggling to continue the initiative. That’s where the next suggestion comes into play: Focus on planning.
  4. Planning is important. Many times the constructs of Bridges build such excitement that you can find yourself wanting to run ahead of the plan. Don’t be tempted! Nothing will torpedo your initiative faster than not having a plan worked out as you move forward. This will help others figure out where they fit and how they can help. Once you have the people and the plan in place, you will be able to move forward with confidence.
jillumbach General Information

Kathleen Blinkhorn Aboriginal Student Scholarship deadline 9 August 2013

Do you know an Aboriginal student living in non-profit housing? Encourage them to apply for the 2013 Kathleen Blinkhorn Aboriginal Student Scholarship! For more information or to obtain an application form, visitwww.onpha.on.ca/kblinkhorn. The deadline is August 9, 2013.

KATHLEEN BLINKHORN ABORIGINAL STUDENT SCHOLARSHIP

2013 scholarship

Get the 2013 application form. The deadline for applications is August 9, 2013.

In December 2009, the social housing sector lost a dedicated colleague and tireless advocate in Kathleen Blinkhorn. To celebrate her memory, ONPHA, with the support of Kathleen’s family, developed the Kathleen Blinkhorn Aboriginal Student Scholarship to commemorate her work developing Aboriginal housing programs and working with Aboriginal communities.

Each year, ONPHA awards up to five students with a scholarship in the amount of $1,000 for uses including tuition, books, technology (laptop, etc.) and transportation.

Applicants are eligible for the scholarship if they meet all of the following criteria:

  • are an Aboriginal student currently living in non-profit housing in Ontario
  • are enrolled in a college, university or private trade school recognized by the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities
  • have a full-time or part-time (minimum 60 per cent) course load

NOTE: Tenants living in co-operative housing are not eligible for the scholarship.

Questions?

Contact Julie Mah at 1-800-297-6660, ext. 109 or julie.mah@onpha.org.

jillumbach General Information, Media

Landlords helping homeless find affordable housing in Calgary

By Jason van Rassel, Calgary Herald July 11, 2013

Private landlords are teaming up with Calgary’s non-profit sector to make it easier to find stable housing for people emerging from homelessness.

The Calgary Residential Rental Association is challenging its members to make 500 units available for social agencies to place their clients over the next year.

“From our perspective, it’s going to provide a hand up to people who need a hand up,” said rental association executive director Gerry Baxter, whose organization represents 600 landlords with a portfolio of approximately 50,000 units.

Right now, not many of them are vacant; the city’s vacancy rate is sitting at 1.2 per cent. The rental market is expected to get even tighter as people displaced by last month’s flooding search for new places to live and landlords repair damaged properties.

“I don’t think we’ve seen the full impact of what the flood will do — prior to that, we were struggling, too,” said Carlene Donnelly, executive director of Calgary Urban Project Society.

The agreement announced Wednesday between the CRRA and the Calgary Homeless Foundation is designed to give landlords incentives to rent to clients of eight city agencies.

In exchange for landlords offering units to low-income clients, the agencies agree to provide rent assurances, pay security deposits and cover any additional damage, if necessary.

The landlords charge and receive market value rents, but the agreement protects them from defaults or damage.

“If something happens and the tenant doesn’t pay the rent, the landlord has an opportunity to go back to the caseworker at the agency,” Baxter said.

The tenants get a decent place to live, along with support from the agency that referred them. Some may need ongoing help with monthly rental subsidies, while others may simply need assistance coming up with the damage deposit, Donnelly said.

The homeless foundation and a coalition of local non-profit agencies are part of a 10-year plan to end homelessness in Calgary by 2018.

Since the start of the plan in 2008, the CHF estimates it has found permanent homes for approximately 4,500 people.

A portion of that success has been realized through some existing relationships Calgary landlords have with the city’s non-profit sector.

Rod Williams of Gil Property Management and Sales estimated he has rented units to approximately 100 clients of local agencies in the past five years.

“My comfort level is due to the fact I got fairly familiar with the housing advocates with these agencies,” Williams said.

Only a few tenants didn’t work out, and when that happened, the agencies responded, said Williams.

“If everything had gone to hell, we wouldn’t be doing this,” he said.

Williams added that wealthy tenants who have rented his properties on the open market have also defaulted or caused damage — and in those cases, his company didn’t have the same recourse it has with the non-profit agencies it works with.

“You can’t judge people by their income — or lack thereof,” he said.

Donnelly agreed the non-profit sector and property owners already have a strong relationship, but said the new agreement will hopefully bolster it at a time when the rental market is so tight.

“We really do need a plan,” she said.

In addition to CUPS, the Mustard Seed, Alpha House Calgary, the Calgary John Howard Society, The Alex, Aspen Family and Community Network Society, Keys to Recovery and the Calgary Drop-In Centre are involved in the program.