Civic Impact

Fife House challenges volunteers to eat for $6.65 a day

Wednesday, April 03, 2013

Fife House, a Toronto organization that provides housing and support services for Toronto residents living with HIV/Aids, has challenged seven privileged Torontonians to eat for a week on a restricted food budget.

Many Fife House clients live below the poverty line, meaning that in addition to the challenge of managing their condition, they often struggle to afford nourishing food. In order to demonstrate just how difficult it can be to maintain a healthy and sufficient diet while living on a fixed-income, Fife House recruited seven prominent Torontonians to participate in their week-long Trying to Thrive on $6.65 challenge.

As the name suggests, the initiative asks volunteers to spend one-week eating for $6.65 a day. The challenge officially kicked off this past Monday, and will end this Sunday, April 7th.

The volunteers--Toronto City Councilor Kristyn Wong-Tam (Toronto Centre-Rosedale), Fife House executive director Keith Hambly, Fife House board president Bruce Mayhew, Fife House board member and clinical practice specialist Colleen Kearney, Ryerson Sociology professor Doreen Fumia, and food blogger Cory Pagett--are also spending the week blogging on their experience.

Participants are allowed to spend $6.65 per day or $46.55 for the week -- meaning they can buy food for more than one day so long as they don't exceed the weekly budget. And, besides spices, participants are not allowed to use any of the food currently in their kitchen.

A reoccurring theme in the blog posts is that eating on a restricted budget means not only compromises in quality and quantity of food, but also requires a significant time-commitment.

"I'm reflective of the time investment it has taken to get to this point," writes board president Bruce Mayhew after buying his week's worth of groceries, "over an hour last night to hunt through the flyers....what store has my desired grocery at the cheapest price. The time (and gas), it has taken to visit four stores. All this to ensure I don’t overspend and to make sure I make the best overall decisions possible."

As Mayhew points out, though the challenge is difficult, the volunteers are still only experiencing a slice of how difficult eating on a restricted budget can be.

The time commitment, the use of a car, and access to technology (internet and excel) are just some examples of the privileges that Mayhew has access to that may not be as accessible to those living below the poverty line. Moreover, Fife House clients are also dealing with the ongoing stress and side effects of living with HIV/AIDS.

Fife House is hoping that the Trying to Thrive challenge, and the reflections which emerge from it, will bring attention to the importance of the food and meal programming they provide to their clients.

At the end this month, Month Fife House will host their annual Taste for Life fundraiser. The one-night only event has participating Toronto restaurants donating 25 per cent of their dinner revenue on the evening of April 24th to the Fife House Meal programs. So far, 50 restaurants are on board, and Fife House expects to raise $90,000 from this year's event.

Follow the progress of the ‘Trying to Thrive on $6.65’ volunteers here.

Writer: Katia Snukal

Source: Fife House

Toronto Public Library releases new resource to get toddlers reading

Wednesday, April 03, 2013

The Toronto Public Library is helping Ontario toddlers take their first steps towards becoming life-long readers.

Last week the Library announced the release of Let's Get Ready for Reading, a new literacy guide that combines activities for kids with practical tips for educators and care givers. Touted as unique research-based resource, Let’s Get Ready For Reading brings together the expertise of Toronto's librarians with that of other literacy experts.

And thanks to a number of funding partners--the Toronto Public Library Foundation, the J.P. Bickell Foundation, the Rotary Club of Toronto as well as an anonymous donor--the Library is able to distribute tens-of-thousands of free copies of resource all across the province.

Already available to browse or borrow at all Toronto public library locations, the guide will soon be distributed to the province’s kindergarten classrooms, Ontario Early Year Centers, city-funded literacy centers, licensed daycares, as well as every library branch across the province.

And, thanks to a partnership with Toronto Public Health, the Library will also be giving copies to families with young children via programming for new parents.

"Toronto Public Library is proud of this one-of-a-kind resource, and we are thrilled to be able to put it into the hands of so many parents, caregivers, educators and librarians across the city and province," said city librarian Jane Pyper at the March 26th press conference at the Cedarbrae branch in Scarborough.

The booklet is the latest addition to the Library's Ready for Reading Series aimed at getting kids under 5-years-old excited about reading. The series includes story time programs at Toronto Library branches as well as online activities, book lists, and tips for caregivers.

Writer: Katia Snukal

Source: Toronto Public Library

Action for Seniors forum brainstorms strategies for affordable housing options

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

By 2031, seniors (aged 55+) will make up one third of Toronto’s population. And finding affordable housing in central Toronto, already a challenge for Toronto’s low-income seniors, will likely become even more difficult.

In 2012, there were over 22,398 seniors on Toronto’s social housing waiting list, a list with an average wait time of 61.3 months.

An even more stark statistic: the maximum monthly income from Old Age Security (OAS) and Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) is $1,286.51. The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Toronto is $1,010.

In an effort to face the current, and future, dearth of affordable senior housing head-on, the City’s Affordable Housing Office recently teamed up with Toronto’s Performing Art Lodge (PAL) to a hold a one-day forum brainstorming possible strategies.

PAL, a nonprofit that provides affordable housing to the city’s arts community, organized the day-long event after coordinating with their local councilor, Pam McConnell, and the City of Toronto Affordable Housing Office.

"PAL reached out to Councilor Pam McConnell who in turn came to the [Affordable Housing Office] to see if we could help them as they look for better services for seniors in their building," says Gil Hardy, affordable housing officer with the City of Toronto.

The conversation between PAL and the city resulted in the creation of the "Action for Seniors Charette" -- a series of workshops and brainstorming sessions held at the Lodge last Thursday. The Lodge is located at 110 the Esplanade.

After introductory remarks by former Toronto Mayor David Crombie and Councilor Pam McConnell, the attendants--a mix of PAL residents and staff, government officials, and members of other nonprofits--divided into breakout groups to discuss different housing issues facing Toronto’s seniors.

The topics included visioning a user-friendly access system to services, alternate level of care options, and community partnerships and capacity building.

Each workshop, and the ideas generated from it, were recorded by the attendees. The Affordable Housing Office is currently working on consolidating the day’s findings into a report to be circulated to relevant agencies and governments departments.

But, says Hardy, he hopes the impact of the Action for Seniors Charette won’t end there.

"We see this as sort of a pilot initiative," says Hardy. "We hope to repeat it because the issues, though similar, might be slightly different if you’re a senior living in Scarborough or living in North York. So we want to bring this all around the city."

"We have to find ways to accommodate seniors in our city," adds Hardy. "Not just to be humanitarian--though that’s important. But also for economic reasons."

The average per diem cost for a long-term care bed in Toronto is $125 a day. But, Hardy points out, many seniors in long-term care would be perfectly capable of living on their own with a little external support. The cost of that external support would be closer to $42 a day.

"If we can invest and provide appropriate affordable housing and combine that with a support system--for example someone coming in to help with cleaning or with buying groceries--we can significantly improve someone’s quality of life while opening up long-term care beds for those who really need them" says Hardy.

Last week’s Charette, Hardy hopes, will be the first of many of these events dedicated to community brainstorming about how we might do that.

Writer: Katia Snukal

Source: Gil Hardy, Affordable Housing Officer, City of Toronto.

Scadding Court Community Centre receives federal funding for new economic prosperity program

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Toronto’s Scadding Court Community Centre (SCCC) has received $127,203 in funding from the Government of Canada.

In June of 2012, the office of the Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for the Status of Women announced that a pool of money was being put aside to support projects that 'Set the Stage for Girls and Young Women to Succeed.'

Earlier this month, Scadding Court heard their proposal had been accepted.

The grant will be used to fund a two-year Scadding Court initiative that will support 12 young women from the Alexandra Park community as they investigate, and ultimately effect, the changes occurring in their neighbourhood.

Located at 707 Dundas West just east of Bathurst, Scadding Court has been active in the Alexandra Park community for over 30 years.

It’s a community, says Nikki Toten, manager of development and community engagement at the SCCC, "that has long existed in a kind of dead zone."

"We’re in the middle of very vibrant Chinatown and up-and-coming Dundas West. But, importantly, this is an area that’s very much in transition. There’s a lot redevelopment happening."

Not only are new condos are going up, but the Atkinson Co-op (formerly known as Alexandra Park Housing) is currently undergoing "revitalization". The City of Toronto is working to transform the Co-op, and indeed the neighbourhood, from a traditionally low-income community into a mixed income one. And housing prices are already on the rise.

"Given the changes that are coming to the community its really important that residents take advantage of the changes as opposed to being left out," says Toten.

That sentiment--the idea that current Alexandra Court residents should have the opportunity to benefit from any economic changes coming to their neighbourhood--is the guiding principal behind the new program.

The two-year project, tentatively called 'Economic Empowerment for Young Women', will challenge 12 young women from the community to research economic changes in their neighbourhood, and work together to implement a new community program based on their findings.

"First they’re going to be conducting a needs assessment," says Toten."They’re going to be discovering for themselves the barriers to economic prosperity for women in the Downtown West area, and specifically in the Alexandra Park neighbourhood."

After extensive research the women will work together to come up with a community project.

"It could be something like an advocacy group if they see something in the neighbourhood that really needs to change, or it could be a mentorship project for other young women. It all depends on what they find out," says Tonten.

The first year will be the planning and researching stage. In the second year the participants will implement their project.

Throughout the process they will be encouraged to create connections with other other women in Toronto who might be supportive of their initiative.

The 12 young women have been selected and will soon begin their research projects.

"Everything about this project is youth led," adds Toten. "We’re going to help them build the support network but we’re not going to make those connections for them. They’re really going to learn to build this themselves."

Writer: Katia Snukal

Source: Nikki Toten, Manager of Development and Community Engagement, Scadding Court Community Center

Toronto's first Halal food festival to be held in June

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Toronto is getting a Halal Food Festival.

The internet buzz began in early December when the organizers announced, over twitter and facebook, their intention to hold Toronto’s first-ever halal food festival by the summertime.

Three months later, Halal Food Fest TO has confirmed the festival dates, the venue, and some preliminary details about the entertainment, and of course the food, that will be on offer.

The Halal Food Festival will be held on June 1 and 2, 2013 and will be hosted at International Centre, located on airport road in Mississauga.

Organizers spent months choosing the "best" halal food the city has to offer. Though the final list of participants is still forthcoming, festival organizers have confirmed that there will be a wide-variety of food types on offer -- from restaurant food, to confections to raw ingredients -- and a diverse range of ethnicities represented.

In addition to the sampling tables, there will also be live cooking demonstrations, performances, and panel discussions.

While exact guidelines can vary by sect, ethnicity, or school of thought, Halal foods are those foods that are allowed under Islamic dietary guidelines.

"As a Torontonian and Muslim, it's a great feeling to be able to celebrate being both through a universally loved platform - food!" says Faizal Kagdi, president of Halal Food Fest TO. "With 250,000 Muslims living in the GTA, Halal Food Fest TO is really the voice of the community, a united one, and it's long overdue."

Writer: Katia Snukal

Source: Halal Food Festival Toronto

Toronto Community Care Access Centre releases video on senior care

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Canada’s senior population is growing. And it’s growing fast.

According to a recent report released by Ontario’s Ministry of Longterm Care, Living Longer, Living Well, Ontarians aged 65 years and older represented 14.6 per cent of the province’s population in 2011. And the number of Ontarians in that age bracket is expected to double over the next two decades.

These facts invariably beg the question, given our already stressed health care system, how do we ensure that older Ontarians are getting the best possible care? And how do we do that without bankrupting the system?

According to the Living Longer report, one essential strategy is to take advantage (and to bolster) existing community healthcare networks.

In response to the Ontario report, the Toronto Central CCAC (Community Care Access Centre) has released a short video demonstrating the advantages of these community networks. The five-minute animated short focuses on 80-year old 'Miranda' and her daughter, her primary caregiver. We follow Miranda as she gets help navigating Ontario’s complex health care system with the help of a CCAC "care coordinator." Thanks to the care coordinator, who communicates with Miranda’s multiple healthcare providers and consolidates all her health information into one easily transferable document, Miranda is able to get the most efficient care and can continue living in her own home.

According to Stacey Daub, chief executive officer for the Toronto Central CCAC, the video demonstrates the power of what is called the Integrated Client Care Program (ICCP) . ICCP, a patient-focused model that coordinates care providers, helps seniors stay in their homes longer and have autonomy over the care they receive.

"We are an ardent supporter of the recommendations made in Dr. Sinha's report [Dr. Shina is the lead writer of the Living Well, Living Longer report] and have worked tirelessly to transform the care experience of the elderly while supporting family members and caregivers," says Daub. "Early evidence shows our programs help seniors avoid unnecessary hospital admissions and stay at home longer; our Integrated Client Care Program is one example of how we connect seniors suffering from complex conditions with health care professionals and services at home and in their communities."

The Toronto Central CCAC is part of an Ontario-wide non profit network that connects Ontarians with in-home and community-based health care.

Writer: Katia Snukal

Source: Stacey Daub, Toronto Central CCAC

Native Women's Resource Centre of Toronto launches awards honouring aboriginal youth and women

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

The Native Women’s Resource Centre of Toronto (NWRTC) is celebrating the city’s aboriginal women.

The NWRTC recently announced the launch of the city’s first ever Minaake awards (pronounced min-nah-kay), an award night that honours aboriginal women and youth making positive contributions to their community. Minaake is an Ojibwe meaning ‘people who are on the good path.’

The inaugural award ceremony is scheduled for April 10th, and will be held from 6-8 p.m. at the TD Bank Tower (66 Wellington Street West, 54th floor).

Awards will be presented in six categories--Leadership, Advocacy and Human Rights, The Good Path, LGBT/Two-Spirited, Challenger (Youth), and Culture Keeper.

According to Crystal Melin, executive director at NWRTC, the motivation behind the event was two-fold: to raise core funding for the center as well honouring women whose achievements are not often given the attention they deserve.

"Because we work with the most vulnerable women we wanted to make sure there was an achievement awards that recognize the women we work with everyday and the huge achievements they made in their lives, "says Melin.

"We wanted to make sure that or seniors or elders in the community there could be an award for them. Women who never finished grade 9 but have huge cultural knowledge could be nominated. We also wanted to recognize that LGBT/two-sprited women form a very important part of our programming and our community. We wanted to make sure that across the board all aboriginal women could be eligible."

NWRTC received almost 30 nominations for each of the 6 categories, and the winners were chosen by a diverse group of aboriginal women, men and youth active in the community.

In addition to honouring the girls and women who have made contributions to their communities, the event will also include traditional Aboriginal hors d'oeuvres, musical performances and a silent auction consisting of native arts and crafts.

"We didn't want it to be a stuffy awards that would be intimating," says Melin. "It's going to a fun event and a way for us to showcase our community."

The event will be hosted by Sandra Larond, founder of contemporary indigenous performance company Red Sky, and director of Indigenous Arts at the Banff Centre. Laronde will be joined onstage by a number of other accomplished aboriginal women. The scheduled presenters include Lee Maracle, the prolific first-nations writer and scholar, and Jessica Danforth, founder of the Native Youth Sexual Health Network.

Located at 191 Gerrard Street East, NWRCT is registered charity that offers a meeting space for aboriginal women in the GTA while also supporting a wide-range of programming to support and celebrate aboriginal women and their children.

Tickets are $75 and can be purchased online. All proceeds of the ticket sales support the NWRCT and its programs.

Writer: Katia Snukal

Source: NWRC

TVO announces 5 finalists of Doc Studio Contest

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

On November 28th, 2012 TVO presented a challenge to Ontario's documentary filmmakers: make a movie that troubles commonly held perceptions of poverty.

This was the second year that TVO held their now annual Doc Studio Contest. The theme for 2013 -- Poverty in Five. So-called because filmmakers were given only five minutes to convey their message.

Now, just over three months and hundreds of submissions later, the TVO jury has narrowed the entrants down to five finalists. It's up to the public to vote for their favorite submission.

The entries were judged by a jury of Ontario documentary filmmakers, led by producer/director Shelley Saywell. Saywell is also TVO's filmmaker-in-residence.

Though each doc focuses on poverty, the five finalists manage to cover a breadth of topics and experiences--from an absurdist and satirical look at the super wealthy, to a documentary that feature short "rants" from elementary school students.

And, particularly relevant to Yonge Street readers, two Toronto-based films made it into the top five. Poor Ink by Vince Vaitiekunas is shot inside a Queen and Sherbourne tattoo parlour and weaves together the stories of three Torontonians and the impact that poverty has had on their lives. Food for Thought, by Luis Cornejo, looks at meal preparation in two economically contrasting households. In the first household, food is abundant. In the second, food is much more scarce and the family meal is made up of food bank donations.

"The jury and I were really looking for a different approach to the issue of poverty, and in watching the films we saw that participants understood that," says Saywell."TVO's Doc Studio Contest has given people a valuable platform in which to have their say on an issue that affects so many of us, and has also made the art of filmmaking very democratic."

The public can vote for their favourite video on the Doc Studio website until March 18 and the winning film will be announced on Monday March 25. The winner will see his or her documentary aired on TVO, receive a pass to the Hot Docs Film Festival, and a day-long mentorship session with Shelley Saywell.

Writer: Katia Snukal

Source: TVO, Shelley Saywell

Bridgepoint Hospital unlocks future to better patient care

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Toronto's Bridgepoint Hospital has been under renovation since the fall of 2009. The $1.2 billion earmarked for the project -- the result of partnership between Bridgepoint, Infrastructure Ontario and the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care -- went towards the construction of an updated, environmentally sound, and aesthetically-pleasing healthcare centre for Bridgepoint's staff and patients.

Last Wednesday, the results of that massive undertaking reached a climatic milestone. In a public ceremony, Plenary Health, the building company behind the project, presented Bridgepoint president and CEO Marian Walsh with a celebratory key to the new building.

The oversized key was a symbolic gesture to celebrate the near-completion of the massive hospital overhaul.

Built 150 years ago, Bridgepoint is located at the edge of Riverdale park, at the corner of Broadview avenue and Gerrard street East. While the building has had numerous uses in its long history, in recent decade Bridgepoint Hospital has served a unique niche in Toronto's healthcare scene. It is the only healthcare centre in the city dedicated exclusively to providing care for individuals living with chronic health conditions.

The renovations not only provide more space and updated facilities, they also include new design elements meant to encourage interaction and connectivity amongst patients, staff and family members. In addition to larger living spaces and larger therapy spaces, Bridgepoint now has a larger therapeutic pool, outdoor green spaces, and a brand new green roof.

"Today, we celebrate the success of an incredible partnership between our design firms, our construction teams, project partners and the Government of Ontario," said Walsh at last Wednesday's celebration. "Together, we built a hospital that sets the new standard of treating patients with complex chronic health conditions, a hospital that will be the model of how future hospitals are built not only in Ontario but throughout the world."

The renovation project also included the restoration of parts of the nearby former Don Jail. The jail will serve as the hospital's administration centre and teaching arm, the Bridgepoint Collaboratory for Research and Innovation, and is connected to the hospital by glass catwalk.

Staff will begin moving into the hospital as early as April 6 and the first patients will follow by April 14. The hospital’s official opening will be celebrated in June.

Writer: Katia Snukal
Source: Bridgepoint Hospital

Toronto Public Library and Toronto Fire Service announce fiery pick for city-wide book club

Wednesday, March 06, 2013

For the eighth year in a row, the Toronto Public Library is hosting its month-long Keep Toronto Reading Festival. The festival is essentially a city-wide book club--albeit a book club with thousands of members, its own website, and an entire month of events and readings across the city.

Each year, an entire month of programming is based around just one book.

And in a press conference last Wednesday at Yorkville Fire Station 32, City Librarian Jane Pyper announced this year's selection: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.

The location of the announcement was not insignificant--the Library is co-hosting this year's festival with the Toronto Fire Service. Fahrenheit 451, set in a dystopian future, features firefighters more interested in burning books than in fighting flames.

"We decided to go with a classic this year, a book you maybe haven't read in a long time, or one you'd always been meaning to read. Fahrenheit 451 fit that bill perfectly," said City Librarian Jane Pyper at Wednesday's announcement. "It was published in 1953, but is remarkably relevant today. Its depiction of a media-saturated world will resonate with anyone who reads or rereads this small but powerful book."

The festival officially begins in April, and the full event line up will be posted at keeptorontoreading.ca on March 14.

Throughout the month of April, members of the Fire Service will be guest blogging about the book on the festival website and will be visiting library branches to discuss their favourite books and stories.

Writer: Katia Snukal
Source: Toronto Public Library

Metropolitan Tea Company wins award for its solar roof

Wednesday, March 06, 2013

The Metropolitan Tea Company, an Etobicoke-based tea distributor, is the latest Toronto area business to install a solar roof using the Ontario Power Authority's (OPA) feed-in-tariff program (FIT).

FIT, a program established by the Green Energy and Green Economy Act in 2009, helps subsidize green energy by paying a premium price for renewable energy generated by businesses and homeowners. Since Toronto Hydro is the city's local distribution company, any Toronto business or homeowner that gets approval from the OPA for the FIT program goes through Toronto Hydro to get hooked up to the grid.

The Metropolitan Tea Company project is the largest of Toronto Hydro's solar-roof FIT projects to date, and has a generating capacity of up to 500-kilowatts.

The project kicked off in March 2011, when, shortly after moving in to its new building, the Metropolitan Tea Company contacted Toronto Hydro wanting to install solar panels on the roof of its new headquarters. The building is located on Butterick Road in south Etobicoke.

"When they applied to us, we thought this was a good project and we went through the process with them," says Gary Thompson, supervisor of generation planning and transmission capacity with Toronto Hydro. "We helped them with an environmental assessment, we visited the site, and we were able to offer them advice and direction and put our engineers' expertise at their disposal."

Toronto Hydro also helped connect the Tea Company with suppliers of solar panels and helped them facilitate their payment agreement with the OPA.

The installation earned the company a Toronto Board of Trade Sustainability Award in November.

Writer: Katia Snukal

Source: Toronto Hydro, Gary Thompson

New symposium encourages girls to explore non-traditional career paths

Wednesday, March 06, 2013

Yesterday morning, at an event at Centennial College's Progress Campus, 200 Toronto girls aged nine to 14 were given hands-on experience in a wide range of non-traditional jobs. Among other things, participants were given the chance to change tires on a Smart car, draw blood from a synthetic patient's arm, and learn about the inner workings of a helicopter.

It was all part of Centennial's first-ever Strong Girls, Strong Women Symposium, which is meant to educate young girls on the breadth of career options available and open to them.

"Strong Girls, Strong Women was the vision of Centennial College President Ann Buller," says Mark Toljagic, communications officer at Centennial College. "She wanted to do something to get young girls interested and engaged in potential career paths a little earlier than usual, that is, before high school. She wanted to demonstrate to them that all the doors are truly open to women to do anything they wish to, such as become an airline pilot, architect, or automobile technician."

Yesterday marked the official launch of Centennial College's Strong Girls, Stong Women program. But, adds Toljagic, it won't be the last.

"Centennial College intends to make this an annual event," he says.

"Today we had 16 participating schools. We expect it only to grow as the word gets around. We were actually oversubscribed today, so that was a good sign!"

Writer: Katia Snukal
Source: Mark Toljagic, Communications Officer, Centennial College

YWCA Toronto and Centennial College launch pre-apprenticeship electrician program for women

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

This May, the YWCA Toronto will offer 20 Toronto women the opportunity to take a first-step in becoming a professional electrician.

Thanks to a grant from the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, the YWCA has teamed up with Centennial College to offer a 33-week pre-apprenticeship electrician program at no cost to participants.

"The pre-apprenticeship program will give participants a chance to see if this is a profession they're interested in," says Tsering Tsomo, who is leading the project for the YWCA. "It will give them a feel for the trade and help them to decide if they want to complete an apprenticeship program, which can take up to three to four years [to complete]."

In Ontario, gaining certification in many skilled trades involves landing an apprenticeship while simultaneously completing an in school program. But getting a foot-in-the-door is often difficult, and most schools will only accept applications from students who already have a professional or organization willing to take them on.

In order to make the process easier, the Ontario government rolled out the Pre-Apprenticeship Training Program in 2006, a program which helps Ontarians interested in a skilled trade become a more qualified apprentice.

The YWCA program, like similar programs throughout the province, will provide participants with a combination of theoretical basics, practical training and, at the end, a hands-on work placement.

The recruitment process for the program has recently ended and the accepted candidates will be notified of their admittance to the program shortly. The program begins March 18.

"We've really seen a lot of interest, says Tsomo. "It really shows that women are interested in doing non-traditional jobs."

Writer: Katia Snukal

Source: Tsering Tsomo

Richmond Hill's environmental community centre beats targets in inaugural year

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

In February 2012, the Regional Municipality of York opened the Elgin Mills Community Environmental Centre (CEC). Located in Richmond Hill on Elgin Mills between Bayview and Leslie, the Elgin Mills Centre lets York residents dispose of waste that is either too toxic or too cumbersome to be disposed of at the curb.

Now, a year after its launch, the Municipality of York has announced that the Elgin Mills CEC has collected 6,790 tonnes of material--28 per cent more than its projected target.

The Elgin Mills Center is the second CEC to open in York in the past four years: the first, the McClearly Court CEC, opened in the City of Vaughan in July 2009.

The construction of the community environmental centers is part of a larger York Region project to divert more waste from the region's landfills.

The Community Environmental Centres are so-called because they serve a double purpose. In addition to being sorting centers, each CEC has a strong connection to the wider community. Each contains an education center on environmental issues facing the region, as well as a Goodwill and Habitat for Humanity drop off where residents can bring reusable clothes and housewares to be redistributed to York Region charities.

The CECs take everything from building materials, to tires and large metal appliances.

Based on the success of the current CEC projects, York is planning on developing more Community Environmental Centres in the future, as well as equipping current centers to process hazardous household waste (one of the few materials they currently cannot take).

"Plans are in place to expand what is accepted at both our CECs to include drop-off facilities for household hazardous waste," says Town of Richmond Hill regional Councillor Vito Spatafora, Chair of the Region’s Environmental Services Committee. "By expanding the services offered at these facilities, the CECs will increase their convenience to York Region residents as a one-stop recycling depot."

Writer: Katia Snukal

Source: York Region, Councillor Vito Spatafora

Planned Parenthood Toronto launches group therapy programs for youth with mental illness

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Planned Parenthood Toronto has launched online group therapy for youth struggling with mental health concerns.The group therapy platform connects participants with both trained therapists as well as with peers struggling with similar issues.

A first of its kind service in Canada, the online group therapy is open to young people aged 18-29, and is completely free and confidential.

The inaugural online sessions--one focusing on depression, one on anxiety and one on relationships--began early last week. For seven weeks registered participants will be provided with tools for coping with anxiety and depression and will participate in group chats with their peers and individual chats with an experienced therapist.

The impetus behind the initiative was two-fold, explains Sarah Hobbs-Blyth, executive director of Planned Parenthood Toronto. It was a response both to a lack of free counseling services for youth in the city, as well as an acknowledgement that all sorts of barriers (from time, to parental resistance) can stop youth from accessing the services they need.

"There were a lot of things that coalesced to make this happen," says Blyth "For one, awareness of mental health issues facing youth is on the rise....We also did a needs assessment at Planned Parent Hood Toronto and saw that youth in Toronto really wanted to access information using technology as long as it wasn't a passive experience. That is they were more likely to access information using technology if they had someone to interact with."

The online group therapy program is currently in pilot phase but, says Blyth, PPT anticipates that the program will be renewed.

"The hope is that once we start to see the positive impacts of the program we'll find funding to continue it in the future."

Writer: Katia Snukal
Soure: Sarah Hobbs-Blyth, Executive Director, Planned Parenthood Toronto