In wrapping up the Renewing Commercial Districts project, funded by Metcalf Foundation, WoodGreen convened a group of researchers, urban planners, and community development staff to look at another area of the Danforth East. They mapped the historical shifts that have occurred in and around the neighbourhood, looked to other jurisdictions for models to support small businesses, and suggested further possible policy and program adaptions. Download PDF
Extending Our Reach summarizes the findings of a feasibility study that investigated how WoodGreen's Financial Empowerment (FE) program can effectively use technology to reach community members who are immobile, isolated or otherwise facing barriers. Extending the reach of our Financial Empowerment program provides much-needed services in our community. WoodGreen will coordinate our FE services with other supports in the community to improve the financial stability of lower-income Ontarians. This Feasibility Study was generously supported by the Ontario Trillium Foundation. Download PDF
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.
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
Much that is exciting and promising has happened since then, including:
The CAFE report (PDF) is here.
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.
A report on community connections and how older adults fared in East York. Download PDF.
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.
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A Visual Representation of Professional Networks within Toronto East Local Immigration Partnership Download PDF
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. Download PDF
This information guide has been written for tenants, landlords, community groups, and anyone looking for simple and straightforward information about bedbugs. Download PDF