This section is actually a continuation of the fourth item on the list for Transformative Change for TCHC . The first part (decentralizing operations) was dealt with in the last section. Part Five will deal with strengthening partnerships.
I'm going to start this section off on a very controversial note. There is one partnership that I think should be demolished. That is the tenant rep system. If the tenant representatives actually represented the tenants they should have banded together years ago to provide feedback on the Final Report of the Mayor's Task Force on TCH(C). They could have divided the work up by section across the city. Or a few communities could have met once a month to discussed a section per month. Then compiled a Tenant Reps Perspective on the Final Report of the Mayors Task Force on TCH(C). There should have been no need to wait, for the city to come up with this Tenants First initiative (which really translates to Tenants Last), to hear from our reps In addition, to abolishing the old tenant rep system there needs to be a system in place that supports and recognizes those of us with the T'N'T (Time eNergy & Tenacity) to blast our own trails. Being told "Don't get your hopes up" with a pat on the shoulder prior to presenting at a Participatory Budget meeting does NOT count as support. Neither does ignoring emails during the Partnership Opportunities Legacy Fund's grant application process. . One of the partnerships that should already be strengthened is that between Toronto Police Services and Toronto Community Housing security. Once upon a time I used to work as a security guard. During that time if Toronto Police Services appeared on site it was standard procedure to document the time they arrived on scene, the nature of there visit, unit number they were visiting, and the time they left. If that wasn't completed I would have been fired. So I was absolutely dumbfounded to find out that there is NO automatic handshake between Toronto Police Services and TCH security when they arrive on site. There is NOT even a mandatory reporting system in place to notify the area property management office of visits to Toronto Community Housing sites (Seriously, I double checked.) Those police reports would be crucial evidence when going forward with a case for eviction to the Ontario Housing Tribunal. Especially, for those involved in criminal behavior. Given that many of the Toronto Community Housing units are located in "Priority Neighborhoods" requiring extra police officers is this not the type of cooperation that should already be in place? If TCH(C) security can not be trusted at least open up a dialogue between the TCH(C) management offices and Toronto Police. Another area that can use some solid investment is partnering with the youth from the communities. Toronto Community Housing is clearly on side with this issue. They just remain unsure how to resolve it. Well, how about, instead of just giving youth a token seat on this committee, or that one, why don't we look to partnerships within the community that give youth real job opportunities. How about revamping the approved vendors list to reflect contractors that give Toronto Community Housing youth an opportunity at an apprenticeship? “Give them a future or they will give themselves a past” Another area where strengthening partnerships may be effective is bringing in community based mental health services. Anyone spending a significant amount of time in a TCH(C) community can attest to the need for both anger management and addiction counselling. Parenting groups/classes would also be valuable to tenants. Placing a public health nurse in the Operating Unit management offices once a week would be another valuable resource. The biggest push should be made for TCH(C) to hire a team of life coaches. Whether they act as an assistant to defining a persons' goals, or their biggest cheerleader, life coach services would benefit both individuals and communities. In addition, TCH(C) community service coordinators would be able to make referrals and receive periodic attendance updates. An individual tenants willingness to partake of such resources could be used as one more assessment/evaluative tool to take to the Ontario Housing Tribunal should the situation escalate beyond a certain stage that would require eviction. Especially, if an individuals behaviors are interfering with the rights of other tenants. Providing these services in a more direct manner to Toronto Community Housing tenants would facilitate their ability to be non-destructive, if not productive members of their communities.
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I was justified in looking forward to when I finally made it to Havana, Cuba to take pictures. In that manner it didn't disappoint. But in just about every other way, it did.
First there was severe disruption of my postcard ritual. Usually on my first day at a new location I am looking for post cards to send home to my grandsons. So I immediately check out the hotel/resorts gift shop. At Hotel Tropicoco's gift shop they had no postcards. I walked across the street to the market. None there either. I made it into Havana on the second full day of my week and couldn't locate any postcards there either. SERIOUSLY!!! I'm pretty determined though. I don't give up so easily. Day Four I took a forty minute walk in the heat to the next resort down the road. Asked security if I could check out their gift shop. Thankfully, he said yes. It took me a few moments to find a postcard on their rack that contained an image I was happy about sending to my grandsons. The shop also had the stamps I needed. After another forty minute hike in the heat back to my hotel I write out the message on the back to my boys. The same one on each. Applied the stamp. Then I approached the reception desk in the lobby to ask if they could post them for me. Hotel Tropicoco doesn't even do that. SMH As it is, the postcards that I sent the boys the last time I was in Cuba took a full two months to arrive. That seems like the definition of snail mail. I finally ended up mailing the postcards from the airport. Then there was the cabby scam.. They drive around honking there horns. Slow down in front of tourists waiting by the side of the road for the buses. Except for the honking it seems to be a global standard of cabby behavior. There was one cabby who pulled up in front a bus stop where two of us were obviously engaged in a conversation. I even turned away from the road with the hope that the driver would continue on past us. Nope. I couldn't be so lucky. Instead he yells out the windows indicating three CUC's is all it would cost us to get to Havana in his car. (There are no meters like we have in our taxi's. There certainly isn't any Uber either.) Anyways, we waved him off. Moments later another cab shows up. This time he's unloading five passengers at the Hotel. I heard the driver proclaim that that was three CUC's "EACH". So that made the total fare 15 CUC's. Consider that "fare" warning. One final mention. For the last two days of my trip and an equal amount of time upon returning home even the eye of a needle was too big. Enough said. I'm not saying don't go to this particular resort. I'm just saying to adjust your expectations. You have to admit that I did come home with some amazing photo's. Despite everything I do look forward to returning to Cuba in the near future. This sections details how to go about accomplishing the fifth and final item on the list for Transformative Change for TCHC report. That idea was to "[r]eform the rent geared to income (RGI) System".
Reforming the Rent Geared to Income system is an idea I have been promoting everywhere possible. This would required the Ontario Housing Tribunal lift the cap (one time) on rent increases for those in subsidized units across the province from a percentage (I believe it will be 1.5% for 2017) to the maximum shelter allowance of their social assistance benefits. For Toronto Community Housing this would allow for an influx of cash from a tenant base that is approximately 75% social assistance recipients. Personally, my rent is $139 a month with no explanation as to how the calculation is made. If we were to go to a system that implements a maximum shelter allowance requirement then I would be paying $479 per month and the calculation is self explanatory. That's a significant increase across the board for TCH(C) revenues. In addition, Toronto Community Housing could also demand those amounts be paid direct. That way, the money is technically coming directly from the Ontario government coffers. (An added bonus is that we never again have to worry about a tenant getting behind in their rent.) Unfortunately, I do not think Art Eggleton (as an accountant) went far enough in his report. I believe he should have done an extensive evaluation of the income and expenses at Toronto Community Housing to determine a more complete analysis of the opportunities for increasing revenues and decreasing losses. Another revenue generating option includes putting a premium on real estate sales in Toronto. Similar to fees for international students availing themselves of our world class education system. According to the University of Toronto's website a domestic first year student for the 2016- 2017 semester pays $6,400 tuition. While an international first year student pays $41,920. We need to quit undervaluing our own real estate by collecting additional moneys from international buyers. Then we can ear mark those funds specifically for our social housing initiatives including Toronto Community Housing. As far as decreasing losses the top two that should jump to the front of everyone's mind would be eliminating the need for fines for fire code violations and eliminating construction cost overruns. Both of these items have been broadcast throughout mainstream media. Toronto Community Housing can not afford to be paying $100,000 in fines for fire code violations. Nor can it afford the additional legal fees to fight it. I'm sure tax payers could find another way to burn through that money. As for the construction cost overruns may I suggest a financial incentive for early or on time completion while meeting or exceeding industry standards. Then, of course, I am equally on board with financial penalties or revocation of contract for late completion. The prime example being the Regent Park rejuvenation project. Make no mistake about it. The contractors building these sites are not in it for the "social housing" aspect. They want to make their money first. They couldn't sell off the market rate units in time to cover the costs of building the social housing component of refurbishing Regent Park. So they siphoned another $108 million from the city coffers. (That money is earmarked to complete Phase Two of the FIVE phase project. They haven't even reached the halfway mark!) I don't recall hearing anything about partial or total repayment of those funds once the remaining market rate units are sold. Have you? It doesn't take a certified accountant to understand, that until such a time as financial responsibility is built into the system, no matter how many new dollars can be funneled into Toronto Community Housing, they will always find a way to hemorrhage more. Now I fully understand that there will be people out there that will say I have completed this exercise in an effort to hi-jack the whole Tenant's First Advisory Panel process. Those would be the same people that have me labelled as a quote unquote "Troublemaker". That's ok. Six months ago they only referred to me as "stressed".
(Stressed. LOL Is it any wonder? I was sending emails to the mayor, my city councilor, Toronto Community Housing staff, and a contact at Toronto Police Services, Most of my emails seemed to just disappear into the ether. Every once in a while they would spark a response. In the body of those countless emails is where I flushed out the ideas that became pieces of my application to the Tenant's First Advisory Panel and finally, this document. This truly is A Tenant's Manifesto on the Final Report of the Mayor's Task Force on TCH(C).) For the record, I am not trying to sabotage the Tenants First Advisory Panel's efforts. I'm hopeful that they would be given this document to use as a baseline for discussion. There is only so much they can accomplish in 7 - 10 meetings over the next year. Especially, if the members are not all seasoned advocates (aka "Troublemakers"). When I was declined a position on the Tenants First Advisory Panel I responded with the following - "Thank you for the opportunity to at least apply to the Tenants First Advisory Panel. I would hope that at the very least there will be a public record of these meetings (like minutes to be emailed to those of us who applied as well as tenant reps/leaders). If by chance they will allow a more open process whereas the public could attend these meetings I will be there with bells on. I will most definitely be editing the material from my application and posting it as My Manifesto on The Mayors Task Force for Toronto Community Housing to my website ASAP. At that point I will send the mayor, my city councilor, members of the media, and yourself links to the document once it's complete. I would be honored if you would share the link with your members but regrettably I would also understand how that may be counter productive for the limitation of TCH Tenants involvement. The Tenants First Advisory Panel has a very difficult road ahead of them. I wish you all the best of luck. I will still be working towards significantly improving TCH long after the City of Toronto retires the Tenants First Advisory Panel." This whole Tenant's Last Advisory Panel concept is simply unacceptable. Why were we not represented on the Mayor's Task Force on TCH(C) to begin with? Honestly, as a TCH(C) tenant, to have been included in the discussion from the very beginning would have been ideal. After all, any change agent will tell you, change comes from within." Welcome to Toronto Community Housing. Hope (still) lives here. |