Community Use of Schools: Guide to Foster and Support Best Practices (October 2015)

Commissioned by the Ontario Association of School Board Officials, Community Use of Schools Committee, WoodGreen interviewed staff and community members across the province’s 72 school boards to identify ways community and schools can partner. The project builds on WoodGreen’s commitments to innovative approaches, wraparound service, a commitment to a place where everyone has the opportunity to thrive. Download PDF.

CAFE School House Symposium

On May 1, 2014, through Community Assets For Everyone advocacy campaign and a grant from the Heart & Stroke Foundation, WoodGreen supported one hundred key decision-makers from around the province to a symposium to look at how school hubs might roll out as a system priority. Participants demonstrated a high degree of good will and consensus that this idea should be more than the work of local heroes.

At the symposium, we agreed that to move forward, we need:

Key Recommendations

• A citizen-focused vision of service delivery
• Provincial leadership and collaboration from the various government partners
• A cohesive legislative framework and mandate to foster co-location and coordination
• Appropriate structures, policies, incentives and resources to sustain the approach and people who will make this work
• Flexibility to support and enable community driven solutions
• Start with co-location and build towards integration

Much that is exciting and promising has happened since then, including:

• A Provincial election (sparked that day!)
• Municipal and school board elections across the province
• Mandate Letter from the Premier to the Minister of Education on the priority of developing a Community Hubs policy
• The appointment of a Special Advisor to the Premier on Community Hubs, CAFÉ member Karen Pitre
• Authorship of an appendix in the August 2015 provincial framework on the case for community hubs
• A one-year progress update on the provincial action plan.

The CAFE report (PDF) is here.   

Evaluating Community Hubs as Social Networking Sites for Recent Immigrants

Community hubs are getting a lot of attention across the province of Ontario now. In this paper, one of WoodGreen’s research interns explored how social networks are strengthened through the community hub model of service delivery.

Ice Storm 2013

A report on community connections and how older adults fared in East York. Download PDF.

Shadow Economies: Economic Survival Strategies of Toronto Immigrant Communities

Produced through the former Toronto East Local Immigration Partnership, this report examines the household economics of three immigrant communities. The findings show persistent labour market exclusion, sub-standard employment practices and widespread participation in the informal economy as a means of coping with high levels of poverty in the city’s east-end neighbourhoods.  Download PDF.

Debt Management Guide: A Resource for Social Services Professionals

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Balancing the Budget but Who’s Left to Budget the Balance:

 A Visual Representation of Professional Networks within Toronto East Local Immigration Partnership
 

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Bed Bugs Are Back: Are We Ready? 

Bed Bugs Are Back: Are we ready? is a research report that brings together our local Toronto experience and current worldwide knowledge and understanding of bed bugs. The ultimate goal of Bed Bugs Are Back: Are We Ready? is to inform and shape public policy, government responses, and community strategies aimed at implementing effective bed bug interventions that prevent uncontrolled outbreaks.

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All About Bed Bugs 

This information guide has been written for tenants, landlords, community groups, and anyone looking for simple and straightforward information about bedbugs.

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The Bed Bug Resource Manual