ANNUAL REPORT CELEBRATING 35 YEARS OF PRIDE IN OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS THIS PAST YEAR, IN OUR SERVICES AND SUPPORT , AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, IN OUR MEMBERS’ RECOVERY . 2012
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ANNUAL REPORT
CELEBRATING 35 YEARS OF PRIDEIN OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS
THIS PAST YEAR,
IN OUR SERVICES AND SUPPORT,
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY,
IN OUR MEMBERS’ RECOVERY.
2012
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40 Oaks, a state- of- the- art housing project in the new Regent Park; we converted 16 non-owned units from shared to self-contained units, and advanced psychiatric- consumer leadership on our Board of Directors, just to name a few.
Thanks to those of you who generously supported our community programs this past year. Our first year co-hosting sip & Savour Ontario was a great success and we are thrilled to co-host it again this October. Along with this event, we’ve created a number of new ways for you to support our members; including legacy giving, vol-unteering on our fundraising workgroup committees, and giving you the opportunity to host third party events.
As we celebrate our 35th anniversary, we can’t help but ponder what Houselink will look like in the year 2047. We are encouraged by the level of attention mental illness is beginning to receive and the increasing awareness that community agencies like us are well equipped to provide the necessary housing, support and programs to truly build a sense of hope and recovery.
For myself, Frank, after serving my final term as the Board President and a Board member for six years, I want to thank members, staff, donors and fellow Board members for all that I have discovered on my journey of learning at Houselink – I will truly miss this astonishing environment of hope.
From both of us, we wish you all the best for the next year, and Happy Mad Pride!
Frank White and Brian Davis
une and July mark Pride season in Toronto with LGBTT and Mad Pride taking place. Similar to our work at Houselink, these events bring individuals and communities together, challenge public opinions, and celebrate uniqueness.
Every organization is proud of its accomplishments and Houselink is no different. We are most proud of the stories of our members and each personal journey of Recovery. Each story continues to be the source of our inspiration in all that we do.
This year, Houselink worked with our members and partnering agencies to effect social change. The compelling voices of our members were loud and clear strong in advocating for changes to income security in: “What Stops us from Working”, and improved access to health care and health outcomes in the call to action: “40 is Too Young to Die”.
Houselink is proud of our transformation from a small, dedicated group of staff looking to address the issue of safe, adequate and affordable housing in 1977 to the organization we are now. Providing services to over 500 individuals each year, we are still committed to building community, member leadership, creating employment and recreational opportunities, and working with rather than simply working for, our members. In this way, the world has not changed much in 35 years.
There are other accomplishments this year to reflect upon: our dedicated and caring staff made a resounding and collective decision to form a bargaining unit; we took our property services beyond our own borders to support
In thinking about this year’s theme for our 35th anniversary, we quickly came to a consensus on the theme of Pride.
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Proud of moving forward on our strategic priorities
Promote personal and community health for people with mental health concerns:
» In June, in collaboration with the Dream Team and the Centre for Addictions and Mental Health (CAMH), we were excited to launch the report, “What Stops Us from Working?” Authored by John Stapleton, and Lindsay Kochen, this report highlights key policy recommendations on how Ontario Disability Support Pro-gram (ODSP) can be administered differently, to more effectively promote work opportunities. The recom-mendations were based on the lived experience and stories of both Houselink and Dream Team members. Thank you to all of our members who courageously told their compelling personal stories to build a case for ODSP reform.
» Physical wellness, personal self care, and access to quality primary health care are of paramount importance in any recovery journey. This year we partnered with the Gerstein Centre to introduce a new wellness program called FRESH (Finding Recovery through Exercise, Skills and Hope). This program is delivered and designed by peer workers promoting physical activity and wellness.
» Houselink continues to grow our food program. This year our cooks participated in the CHEF (Community Health Education with Food) program, in collaboration with George Brown College. A series of members received training focused on cooking skills, health education, and safety in the kitchen; these members then shared their skills by teaching a ten week course to other members. This program continues to build our members’ capacity in cooking and facilitation skills, helping them to build their overall confidence.
» Over the past year, our efforts to promote better health care included a series of workshops and information sessions for both staff and members on topics such as cancer and heart disease prevention, smoking cessa-tion, and skills for effective advocacy with primary health care providers. A staff training session on pharma-ceuticals was twinned with sessions on “Gaining Autonomy with Medication”, which were offered to both members and staff.
“FRESH participants have been turning up in significant numbers for a variety of activities. From gentle stretches, to neighborhood walks, to Yoga and to swimming; we are able to introduce the idea of fitness to an ever growing group of people. I have seen the benefits of this program, when an individual who has had a lifetime of dread and fear in going for checkups, finally had a very positive visit. She credits this to her ongoing participation in FRESH.”
— Desmond Rowley, Social Recreation Coordinator
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Improve support for Houselink’s diverse membership, with a focus on aging members:
» In response to the alarming number of premature deaths among our members, we participated in the Early Onset Illness and Mortality Working Group, made up of concerned community agencies experiencing similar crises. Together we launched “40 Is Too Young To Die”. This report highlights the experiences of 60 direct-service staff and tenants all describing, ‘the perfect storm’—the combined impact of homelessness, medica-tions, poverty, and stigma reducing the life expectancy of individuals in recovery. The report is a resounding call to action for all of us; working together, we can address these hurdles and ensure that our members life longer, and healthier, lives.
» Over the past year both the Dream Team and the Houselink membership have closely followed the work of the Commission on the Social Assistance Review chaired by Frances Lankin and Munir Sheikh. Twenty mem-bers from both groups submitted a response to the Commission discussion paper, one of very few submis-sions based on the direct views and experience of recipients.
» More and more individuals on our external wait list are requesting smoke free homes. Our member- ship and staff have responded by piloting two smoke-free co-ops to offer to non-smokers seeking supportive housing.
Set and maintain standards for community safety, building quality, and repair:
» Housing stability is one of our key benchmarks, and our statistics show that we continue to excel in this area. Following a trend that we see increasing every year, in 2011 more than 54% of our members have called Houselink home for over five years.
» Improving our building quality also means improving energy efficiency. We finished retrofitting solar panels in 8 of our buildings.
» We are increasing our understanding of building and individual safety concerns, through our new incident tracking system.
» Creating more choice between self contained and shared housing was an important topic in last year’s stra-tegic planning, as 30% of our housing stock is shared living. Since these discussions, 16 residents who lived in shared housing now have their own self-contained units. These changes are happening in partnership with St. Clare’s Multifaith and the Toronto Christian Resource Centre (TCRC). 7
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Build Houselink’s capacity to be member-driven and recovery-focused. Promote our strengths and share our knowledge:
» In response to the emerging needs of an increasing youth population, we were able to provide one of our youth the opportunity to be a peer support worker. This youth hosted a job fair for summer employment for his fellow youth. Other youth activities included trips to the Science Centre, Centre Island, and the CNE.
» Houselink has always had a commitment to hiring individuals with lived experience with mental illness and in particular, our membership. This year, we reflected on how we will strive to be more inclusive in creating a supportive environment, challenge stigma in the workplace, and ease the transition from being a member, to joining the staff team. Examples of actions include: identify areas of workplace accommodation; and further explore the impact of shifting boundaries. We presented reports on these activities at the Mental Health Commission of Canada Stigma Conference held in Ottawa in June, 2012.
» The Member Advisory Forum (MAF) has remained true to its mission of education and participation by en-couraging Houselink members to learn, and be part of decision making about, day-to-day operations. Recent MAF topics have included Participatory Budgeting, the implementation of OCAN, Privacy, and Policy changes to Internal Transfers. Houselink Members have also participated choosing seminars on Emergency Prepared-ness, Sexual Health, and Suicide Prevention.
Proud of going above and beyond our priorities
» Houselink embarked on a new adven-ture, providing its unique model of property management services to the TCRC’s new building. 40 Oaks, locat-ed in the heart of the Regent Parks re-development. It is our largest property management opportunity yet. It in-cludes 87 self-contained apartments, a multi service community hub. TCRC chose Houselink because of our dem-onstrated commitment to resident involvement in decision making and employment, the full integration of support with property management functions, and eviction prevention.
» This year, we began to use the Ontario Community Assessment of Need (OCAN), a provincial wide assess-ment tool that assesses aspects of a person’s life that impact their Recovery. The data from the OCAN will give Houselink new insight into members’ needs, in order to improve programming, and aid in overall health systems planning.
» In the spring of 2011, we entered a new partnership with Forefront Communications. Together on October 19 2011, we co hosted Sip & Savour Ontario. Sip & Savour Ontario brings together local food and wine to celebrate the delicious combinations that Ontario has to offer. Over 400 guests came out to Steam Whistle Brewery on a rainy evening, to celebrate and hear our members’ stories of Recovery, and to support the work of Houselink.
» Sip and Savour Ontario is only one example of our changing focus on fundraising at Houselink. With the sup-port of our new Fund Development Manager, Houselink has developed a comprehensive fundraising plan that will support financial sustainability for years to come.
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Saying farewell to a colleague and friend This year David Dufoe, our former Director of Property Services, stepped into the realm of retirement, leaving in his wake a legacy of accomplishments too long to list here. His dedication and determination are largely responsible for the sizable portfolio of affordable housing that Houselink makes available to our members today. From the cre-ation of the Property Services department, to the many capital projects shepherded under his guidance, David has left an indelible mark on Houselink’s legacy. David holds a special place in the hearts of the people he has touched.
“The story begins twenty-four years ago this April, when I made the big break from my well paid city job and chose instead to take care of myself by working in much more positive environment. Houselink had a reputation for being an organization that was “out there” doing interesting and innovative things, working collaboratively with clients and countering many of the social service assumptions of the day. I quickly found myself in an atmosphere that promoted hard work and high expectations, and I think most staff shared an overwhelming sense that we were travelling on a path leading to something truly useful.” — David Dufoe, Former Director of Property Services
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Proud of our transformation as an organization over 35 yearsHouselink’s core principle, that housing is a right, is as true today as it was when we first began promoting the housing first model back in 1977. Houselink has a long history of evolving to meet the needs of our members. As momentum builds towards a more coordinated mental health service ‘system’, we are challenged more than ever to ensure we are actively engaged alongside the psychiatric consumer survivor community, to collectively shape a supportive housing system that is recovery based and responsive to the community.
In 1970, Houselink began renting co-ops for single men and women in the City Toronto. Since then we have grown and undertaken many different forms and models of ownership and tenure for housing for people living with mental illness.
» In 1979 we operated 9 co-ops within the downtown core of Toronto.
» In 1981 we purchased our first home on Bartlett Avenue.
» In 1984 Houselink housed 100 individuals.
» In 1985 we created equal representation of our resident members on our Board of Directors. This past year, we bolstered this principle by creating a balanced Board leadership structure by creating an executive com-mittee with equal representation from different parts of the Board.
» In 1987, we purchased units to house 100 more people, including Harbord Street Mews and Channan Court, doubling our membership. 13
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» In 1999, we developed 100 more units representing 4 buildings.
» In 2000, Houselink received funding to start 2 community kitchens and a van shopping program. Expansion occurred again in 2002 and now Houselink provides 10 meals per week developing community, while creat-ing learning opportunities related to diet and food preparation.
» By 2001, we had grown to approximately 330 members living across Toronto.
» In 2003, we formally introduced the Recovery model into our strategic plan.
» In 2005 and 2006, we expanded by 96 units using funding from the Mental Health and Justice program.
» In 2010, we said good-bye to Double Exposure, a successful fundraising initiative and began to develop new ways for donors to support Houselink’s community efforts.
» In 2011, we provided housing support and programs for 520 people.
“Houselink was the only [provider] to stress the now well accepted importance of community, culture, consumer participation and recovery in its principles.” — Schiff & Rook, 2012
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Mary Boivie, a Member’s Story:
“I am proud of how far I have come. I am a now active member of society, being a vol-unteer, having my own home.”
Before Mary Elizabeth Boivie came to Houselink in 1995, she moved around living in shelters and transitional hous-ing, never having a place to call home. The closest place to a home was the Women’s College Hospital’s Psychiatric Ward. The turning point for her was when she moved in to Houselink in 1995.Shortly after arriving, she became sick, and ended up in hospital again. Her housing support worker searched for her in hospitals when staff noticed she was not at home. Mary’s worker brought her the necessities she needed, and helped with her return to home. That’s when Mary knew she was in the right place. Mary is proud to state that she has stayed out of hospitals for 17 years. She says she could not have done it without the help of Houselink.
Joe Ward, a Member’s Proud Moment:
“Back in the early seventies I was hospitalized for 13 months for depression. Released from a psychiatric facility and not knowing what to do with my life, I decided to go back to school and get my High School Diploma. This was a real challenge because I thought I was stupid. I stuttered and couldn’t talk in front of people. In order to give myself confidence I decided to teach an eight week course on drawing. On the first night about six people showed up and I had to confront my demons (my speech im-pediment). I crawled up to the front of the class and opened my mouth and actual words came out. My words were clear, and things went well for the rest of the course. I felt pretty good for confronting my speech impediment head on.
Finally, a staff member from Houselink called me and asked if I would assist in a pre-sentation at City Hall and I agreed. I was still lacking in confidence about making public speaking but agreed to do it; hoping it would give me a boost so I wouldn’t be scared of doing this kind of thing again. I had never spoken to a large crowd before and this made me somewhat jittery. When it was time for me to speak, to my surprise my words became my friend and just flowed from my mouth. To me this was a really positive ex-perience and I thank the staff member for giving me this opportunity and for trusting me to pull it off.”
— Joe Ward, Houselink resident for 10 years
Proud of our Member’s Recovery Each year we share with you the amazing strides our members have made in their own Recovery. These are some of their journeys, as well as steps that Houselink has taken to continue to build ourselves as an organization that embraces and fosters Recovery.
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Financials Year ended March 31, 2012
Complete audited financial statements are available upon request
(TO
TAL:
$10
,199
,482
) REV
ENU
E
43% TORONTO CENTRAL LHIN ($4,341,445)
5% SUPPORT AND HOUSELINK PROGRAMS ($535,516)
4% DEDICATED PROGRAMS ($363,948)
1% FUNDRAISING COSTS ($58,864)
7% MAINTENANCE ($758,407)
4%UTILITIES ($376,196)
11% ADMINISTRATION ($1,114,993)
36% WAGES AND BENEFITS ($3,698,391)
1% INSURANCE ($39,143)
13%HEAD LEASE RENT ($1,412,431)
6%MORTGAGE INTEREST ($565,557)
10% DEPRECIATION ($1,044,052)
2% ALLOCATION TO RESERVE FUND FOR MAJOR REPAIRS AND REPLACEMENTS ($204,885)
28% MINISTRY OF HEALTH & LONG-TERM CARE ($2,818,155)
3% CITY OF TORONTO ($285,291)
2% MINISTRY OF MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS & HOUSING ($162,697)
15% RENTAL INCOME FROM TENANTS ($1,552,373)
2% INTEREST AND SUNDRY INCOME ($158,179)
1% GENERAL GRANTS, DONATIONS & FUNDRAISING ($116,672)
4% DEFERRED GRANTS & DONATIONS ($400,722)
2% DEDICATED GRANTS, FOUNDATIONS & FUNDRAISING ($363,948)
(TO
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$10
,172
,383
) EX
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Special Thanks to Our Donors/SponsorsRegular financial contributions are provided by 70% of our staff.
FUNDING PARTNERS:
City of TorontoHuman Resources and Skills
Development-Opportunities FundMinistry of HealthMinistry of Municipal Affairs Toronto Central LHIN
SILVER BRUSH FUNDING:
Ontario Trillium Foundation Toronto Enterprise fund United Way of Greater Toronto
DREAM TEAM:
Ministry of Health Toronto Central LHIN
FRIENDS OF HOUSELINK $500- $999: Anne Sportun – Experimetal
JewelleryAs You Wish CateringBen Younesi Brent VickarBrian NichollsCarlos AedoCal Blackwood Carmen Carrasco Charlie LiorDean TudorDorothy Harraher Denise ArsenaultFrank WhiteJackie RankineThe Cookbook StoreThe Les and Minda Feldman
Charitable FoundationSian Ferguson Vaughn MonagueVintage Hotels
LEADERSHIP DONORS $1,000+:Bernardin Ltd Charly CoughlerCity Bites Diana GnarowskiElectrical Works Ltd.Howard & Carole Tanenbaum
Family Charitable FoundationJoel RoseKevin CharlieKevin HarraherLampert Plumbing SystemsLisa Merchant New Street GalleryPascal Murphy Peter Adamson Peter PetsopoulousRaising the Roof Realtors Care Foundation Rebecca ClementsSheila Robb Stafflink Solutions LTD Stephen Nunn & Brian DavisThe Second CityTrivest
805 Bloor Street WestToronto, ON, M6G 1L8
www.houselink.on.ca
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