Housing Action Now (HAN)
is a coalition of organizations in Toronto including: seniors
groups, housing organizations, child welfare agencies,
faith groups, neighbourhood groups, legal clinics,
tenant organizations and anti-poverty organizations. Housing
Action Now believes that every person has a right
to safe, affordable and well-maintained housing.
Solving Toronto’s
housing crisis requires a comprehensive strategy
that engages the Federal Government, Provincial Government,
municipal government as well as the non-profit, cooperative
housing sector and the private sector However
the City of Toronto can continue to provide leadership
by funding policy and program solutions.
Five years ago the Mayor’s
Task Force on Homelessness documented the scope of
homelessness in our City and crafted recommendations
for all levels of government. Since that time,
the Toronto Report Card on Homelessness has showed
that the crisis is getting worse. Toronto
needs a two-part strategy to address this problem
over the long term:
Toronto to continue to put in capital and operating
funds and other development stimulus to create
new affordable housing1- projects
through Let's Build and advocate with the community
to secure a national and provincial housing policy
and funding program and,
Toronto to continue to provide funding for a
continuum of homelessness prevention and short-term
shelter programs, securing cost-sharing wherever
possible.
Create a minimum of 2,000 units of affordable
housing annually in the City of Toronto, including
1,000 supportive housing units over the next three
years. (M)
Work towards ensuring that the province matches
federal affordable housing dollars (M)
Continue to designate surplus city land for affordable
housing by expanding the Housing First policy beyond
the $10 million cap. (M)
A percentage of funds from other surplus City
lands that are sold (e.g lands that were not usable
for housing) should finance affordable housing
units.
Establish city mechanisms to renovate and retrofit
abandoned buildings for use as affordable and supportive
housing (M)
Fund the Rapid
Housing Development Office to fast track the
development of affordable housing and streamline
negotiations to address community planning issues.
(M)
Ensure Social Housing Reserve Funds are used
to maintain and preserve existing aging social
housing stock.
If City is partnering with the private sector
in developing affordable housing (through funding
or other incentives) a system of public accountability
and transparency must be in place, and the outcomes
must be permanent affordable housing, not a short-term
fix.
Shelters
- Emergency Housing:
Capital improvements to shelters to address infectious
diseases and bedbugs
Revisit the "Multi Year Shelter Strategy" adopted
in 2002 to ensure the shelter system has a year-round
capacity to meet the City's immediate and long
term needs for emergency shelter and supports. Immediate
targets to be funded for 2004 to meet the current
need, and to reduce reliance on emergency beds
and mats that don't meet new Shelter Standards.
Develop shelter services to meet specific client
needs: harm reduction beds/including for people
with addictions, beds for people with mental health
issues, youth, Aboriginal.
Federal partnerships should be in place each
year to address the winter needs including having
a large shelter such as the armoury and accessible
warming centers open, until such time as
the city's own shelter system has adequate capacity
to meet the year round needs (beds, not mats).
In hot summer weather, cooling centers also need
to be opened.
Further support existing street outreach programs,
by funding high support outreach workers to help
people get off the street (M)
Further analysis of the projected $3.6 million
dollar to be spent on a Shelter Management Information
System to assess whether this should be a top funding
priority or whether the projected budget can be
reduced to allocate funds elsewhere in the housing
and shelter budget.
Ensure all agencies and services (including shelters
and drop-ins) have consistent access to funding
for quality interpreter services to better meet
the language needs of homeless immigrants and refugees,
and other clients, with limited or no English skills.
Eviction Prevention Services:
The Rent Bank program was a successful City innovation
targeted to working, low-wage families. City should
expand this program so that seniors, and low-income
single working people can also access the interest-free
loans to repay rental arrears and remain housed.
(M)
Increase funding for shelter fund, tenant hotline
services and early intervention eviction prevention
projects and ensure equitable access across Toronto.
Provide an additional $25,000 funding for the
Tenant Defence Fund, to help tenants fight above
guideline rent increases.
Tenant Rights & Building Standards
Increase City funding for programs to fight discrimination
and harassment in housing
Increase city housing inspectors for standards
enforcement in private rental housing and social
housing such as TCHC
Fund a City rating system and public information
system on work orders in apartments across the
City. (eg. Web site like Chicago)
More transparency and accountability to the City
and to residents within the "arms length" agreement
with Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC)
e.g regarding budget setting, Community Management
Planning, structural and policy changes, and broader
opportunities for the public to access the Board.
City funds and resources to advocate with the
province for legislative reform to remedy negative
impacts causing homelessness and risks for evictions:
eg. The Tenant Protection Act, Social Housing Reform
Act and Rent Control.
GET
INVOLVED:
Have
your say on our City's Budget!
Call us if you want to be added to the Housing
Action Now email list or phone list for
our monthly meetings: Theresa at 944-0087
ext 27. theresa@equality
rights.org or
Ann at 924-4646, ext 3482, amfitzpatrick@torontocas.ca.
Have your say in the Mayor's consultation
on the budget: "Listening to Toronto". Send
your comments asap. Mayor David Miller and Chair
of The Budget Advisory Councillor David Soknacki
will be making a report on the community viewpoints.
Email your comments to: listeningtotoronto@toronto.ca.
Friday, January 30 at 9:30 a.m the
Mayor will present his report on the "Listening
to Toronto" budget consultation and launch the
2004 Capital and Operating budgets. (Council
Chambers, City Hall, 100 Queen West). For more
info: Betty Henderson, 329-8088, email: bhender1@toronto.ca
Phone, email or fax your City councillor with
your ideas. Call Access
Toronto to get your councillor's name and number: 416-338-0338
or find it at www.toronto.ca.
Make a five minute presentation (Deputation)
to the Community Services Committee on Thurday,
February 5 at 9:30 am. Call
the Clerk to get on the agenda: Ros Dyers: 416-392-8018. Budget
package for Community Services is available sometime
after Feb 2.
Information on the Budget and budget process
is on the City's web site:www.toronto.ca.
Send in a written presentation (Deputation)
to Community Services Committee in February. Phone
the Clerk above for fax and email.
Presentations from the public can also be
made at a joint meeting of the Budget Advisory Committee
and the Policy and Finance Committee on March
30, 2004. Phone
the Clerk Betty Henderson at 392-8088 to get
on this agenda.
City Council will meet to make final decisions on
the City's 2004 budget on April 19-23,
2004.
Two more
helpful web sites:
Toronto Disaster Relief Committee (TDRC) Blueprint
on housing in the City at www.tdrc.net and:
Get to know the Key Committees and Councillors re:
City Budget:
You
can let City Councillors on these key committees
know your viewpoints. Often you will be able
to speak to their Executive Assistant at City hall
if you are not able to reach the councillor directly.
If you are one of their constituents as well, that
is important information for the councillors. Call
Access Toronto to get any phone, fax, or email
address:
Policy and Finance Committee
Mayor David Miller (Chair)
Councillor Joe Pantalone (Vice-Chair)
Councillor
Maria Augimeri
Councillor Sandra Bussin
Councillor Gay Cowbourne
Councillor Mark Grimes
Councillor Pam McConnell
Councillor Howard Moscoe
Councillor David Soknacki
Councillor Sylvia Watson
Betty Henderson, Committee Administrator, at
416-392-8088 or bhender1@toronto.ca .
Budget Advisory Committee
Councillor David Soknacki (Chair)
Councillor Joe Mihevc (Vice-Chair)
Councillor Jane Pitfield (Vice-Chair)
Councillor Shelley Carroll
Councillor Peter Milczyn
Councillor Kyle Rae
Councillor Sylvia Watson
Community Services Committee
Councillor Olivia Chow (Chair)
Councillor Joe Mihevc (Vice Chair)
Councillor Raymond Cho
Councillor Gay Cowbourne
Councillor Norman Kelly
Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti
Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong
Councillor Shiner
Toronto Community Housing Corporation
City representatives:
Councillor Olivia Chow
Councillor Paula Fletcher
Councillor Norman Kelly,
Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti
HAN final Jan 27/2004
1- City
needs to review the definition of "affordable" housing to
ensure that households in the lowest-income categories
can access any new City of Toronto funded housing
development. CMHC Core needs indicators considers "affordable" to
be rents at or below 30% of household income (Gross).
In contrast the City's Municipal Housing By-Law relates "affordability" to
CMHC average rents. Average rents may be 50% -70%
or more of many household's incomes putting them
at risk of homelessness/eviction.
2 Recommendations with (M)
at the end were commitments made by Mayoralty candidate-
David Miller during the election campaign.
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