Everyone has heard the expression “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.' Well, I believe that TCHC should be more proactive than reactive in many ways - including looking toward a time when OCHE is no longer necessary. How could that happen?
May I suggest that TCHC start working together with other housing providers and government services to make on going pay direct mandatory for all people on OW, ODSP as well as people on OAS and CPP. By pay direct I mean that the money is transferred straight from a tenants income support to TCHC. This method completely bi-passes the tenant and goes straight into TCHC coffers. This was originally an idea I planted in my Tenants Manifesto on The Final Report of The Mayors Task Force on TCHC with respect to tenants on OW and ODSP where I know for a fact that pay direct is currently an option. Now I understand that OCHE's existence is because of concern over seniors being evicted and dying in our stairwells. Maybe more of a long term strategy would be coordinating efforts with other social housing providers across the province (or even the country) to ensure that pay direct is mandatory for seniors on pensions. OCHE’s mandate [as described online] is quote “eviction prevention for senior and vulnerable tenants living in Toronto Community Housing (TCHC) who have arrears (unpaid rent). We also provide TCHC with recommendations when a senior or vulnerable tenant has lost their rental subsidy.” unquote I'm suggesting that their mandate include advocating for systemic changes that prevents the possibility of arrears from occurring in the first place. Not only should they be advocating for ways to simplify the annual verification of income review forms, but, they should also be advocating for mandatory pay direct for every tenant on any type of financial assistance. Thank you. https://www.cherylduggan.ca/creatively-independent/category/a-tenants-manifesto
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In the last paragraph on page 5 of the CEO's report it mentions “developing a tenant survey to identify the preferred engagement model” with respect to the tenant engagement system refresh. I spoke in a flurry of words at my “Show and Tell” presentation to the Board back in April about my recommendations if TCHC decided to proceed with a new tenant engagement model. I won't reiterate the complete list of ten items but I will highlight three to make clear my current reasoning for instating such guidelines.
The first item I wish to highlight is number 3) TCHC tenant reps [councils] should have monthly meetings with the tenants they supposedly represent. When the tenant rep for my building recently announced that she had applied for a $24,000 “Social Club” grant even our Community Services Coordinator looked a little stunned. As a tenant I believe strongly in the concept of financial transparency even if the very notion of it makes this board cringe. How can any tenant rep apply for money without first informing their community of the opportunity and the reason for that request? Now we will jump ahead to number 7) TCHC staff need to be trained to support those of us who are actually willing to go above and beyond for our communities. Furthermore TCHC staff need to give credit where credit is due. Over this past weekend it was brought to key people's attention at TCHC that there are astounding similarities between the proposed changes to a No Smoking Policy for TCHC tenants as announced in the Toronto Star last Friday and an article I posted to my website last month! The Toronto Star article reads in part - “In the future new units will be smoke free” then it continued on to say that “Tenants with existing leases would have the option of signing a new lease that included a smoke-free clause.” That sounds remarkably similar to my statement - “It's never too late to include a no smoking clause in the lease of incoming tenants. It's never too late to ask current tenants to commit to keeping their units smoke free.” In such incidents when responding to previous oversights maybe the response should be thank you for your input. Not - “Thank you for your feedback.” It was my idea after all. Finally, we will discuss suggestion number 9) TCHC should define in greater detail what it takes for a tenant rep to be removed from their position and replacement procedures. Both within their communities and at Board level. I understand that one of the new tenant board members was considering using her time on the TCHC Board of Directors as a stepping stone to a career in politics. Myself and several other enraged/”engaged” tenants can not comprehend how her tippy toes barely touch the lily pad as she leaps right over TCHC tenants concerns and her responsibilities to this Board into the political swampland. Amanda, if you don't have the courage to represent TCHC tenants, then gives us the courtesy of vacating the seat so that we can find someone who WILL. Thank you! I am here today to tell you what is missing from the 2019-2022 Strategic Plan.
The first item on my list is accessibility. As I have outlined in an email to Cathy Birch that the goal of R-PATH should be to phase itself out of existence. In my opinion, one of R-PATHs mandates should be to decrease, then eliminate, the need for funding at some point in the future because they have successfully advocated for accessibility features to be automatically built in to all future projects. I believe that TCHC should be building all residential, recreational, commercial, and office spaces to the universally accessible design standards. (In 2016 Daniels Corporation was actually offering these design upgrades for free.) I think that this would add a level of convenience to even able-bodied tenants. In the same manner that curb cuts have not only benefited those with accessibility issues but also parents pushing strollers and people pulling bundle buggies. In addition, I believe a targeted approach to spending that 17.4 million dollar R-PATH budget would greatly improve accessibility across the portfolio. The next item I believe needs to be mentioned is recycling. This is another area where I believe TCHC needs to be more proactive. Once upon a time when I used to work as a security guard in condominiums across the city I noticed that recycling bins were located in ground floor garbage rooms. Tenants didn't have to walk outside to the far end of the parking lot to recycle. An accessible option for recycling could be to install parallel chutes alongside garbage chutes for paper and plastic recyclable materials. Otherwise, I think it would be a great idea to encourage some form of friendly competition between communities to see which community could reduce their ecological footprint the most. (With a plaque or trophy presented annually to the winning community.) The final area that I believe needs to be improved is actually mentioned in TCHC's Strategic Plan for 2019-2022. But without the specifications that I know are mandatory if Toronto Community Housing does want as Goal #5 states - Tenants [to] feel safe in their communities. TCHC is justifiably concerned about this big threat of “violent incidents”. I firmly believe, however, that there are precursors to many of those events that could be better managed through an anti-bullying/anti-harassment policy. I understand through recent communications with TCHC staffers that there is an effort at the moment to develop a Vulnerable Tenant's Strategy. I'm going on the record now to state clearly that as this initiative moves forward a new Anti-Harassment Policy that applies to tenants and staff should be a key piece of this action plan. I would go even further and argue that being successful at Goal #5 (with the Anti-Harassment Policy in place) can greatly impact TCHC's ability to achieve both Goal #6 - Tenancies are well managed with a focus on supporting vulnerable tenants to have successful tenancies and Goal #7 - Tenants are engaged in activities that influence their quality of life Once again, from my perspective as a TCHC tenant, I believe that these initiatives need to be implemented as soon as possible. I would be happy to work with TCHC on any and all of the initiatives that I have discussed here today. Thank you for your time. Jason Blaine performed at First Canadian Place on July 25th, 2018. It was nice to enjoy a laid back family-friendly event in the middle of the day, in the middle of the week. .As you can see Jason was all decked out in his Toronto gear. The Blue Jay jersey he picked up the night before at the game was a little pricey. LOL I'm sure he realizes we need more Canadian dollars than American dollars to buy the exact same item.. He may have had $2000 Canadian dollars when he packed up and left Canada for Nashville. But, I'm sure that was a lot less in American dollars. It was kind of odd that as a Canadian now living in the United States he never once mentioned Donald Trump. Well in light of our own current events it's understandable. The audience appreciated his performance of Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down" as a tribute to the spirit of Torontonians in the wake of the Danforth shooting. We also appreciated the fact that he recovered immediately after forgetting his lines for his new single "Born to Love". He never even missed a note on his guitar. Like I indicated at the start, it was a laid back family-friendly event. Even my mom "really enjoyed it". Milk & Bone were on stage in front of a standing room only crowd at First Canadian Place on July 18th, 2018. They performed several songs including the title track from their recently released second LP Deception Bay. People that attended the concert in the park had a chance to WIN a VIP Experience for two to Osheaga. It included two VIP passes to the festival, round trip flights for two to Montreal, and a four night hotel stay at the Alt Montreal. The total prize package was valued at $3600. . Am I the only one that thinks the guy that actually won the VIP package was less than impressed? He's probably going to try to sell it on Ebay. Next weeks performer will be Jason Blaine. He is this years winner of “Single of the Year” and “Male Artist of the Year” from the CCMA and CMA Ontario. The prize up for grabs after Jason's performance will be a Boots and Hearts VIP Experience. That's two VIP festival passes and tent camping. Where to start? I'm just going to jump right in. The minute that the names of the two new tenant directors at TCHC were officially released I started doing some research. Nothing heavy. Everything was available online. I started with Amanda Coombs LinkedIn account. The first thought that came to my mind when I saw her profile was 'if she is doing such great work in the community why does she only have 7 connections?' Yup, that's right … Just seven. Come on now. I'm definitely not everyone's favourite person and I currently have 305 connections on LinkedIn. K … Maybe the first impression isn't very impressive. So I began to research her qualifications beginning with her education. On her LinkedIn page it indicates that she has been working on her Bachelors Degree in Psychology from 2011 - 2018. That's seven years already.
The York University website states - "This program is well-suited for students wishing to complete a 3-year university degree and then begin a career or pursue a college diploma following graduation." Then on her information page on TCHC's website it states that she is still attending York University for that very same degree. How much longer is that going to take her? No judgements. Just a statement of fact that maybe she doesn't really have the time (or attributes) necessary to devote to the tasks that are mandatory for TCHC Board related matters. I scanned the rest of her LinkedIn resume. Under Volunteer Experience she put Recreational Assistant at CAMH from August 2017 - August 2017. That's right. One month of volunteer experience. Honestly, I would be ashamed to put something that microscopic on my resume. I may have had naps longer than the total amount of time she has volunteered. At this point I am searching in vain for an explanation as to why she would have been a preferred candidate for a tenant seat on the TCHC Board of Directors. Then I saw it. She has eleven certifications! Sounds amazing. Looks amazing on her LinkedIn page. Until you realize that the majority of those certifications can be received for work completed in less time than it has taken me to research and write this article. CPI Nonviolent Crisis Intervention One-Day Seminar Two-Day Foundation Course TRX FUNCTIONAL TRAINING COURSE 8 hours Conflict Resolution & Training Maximum 6 days Emergency First Aid CPR/AED Level C 5hours CPR A no longer available but likely under the 5 hours required for CPR/AED Level C Provisional MHFA Canada Youth Instructor 14 hours Engaging and Empowering. How to become an Effective Mentor for Vulnerable Youth 30 hours (3 hours a week for 10 weeks) Crisis Intervention Training 2.5 hours Food Handler Training Certificate 6 hours Mental Health First Aid 12 hours Fitness Instructor Specialist 25 hours I have been sitting on this information since May 28th, 2018. I really wanted to give Amanda Coombs the benefit of the doubt. It is only a few months into her term and she is already on a leave of absence. Oddly enough, I don't blame her. I blame everyone that played a role in her appointment to the TCHC Board of Directors. I also blame TCHC for not having a satisfactory mechanism in place for tenants to elect appropriately qualified individuals to represent us in those two token seats. Finally, I blame the City of Toronto (as Toronto Community Housing's sole shareholder) for not doing its due diligence. The Guns n Roses Pop Up took place over the Canada Day long weekend. As I have said on social media if you were in the Scarborough Town Center, or a die hard fan, you could check it out. If not …. don't worry about it. This was billed as an exclusive event to celebrate the re-release of their remastered and expanded classic debut album - Appetite for Destruction. Apparently, they thought it would be a tribute to Canada to replace the roses in the Guns n Roses logo with maple leaves in order to sell some merchandise. Well, I don't know about you, but I am not excited to see our national symbol being used to support imagery related to the American gun culture.
Another issue I had was that there was no price tags on anything. It just raises my suspicions when you have to wonder if the sales people on site have more than one price in mind for items. One for friends and fam. Then one for everybody else. As far as I am concerned Guns n Roses can keep their Appetite for Destruction. I'm not really that hungry. The 1st edition of what will become an annual music and brew series in Toronto will be hosted by Mill Street Brewery and Dine Alone Records. The “Hopped and Confused™ Festival” will take place on Saturday, July 14th from 3 to 11 pm at the Mill Street Brewery located at 125 Bermondsey Rd., Toronto
The music line up includes Sloan, Tokyo Police Club, Mt. Joy, Land of Talk & Taylor Knox. There will be over 15 Mill Street Brews and Brickworks Ciders available for $5 each. (It's not swill that can be sold at "a buck a beer". This is premium craft brews.) Just in case you get hungry there will be some of Toronto's most beloved food trucks on site - Buster's Sea Cove, Feed The Six, Hogtown Smoke, & El Callejon Dell Taco. Hopped & Confused has also partnered up with LYFT to insure everybody has a safe ride to and from the event. Saving you $5 each way using promo code HOPPEDANDCONFUSEDTO in their LYFT app! This is a 19+ event. General Admission tickets are $40 each Plus there are a very limited number of VIP tickets available for $80 each (36 to be exact) which include a brewery tour, beer tasting & meet + greets Tix: www.hoppedandconfused.ca. |