Scroll down for videos
Reel Flicks, a 12-week project culminating in five short documentaries, engaged a group of 10 youth living in Lawrence Heights to shed light on their experiences living in a social housing community in Toronto. Premiering at the beginning of July, the films depict the realities and ambitions of teens living in the Lawrence Heights community. Filmed from their point of view, the young participants focused on topics ranging from gun and gang violence to a profile on an aspiring Olympic athlete.
The project, which provided participants with filming and editing equipment, workshops and mentorship, was a partnership between Social Housing Services Corporation (SHSC), Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC), the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) and two local community partners: Pathways to Education and Unison Health & Community Services.
“As a partner in this project we saw our role as connecting youth to a tremendous opportunity to experience and explore the art of film making while learning about themselves and exploring issues in their community,” explained Daniela Mantilla, a team leader and mentor from Pathways to Education. “Collaborating on the film project was a way to deepen an already strong and influential relationship with the students, and to continue supporting them on a path of success in school and out.”
A Fresh Point of View
Zara Hemmings, the Project Lead of Reel Flicks from the Social Housing Services Corporation (SHSC), found that the films offered a realistic and fresh point of view on subjects that need to be talked about.
“At the community premiere was someone who trains Toronto Police Services officers on how to work within communities,” Zara explains. “He has asked for copies of The Jump Off and A Road to Peace to screen for the officers that he trains, which should hopefully provide insight on how to better work within these communities.”
Zara further added that, “Reel Flicks provided a view into the Lawrence Heights community that many, as outsiders, don’t necessarily get to see. Hopefully this will lead to further discussions and ideas for the future.”
To help raise the profile of social housing among the general public and showcase the achievements of the young filmmakers, the Reel Flicks documentaries will be submitted to film festivals. You can stay posted by checking out the Reel Flicks Facebook, Twitter and Youtube pages.
Investing in Communities
Reel Flicks is one example of SHSC’s efforts to improve the quality of life for low-income residents. Building on our successful Community Champions and Tenant Insurance programs, SHSC is creating a Social Innovation Test Lab that connects all our resident focused initiatives and research including:
- START – A province wide financial literacy and asset-building pilot
- REDY - A green jobs training program
- YourSay – A technology tool for surveys, communication and resident engagement
- UK School for Social Entrepreneurs Ontario – A pilot to help low-income residents start sustainable social ventures
- GC Foundation for Youth – To fund education, employment training and entrepreneurship directly to low-income individuals
By offering a connected series of supports and resources and engaging communities, SHSC is leveraging sustainable, scalable solutions to social challenges, enabling social and economic inclusion and building capacity for the Ontario housing sector.
The Documentary Videos
A Road to Peace – Examining the issue of violence in Lawrence Heights, and the sometimes strained relationship between community and police
The Jump Off – A profile on an aspiring Olympic athlete from Lawrence Heights
A Way With Words – Showcasing young talents from within the Lawrence Heights community
Left in the Dark – Looking at the lack of programming available for girls in Lawrence Heights
Teen Preggers – What youth in Lawrence Heights think about teen pregnancy
This week United Way, Toronto released “Poverty By Postal Code 2: Vertical Poverty,” a research study partially funded by SHSC. This study examines the quality of living in Toronto’s inner suburban high-rise apartment buildings. It looks at tenants’ housing experiences in these types of buildings and how their health, well-being and connection to their neighbourhood are impacted. The report primarily concerns the housing experience in private rental buildings – though a portion of the tenants interviewed were in social housing for a comparator. While this housing stock is aging and in general need of repair, it has become some of the most affordable housing for Toronto’s low and modest income households in the absence of other options. As a result, the report states that “high-rise apartment buildings are increasingly the sites of poverty within neighbourhoods” and that “high-poverty clusters” have emerged.
As one of the most comprehensive studies of its kind, the report summarizes the housing experiences of over 2800 tenants and is supported by Statistics Canada data as well as interviews with housing experts at the government and community level. According to the study many of the buildings require major and/or minor repairs, particularly elevators; pests and vermin remain a consistent problem; and there are issues of safety and social disorder including drug dealing, vandalism and trespassing — all of which appear to be greater in non-profit housing.
The good news is that in many instances there are strong social connections among tenants and between tenants and landlords in both housing types. Tenants also expressed a desire for change and a willingness to work together, which is an important building block for community revitalization. It also cites developments like San Romanoway Towers, where property owners and managers played an active role in leading positive change in the community by engaging residents in developing and implementing ideas to improve the community.
What does this report mean for the rest of Ontario?
The report emphasizes the importance of ‘home’ and neighbourhoods for tenants in rental housing. As such, its findings and recommendations have broader applicability. Residents of neighbourhoods with declining housing stock and social disorder feel isolated, avoid reaching out to each other and want to leave the neighbourhood – which in turn perpetuates the social disorder. So in other words, if tenants are in adequate, suitable and affordable housing, they will have greater satisfaction with their housing and a stronger connection to their neighbourhood.
Given these findings, the report also makes 26 recommendations, which may impact or influence housing policy in Ontario, below are some of the highlights:
This report makes it clear that in Toronto the concentration of poverty is creating a deep geographic divide. Without a concerted effort from all levels of government, as well as tenants, landlords, and the non-profit sector the trend of growing income inequality is likely to increase, and not just in Toronto. A lack of adequate, suitable and affordable housing will continue to put pressure on the non-profit housing sector as demand for affordable housing continues to increase. This report is a significant contribution to housing research in Toronto and we hope that the United Way make their data available for further research.
SHSC will work with its partners towards supporting the recommendations of the report where it is well positioned to do so. It will also continue to support research which benefits the social housing sector and is both people-focused and evidence-based.
VERONICA HENRI,Toronto Sun
As a fourth year Urban and Regional Planning student at Ryerson University, a housing activist in my community and a part-time employee at SHSC for the past three years, I was eager to volunteer my time to assist the residents who were being displaced from their homes after the fire at 200 Wellesley Street East.
Watching the news, I learned that the fire lead to the evacuation of the Toronto Community Housing (TCHC) building’s more than 1,200 residents. The fire at the building was the biggest apartment fire in Toronto’s recent history, where many residents were without insurance.
All I could think about was how I would feel – leaving everything behind with just the clothes on my back and without money to replace important belongings.
Along with SHSC, I began helping in any way possible. SHSC donated 269 new complete beds, as well as microwaves, kitchenware, cleaning kits, towels and gift cards for drug stores to ease residents’ transition back to their homes.
SHSC Donates Home Starter Kits
Following the fire, I went to 325 Bleeker Street with SHSC staff, Zara Hemmings and Fiona Harvey, to join Cynthia Ross, SHSC’s Director of Social Innovation and Partnerships, and staff from TCHC to prepare home starter kits for households who were displaced by the fire. The kits included pillows, bed sheets, blankets, towels, toilet paper, paper towel, utensils and dishes. Residents were extremely appreciative and touched to receive the support.
Thanksgiving Dinner for Residents
STEVE RUSSELL,Toronto Star
Over this past Thanksgiving weekend SHSC and TCHC hosted a Thanksgiving Dinner for residents of 200 Wellesley St. East. Nearly 100 volunteers served 1,516 pieces of chicken, 50 apple and pumpkin pies, and 160 kilograms of potatoes to the 600 residents who attended the dinner.
It has been two weeks since the fire broke out at 200 Wellesley St. East, and as of today, there are no longer any tenants staying overnight at the Wellesley Community Centre. Some have been allowed back into their units, while others have been housed temporarily in hotels, moved to long-term care facilities and other TCHC buildings.
It was heart-warming to see everyone put their own priorities on hold and join in a collaborative effort to support those affected by the fire and ease the recovery process.
Visit the TCHC website to learn how you can donate and get updates on the situation.
In November 2009, the Ontario Court of Appeals decided that landlords cannot require tenants to complete snow removal tasks as a condition of their leases.
The situation began when a tenant commenced a legal action against a respondent landlord for damages after she slipped and fell on the premises. The tenant claims that she slipped on ice on the walkway leading to her basement apartment. But in his defence, the landlord argues that the tenant is “responsible for keeping their walkway and stairway clean (including snow removal)” based on the Condition of Lease.
Well, Ontario Court of Appeals made a decision on the case, Montgomery v. Van. The Court found that landlords cannot require tenants to complete snow removal tasks as a condition of their leases as it violates the Tenant Protection Act. The Residential Tenancies Act Regulation 517/06 seems to impose similar maintenance obligations on landlords. If landlords want them to clear their own walkways, driveways, etc., they must enter into a separate contract with the tenants for snow removal.
Feel free to leave a question or comment below regarding this court decision.
It’s a good time to remind ourselves of some important winter maintenance tips now that the holidays are over. Here are some basic tips you can use that will help you keep your property safe for your tenants and visitors:
- Trim trees and remove dead branches to prevent injuries to residents and visitors and/or damage to surrounding properties from falling branches.
- Check gutters regularly; clear them of debris so melting snow & ice can flow freely.
- Maintain steps and handrails. Repair broken stairs and railings as soon as you become aware of them.
- Check pipes and wrap them with heating tape. Check for cracks and leaks; repair minor pipe damage immediately to prevent more severe damage from occurring from neglect.
- Inspect sidewalks, driveways and entryways regularly and keep them free from snow and ice. Have a supply of salt and/or sand readily available and apply whenever conditions require it. This is important even if you have hired a winter maintenance contractor to do this for you. Maintain a written record of your inspections and applications of surface treatment material.
For more information, you can check out Safety and the Holiday Season.
The holiday season is here! To help you have a festive season and prevent accidents related to holiday decorating, here are some helpful tips for you and your tenants:
- Use only non-flammable decorations (i.e. CSA-approved lights and electrical decorations).
- Make sure to keep lights, ornaments, tinsel and other tasty-looking decorations off the floor and out of reach of children or pets.
- If you’re putting up a real tree to decorate your foyer or other common areas, make sure you keep it watered.
- Check your holiday lights – they should not be hot to the touch. Also check your electrical outlets and circuits. They should not have any broken ground plugs, frayed wiring, broken sockets, cuts, nicks or gaps in insulation.
- Don’t overload your electric outlets and circuits by using multiple plugs, circuit extenders/splitters or multiple extension cords.
- Candles should be placed on a fireproof base or in holders that cannot be easily knocked down or reached by children and pets.
- Keep a working fire extinguisher handy and familiarize yourself and your staff with its use.
- Make sure emergency exits are clearly marked.
Make sure to share these tips with your tenants and have a safe and happy holiday season.
I was fortunate to be able to chair a session at the ONPHA conference on Sunday entitled Recruitment and Retention: Changing the “Image” of Social Housing. Our presenters for this session were excellent, but the real stars of the show were the conference participants that asked some great questions and offered insightful feedback.
Presenters from left: Neville McGuire, Michael Buzzelli, Merv Huges and Dave Colangelo
One of the best ideas was to establish an undergraduate housing essay competition. Not only would this motivate students at the undergraduate level to think and write about housing, it would also be an excellent public relations opportunity for a sector that could use a bit of good press. A bursary for students in financial need studying housing could also work in the same way. For the past three years SHSC has helped to fund and manage a research internship program for MA and PhD level students. You can see their work here.
A number of participants also mentioned the importance of involving tenants in the operation of their own housing. Who better to manage housing than someone who knows the place from the inside? This is a model that has quite a bit of traction in the UK (eg. Tenant Participation Advisory Service, Tenant Services Authority) and something that we could definitely use more of in Canada.
Fittingly, the conference wrapped up with awards for a group of tenants that had made outstanding contributions where they live. One of GLOBE’s Community Champions, Lynn Wood from Richview Residence, received an award.
If you have some examples of how tenants have made where they live a great place to live, or if you have ideas on how we can further engage tenants in the provision of housing, post a comment!
Back to top