P.O.I.N.T. Inc. (People and Organizations in North Toronto)

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Housing Action Now!

CITY BUDGET ALERT - 2004

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: 

1. 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,
2. Toronto to continue to provide funding for a continuum of homelessness prevention and short-term shelter programs, securing cost-sharing wherever possible.

Housing Action Now

Recommendations for Toronto’s Budget 2-

Housing Supply:

• 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.  or Ann at 924-4646, ext 3482,  .

• 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:
• For more information on the process: www.toronto.ca/listeningtotoronto. 

• 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:

• 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:

• Toronto Civic Action Network (T-CAN): www.TorontoCAN.ca

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 [email protected] .

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

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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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