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Affordable Housing Success Stories These initiatives improve access to emergency shelter and affordable housing for Ontario residents, and encompass the Shelter Enhancement Program, the Canada – Ontario Affordable Housing Program, the Canadian Centre for Public-Private Partnerships in Housing, and the Direct Lending Program for First Nations communities.  Valley View Rest Home, Queensville, Ontario
The community residence for active seniors and people with mental health issues or addictions is situated in Queensville, a village located in York Region. That all changed in April 2004 when a fire caused considerable smoke damage and a portion of the facility was destroyed. The destruction totaled more than $300,000, causing the closure of the rest home. | | | | Youth Without Shelter, Etobicoke, Ontario
A youth shelter grows  As the only short-term emergency residence and referral provider in Toronto’s Etobicoke region, Youth Without Shelter offers temporary housing and ongoing support for homeless youth from the ages of 16 to 24. Now in its twenty-first year, the organization has experienced a sudden growth spurt after purchasing both its present headquarters and a second adjacent building. | | | | Yorktown Shelter For Women, Toronto Ontario
Providing a haven, providing a home  Since 1986, Toronto’s Yorktown Shelter for Women has provided women and their children with a safe refuge from family violence. But in the words of Yorktown Family Services Executive Director Karen Engel, abuse victims need more than shelter; they need “a transitional haven and a place to re-gather their resources, get support and make a plan to move on to a violence-free life.” Thankfully, following recent renovations, the residence has become exactly that.
| | | | Our Place (Peel) Mississauga, Ontario
The future is now for Peel youth  Our Place (Peel) is the only emergency shelter in Peel Region exclusively for youth. Each year, the 14-bed shelter helps more than 600 youth in crisis, meeting their immediate needs of food, shelter and medical care; providing counseling; and referring clients to sources of long-term assistance. The young people can be homeless for any number of reasons: family issues, poverty, immigrant sponsorship breakdown, abuse. And, they represent the full range of the economic spectrum.
| | | | Marillac Place, Kitchener, Ontario
Inspiring brighter futures for generations  Marillac Place offers young mothers, many who are victims of abuse, an opportunity to learn the life and parenting skills they need to live happy, healthy and independent lives. Marillac Place provides transitional shelter and support services for up to 10 single mothers between the ages of 15 to 25. They can reside at Marillac during their pregnancy, and then with their babies for up to one year after giving birth. The shelter can also accommodate children up to the age of two years, which allows for a mother who has a toddler as well as an infant to live there.
| | | | Three Links Co-Operative Housing Inc.
Accessible unit renovation  The primary work in each of the three units involved in the renovation was the installation of new kitchens and bathrooms. The bathrooms were redesigned with fixtures modeled and height adjusted to accommodate disabled persons as well as grab bars for stability and walk-in bathtubs to facilitate ease of use. The kitchens similarly had the heights of work surfaces and storage areas adjusted as well as the installation of appliances designed to make them both safer and easier to use.
| | | | New Starts For Women Shelter
Wings of hope
 Not many women’s shelters have to charter aircraft to bring families out of harm’s way. But not many emergency homes for battered women and their children have a mandate like the New Starts For Women shelter in Red Lake, Ontario, serving a vast region with communities so isolated that most are accessible only by air.
Almost all of the shelter’s clients are from nine remote First Nations communities in Ontario’s north. When a woman in one of these isolated communities makes the decision to flee violence, the challenges she will face will be daunting as with most women leaving abuse, but these women’s situations are complicated by language, resources, and distance. | | | | St. Jude Community Homes
Finding a place  St. Jude’s new community house at 270 Milan Street provides a near-perfect long-term home for people living with schizophrenia and mood disorders.
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| | YWCA in Niagara Falls, Niagara Falls, Ontario
A turning point  With no emergency shelter beds
and nowhere to turn in Niagara Falls, local women and their children in need had to travel out of town or hope to find temporary accommodation in a motel — until now. Thanks to the YWCA of St. Catharines, a former shelter has been reborn, giving badly-needed local services a boost.
| | | Varency Home, Jarvis, Ontario
Reducing the Risks  Abuse, family conflict and addictions are just a few of the situations that bring troubled youth in Haldimand and Norfolk to St. Leonard’s Community Services. This non-profit organization prevents youth from becoming displaced from school, employment, their families, and from falling further into a life of homelessness or criminal behavior. Now, a partnership between St. Leonard’s and the Children’s Aid Society of Haldimand and Norfolk has led to the opening of Varency Home, providing youth with a safe haven in their own community.
| | | | Maria House: A home for families in transition, Brantford, Ontario
Breaking the cycle  For someone leaving an abusive situation, ending the cycle of violence begins with finding a safe haven. Since 1983, an emergency shelter at Nova Vita Domestic Violence Prevention Services has been that sanctuary for abused and homeless women and children. Nova Vita also provides a 24-hour crisis line and a range of programs that help women and children make the transition to a life without violence.
| | | | Summerville Pines Seniors Residence, Mississauga, Ontario
Dream homes  A Clean, safe, affordable and comfortable rental living can seem like an unattainable dream. Yet for many seniors, that dream became a reality with the Spring 2005 opening of the Region of Peel's newest modest-income housing development, Summerville Pines.
| | | | Manitoulin Family Resources Inc. Manitoulin Island, Ontario
Refuge in a Crisis  Women and children who need to escape an abusive home situation have access to free, confidential support at Manitoulin Family Resources Inc. and its 10-bed Haven House Shelter.
The agency serves a huge and remote area encompassing Manitoulin Island, Espanola and the north-east shore of Lake Huron, where women and children have access to few such services. Based on Manitoulin Island, Manitoulin Family Resources Inc. also serves the outlying community through satellite Resource Centres in Little Current, Gore Bay and Mindemoya. | | | | Trellis Gardens, Toronto, Ontario
Celebrating Spring  By March 2003, 31 adults and 42 children had settled in to Trellis Gardens. Anticipation was in the air as they waited for the finishing touches that would make Trellis Gardens their home. As spring approached, landscaping was planned and planting would soon begin for a community garden.
| | | | Women’s Community House
Support for Change  Women’s Community House helps women as they choose to leave abusive situations, and keeps them safe when they do. With the opening of a new 27-bed residential facility, the shelter is even better positioned to provide a safe, supportive and secure environment where residents can regain their strength and independence, connect with other women and the community, and begin to move toward a life free from violence.
| | | | Transition House
Community Support  The Transition House Coalition of Northumberland began in February 1999, as a steering committee and shelter, located in an old house in Cobourg, officially opened in December of that year. Transition House is a local solution to meet basic housing needs and assist its residents with the tools they need to live self-sufficiently into the future.
| | | | The New Emily Stowe Shelter for Women
A Place to Heal  Abused women and their children find the support they need to re-build their lives at Emily Stowe Shelter for Women. The shelter recently opened a new, larger facility on the site of the small, dilapidated house where it first began operation in 1982.
| | | | Interval House
Sanctuary, Support and a New Start  Women who have suffered from abuse can find sanctuary, support and a new start at Interval House. Canada’s first shelter for abused women and their children recently opened new larger facilities in downtown Toronto.
| | | | Native Women’s Centre, Hamilton, Ontario
A Safe Haven  The Native Women's Centre is an emergency shelter for women in the Hamilton area. These women are provided a safe haven regardless of age, ancestry, culture, place of origin, sexual orientation, with or without children. The Native Women’s Centre assists women who are in transition from abusive situations, addictions, homelessness or conflict with the law. Many support services are offered including counselling in job placements, housing, education, cultural welfare, Aboriginal rights and child care. Women are encouraged and supported as they seek a new beginning for themselves and their children. Helping these women avoid homelessness is an important way to offer hope.
| | | | Abbott House — Youth Emergency Shelter, Peterborough, Ontario
Much More Than a Shelter  Homeless youth can find much more than shelter at Abbott House. They gain the life skills and job training necessary to live independently.
This transitional housing facility accepts homeless youth aged 16 to 24 from Peterborough’s emergency shelter who have made a commitment to move ahead – whether to finish school, find work, or seek treatment for emotional problems or substance abuse. | | | | WoodGreen Homeward Bound, Toronto, Ontario
Starting Over  Homeward Bound provides 32 single parent, female-led families with stable housing and a comprehensive strategy of employment training and childcare supports.The goal of Homeward Bound is to support women successfully transitioning from homelessness to secure and appropriate housing, from under-employment to sustainable employment, from shelter life to independent living.
| | | | Adelaide House, Oshawa, Ontario
Community Support  The Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) of Oshawa provides the only emergency housing available in the community to women over the age of 16 and to women with children who are at risk or may have been abused. It is an important service for women, offering shelter, counselling and life skills training. More than one thousand women were supported in 2003. Adelaide House is a warm and welcome change for women suffering anxious circumstances.
| | | | Herizon House, Ajax, Ontario
A Safe Haven  The Ajax – Pickering Women’s Centre Inc. opened in 1994 as a "resource centre. " At that time there were only three volunteers working out of one small office, committed to providing a safe place for at-risk women . They recruited dedicated volunteers who together struggled to transform the resource centre into a shelter for abused women and their children . By 2002 they had raised $300,000 to support this initiative.
| | | | Armitage Gardens, New Market, Ontario
The Future Blooms  Creating a place of joy and inspiration was an important goal when a portion of the former New Market Health Centre was redeveloped and converted into 58 residential rental apartments for lower-income seniors. The newly created complex was named Armitage Gardens and consists of two similiar wings, which are joined by a common area.
| | | | Amik, Toronto, Ontario
A New Beginning  In October, 2002, a moving prayer marked the opening ceremony for Project Amik. "Great Spirit of the Universe," Rev. Charles Catto, founding director of New Frontiers Aboriginal Residential Corporation, said gravely, "amidst our rejoicing this day, we give thanks for the triumphant vision and strength that has carried our dream of nine years through to shining reality, turning a derelict garment factory and a vacant lot into hope and homes for 74 families."
| | | | Aundeck Omni Kaning First Nation, Manitoulin Island, Ontario
A New Future  An ancient legend of the Odawa people tells us that the Great Spirit wished for an Island retreat, so he created Manitoulin Island. "MANITOU MINISSING" — Island of the Spirits.To the Ojibwe people of Manitoulin, it is the sacred place of their ancestors and the place where they want to raise their children.
Today, the Ojibwe people of Manitoulin look to a new future in the place of their ancestors with the completed construction of phase one of the Amelia Heights sub-division. | | | | Heartwood Place, Kitchener, Ontario
19-21 Gaukel Street Project  19-21 Gaukel Street opened in downtown Kitchener in October, 2003, offering 33 affordable rental homes to low-income tenants.The transformation of the recently underutilized and vacant building into attractive, well-planned housing is a distinguished continuation of its colourful history. In the past it was a white-wear factory, button company, heating and plumbing shop, a textile store and most recently, a sportswear store/warehouse.
| | | | Iris House, Windsor, Ontario
A New Future  When IRIS House opened in downtown Windsor in September 2002, offering a home and 24-hour care to 55 residents, it was a new beginning after three years of persistent effort by six families lead by a retired but tireless community college teacher. The event also paid tribute to the spirit of the community that rallied behind this project and the commitment of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and the Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program (RRAP).
| | | | Tumivut, Na-Ma-Res Toronto, Ontario
Hope for the Future  This story began in 1986 when Na-Me-Res was established to provide temporary accommodation for Aboriginal men. The Shelter offers a safe, clean haven for their residents with nutritious meals and a bed to sleep in. A lounge, recreational and fitness facilities, a dining room and kitchen, all contribute to relieving the stresses of homelessness.
| | | | Shermount Co-operative, North York, Ontario
Evolution  For more than 30 years, from 1957 to 1988, 650 Lawrence Ave. West was the Toronto Branch office of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). 2002 heralded a new chapter in a unique evolution from an office building full of individuals dedicated to delivering housing initiatives, to the affordable housing complex know today as Shermount Co-operative.
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