Spectrum Newsletter 2010 - City of Brantford

SPECTRUMFROM THEDIRECTOR’S DESKBy Rick FarrelThe one thing that we can always be certain of is change. Nowhere is that more evident thanwithin our own staffing ranks.Rick Farrell, Director of Housing,City of BrantfordAs you know, over the past fewyears, Louise Doyle, Barb Varga,Larry Pick, and Deb Ballak haveall retired and now it is Tom Lockyer’sturn. Tom has been a Managerwith the Brantford HousingDepartment and the Brant andBrantford Housing Authoritysince January 1985. Prior to thatTom managed the ManitoulinEspanola Housing Authorityfrom 1978 until 1984. By the way,Tom was the very first manager ofthat Housing Authority.Tom has always had a real passionfor the housing business, particularlyfor the many tenants whorely on us for their shelter. We wishTom the very best in his retirementand hope that he is at least able tocatch the odd fish or perhaps see afew deer on his hunting trips.Tom’s replacement is DeborahFilice. Deb comes to us from CityHousing Hamilton and has overtwenty years experience in housing.Deborah oversaw approximately7,000 units of housing and brings awealth of experience in developingpartnerships for the betterment ofthe housing community. Deb willbe an excellent addition to ourteam. Welcome Deborah!Other changes include the acquisitionof Heritage House, which isa 27 unit housing project locatedin the former YMCA. The City ofBrantford assisted in building thisproject and now we have taken overownership in partnership withWilfrid Laurier University. Laurierhas a 112 bed student residence inthe same building. This is a greatpartnership and is a key ingredientin the redevelopment of the corearea of the city. Some of the rentsare rent-geared-to-income and othersare at the low end of market.These are stunning apartmentsand if you know persons who areinterested in renting one bedroomsin the $600 range these are greatvalue. Call our office to find outmore!Our department accomplisheda minor miracle by relocating 64households from the south side ofColborne Street in a period of 90days. Frances Richardson and DebBallak worked very hard with eachand every household to find themnew accommodations that suitedtheir needs. Congratulations on ajob well done!We also worked on an updatedAffordable Housing Strategy thatwill guide our decisions and workplanover the next five to ten years.This strategy will bring aboutmore housing, more public educationand hopefully will embracethe notion of making income integrationa part of all of our housingcommunities. A copy of this strategyis posted on the city’s website“www.brantford.ca”.Our department accomplished a minor miracle by relocating64 households from Colborne Street in a period of 90 days.I trust that you enjoy this newedition of the Spectrum and I lookforward to the opportunity to continueto share the news from theHousing Department in our subsequentissues as well.2

SPECTRUM2010 AFFORDABLEHOUSING STRATEGYBy Jamie StephensIn June 2003, the City of Brantford announced it’s first Affordable Housing Strategy (AHS). Overall37 out of the 54 recommendations from the 2003 AHS have been implemented.An additional 11 recommendationsare currently underway or beingreviewed. The following representsour Shared Successes to date:▪ 382 affordable rental unitscreated▪ $15,235,000 in provincial /federal funding received▪ $44,417,789 in capital expendituresin the local constructionindustry▪ Construction employmentcreated▪ $756,000 under the ResidentialRehabilitation AssistanceProgram▪ 83 houses purchased totaling$11,840,336 in purchase valuewhich received a down paymentloan under the Bhomeprogram▪ $530,000.00 dollars allocatedto assist homeless serviceproviders in the communitythrough the HomelessnessPartnership Initiative▪ Enacting a Capital FacilitiesBy-law passed in 2003 and2006 enabling the municipalityto offer financial incentivesto stimulate affordablerental housing▪ Adopting the DevelopmentCharges By-law wherebyaffordable housing projectsare exempt from payingdevelopment chargesThe success of the AHS to datehas had a positive impact on thehousing continuum in the City ofBrantford and the County of Brant.Since the AHS was first adopted,the rental market has returned toa healthy vacancy rate and the privatesector is providing a greaterrange of housing to assist in meetingthe many housing needs. Ourfocus is affordable to lower incomehouseholds and supports to familiesand individuals to allow themto live independently.The Canada-Ontario AffordableHousing Program (COAHP) fundinghas been instrumental in thecreation of new rental units. Sincethe inception of COAHP, a total of382 affordable housing units havebeen constructed or are underconstruction, which equates toapproximately 64 units per year.With an annual target of 180 unitsper year for the City alone there isstill a need to create more unitseach year.In April, 2009 SHS ConsultingInc. was hired to complete anAffordable Housing Strategy for theCity of Brantford and the Countyof Brant. Data from Statistics Can-The overall goal of the Affordable Housing Strategy is toprovide the City, County and community stakeholders with aset of directions to meet the diverse range of housing needs ofresidents across the entire housing continuum.4

SPECTRUMWINSTON COURTCOMMUNITY KITCHENBy Christina HipkinWhat is an idea? It’s a thought, a conception or a notion and the willingness to act upon thisnotion. This is how wonderful programs begin and grow into wonderful supportive programs.Community Kitchen is a growingprogram and is helping many individualsacross Canada.You may wonder, what is a CommunityKitchen? It is a facilitatedcommunity-based program wheresmall groups of people gathertogether to prepare and share a mealwith the other group members or totake home to enjoy with their families.Not only are they preparingand eating a nutritious meal, theyare socializing with each other ina cooperative environment, whilelearning new skills and decreasingisolation for many.Winston Court Fellowship meetingsare the heart of this idea. Thesemeetings started a few years agoand at that time consisted of verysmall gatherings. Some residentsmay have attended the meetings,skeptical about the providers inattendance and some may have satin judgement of others in regards totheir situation, but this is no longerthe case. The Community providers,which consist of the HousingDepartment, Canadian MentalHealth, Ontario Works/ AddictionServices, and St. Leonard’s CommunityServices set aside the timeto listen and get to know the peoplewho attend the meetings. You donot end up wanting to help theseindividuals for yourself, for yourimage or for the other providers, butrather because they are people whohave wonderful stories to tell andmany ideas to share. The skills thatthese community partners sharehave developed trust and allowedmany access to our communitysupports. The increase in attendancehas been a real reflection ofthe good work that they do.Throughout time, these meetingshave generated many creativeprogram ideas, but what betterway to bring a group together thansharing a meal. When you thinkback to your childhood, many ofus have fond memories of preparingand sharing a meal with ourfamilies and friends. Why? Becauseit allowed us to sit down, relaxand share our thoughts and eventsof the day, while enjoying a homecookedmeal. While the residents ofWinston Court may not be biologicalfamily, they are, in many ways,family. I have had the pleasure ofwatching many residents, who havetheir own struggles in life, ensurethat residents have food to eat andthat their needs are being met. Tome this is what family is all about.After countless hours of researching,planning and observing otherCommunity Kitchens, a fundingproposal was submitted in partnershipwith Community ResourceEmployment Service, CanadianMental Health and Brant CountyHealth Unit. These communityproviders have offered many supportsto this initiative and we areall so thankful for their supportThroughout time, these meetings have generated many creativeprogram ideas, but what better way to bring a group togetherthen sharing a meal.and food donations. The proposalwas submitted to Campbell’sCanada on behalf of CommunityResource Employment Service andwas approved to purchase stapleitems and food items to ensure thekitchen would succeed.Our first Community Kitchenbegan February 11th, 2010 and weare all very excited about this initiative.I believe this program willbe a great success and the residentsof Winston Court will benefit in somany ways.After all… is there any better wayto bring people together for fellowship,then preparing and enjoying ahome-cooked meal?6

SPECTRUMBRIEFINGS &PROGRAM UPDATESAbout SHRRPIn March 2009, the Federal and Provincial governmentsannounced that $704 million dollarswould be committed to repair social housing unitsand make them more energy efficient under theSocial Housing Renovation and Retrofit Program(SHRRP). This investment will provide economicstimulus in Ontario, while also improving thehealth and safety of residents living in social housingcommunities, and contributing to the reductionof social housing project operating costs.In our service area of Brantford and Brant County,we received an allocation of $4.7 million dollars,which has been distributed amongst 12 housingproviders. Providers have submitted requests tothe Service Manager (the City) for work that isneeded at their housing projects. Some of this workincluded new roofs, replacing furnaces with hi-efficiencymodels, replacing appliances with energyefficient appliances, replacement of windows, andreplacing toilets with low flush models.B-HOME ReturnsWhat if owning your own home was within reach?What if turning your rent payments into mortgagepayments could be a reality?In the lst round of B-HOME wewere able to provide down paymentassistance to 84 households to purchasetheir first home.In partnership with the Government of Canada,the Province of Ontario, the City of Brantford andthe County of Brant, the B-Home (Brantford HomeOwnership Made Easier) Program has been developedto assist low to moderate income earners realizethe dream of owning their own home. 5% ofthe cost of an eligible home is provided to eligiblepurchasers at the time of closing of the purchaseand sale of the home.Register for our upcoming training and informationsession as outlined below.Above: New balconies at Albion TowersBelow: New windows at Russell Heights, St. GeorgeRegistration Information▪ Tuesday, April 13th▪ 6:00- 9:00 p.m.▪ TB Costain – SC Johnson CommunityCentre▪ 12 Morrell Street, Brantford▪ For more info or to RSVP, call 519-759-3330, x6336 or email bhome@brantford.ca7

SPECTRUMTHE PAST YEARIN PICTURES(1) Gathering at the Al Nyp Memorial Walk. (2) Tom Lockyer at the naming of the Al Nyp Room at the BeckettBuilding. (3) From L to R: Mike Hancock, Mayor of Brantford; Phil McColeman, Member of Parliament forBrant; Dave Levac, Member of Provincial Parliament for Brant; and Ron Eddy, Mayor of Brant County; celebratethe official opening of four affordable housing projects and the start of construction of four affordable housingprojects in Brantford and Brant County on September 11, 2009. The projects are supported by more than $9.5million in funding under the Canada – Ontario Affordable Housing Program to create 171 affordable housingunits. (4 & 5) Housing staff partnered with CMHC staff at a recent Habitat for Humanity build.8