The Alexandra Park Social Development Plan

Revitalization is not just about the buildings in the community, it’s also about the people and how we can facilitate a positive neighbourhood experience.

The Alexandra Park Social Development Plan (SDP) serves as a road map for incorporating social development into the revitalization process. The Plan provides a framework to activate opportunities and initiatives that members of the community themselves have indicated as priorities.

The SDP was co-created by the community, the City of Toronto, and the Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC). Community members were engaged in the process through resident committees, surveys, conversation cafes, and consultations. Through these mechanisms, residents were asked to identify their intended goals for Alexandra Park as it transitions into a mixed-income, mixed-use, and mixed-tenure community.

Six goals were identified during the development of the SDP:

1. Safety
2. Social cohesion
3. Community heritage
4. Accessible programs and services
5. Resident engagement
6. Community economic development

The SDP outlines actions and initiatives for each of these goals, which will be implemented by residents, local service providers, City Divisions and TCHC. To ensure the SDP grows and changes as the community does, it will be monitored and evaluated and can be amended by the community, with a commitment to refresh it periodically.

The SDP will help ensure Alexandra Park emerges from its revitalization process as an inclusive, respectful and safe community, where residents can access local programs and services to support their everyday needs.

Keep an eye out for the following community projects funded by the 2023 Alexandra Park SDP Grant:

YLIT (Youth Leaders In Training) aims to empower 20 youth residents of Alexandra Park, aged 13 to 29, by providing them with leadership skills and training. They will play a direct role in developing and facilitating over 10 fall programs, including sports activities, homework tutoring, and mental health support.

Participants will attend bi-weekly workshops focusing on employment readiness, career insights, and healthy lifestyle habits. They will have the opportunity to choose their placement within the program, enabling them to inform programming based on their experiences, develop facilitation and communication skills, and seek further opportunities. Additionally, these participants will become community leaders, strengthening support networks and opportunities for future youth. As a recognition of their dedication, SCCC plans to offer participants a wilderness retreat upon program completion.

Seniors with Brushes is scheduled to run weekly for 16 weeks from mid-August to the end of December. Each week, seniors will either acquire new art skills or refine those they've recently learned. These skills encompass perspective, form, color theory, wood burning, and more. Facilitators-in-training will start by observing and assisting but are encouraged to eventually lead at least one session, ideally more, before the program concludes.

Friends of Randy Padmore Park Revitalization Project's goal is to hire a community organizer to facilitate regular gatherings, both in the park and at the Alexandra Park Community Centre, to encourage discussions on community ideas and concerns. These meetings will promote awareness and foster unity while focusing on the utilization of the park. Additionally, we plan to organize two community events featuring music, food, speakers, and collaborative work groups to establish a consensus on park usage. Our ultimate objective is to gather input from community members regarding their reasons for not utilizing the park and then formulate a proposal to address these concerns and enhance park accessibility.

The Culinary Divas, a group of Atkinson Co-op residents experienced in catering community events, aim to extend their expertise to the wider community through a 6-week cooking class concentrating on Caribbean cuisine. This program will be conducted in collaboration with Scadding Court. The goals encompass fostering social connections, enhancing access to Scadding Court services for Alexandra Park residents, facilitating cross-cultural learning through culinary experiences, sharing recipes, and promoting cooking skills and awareness of healthy, homemade eating.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is eligible?

Applicants must meet all of the following criteria:

• Applicants must be a community or resident-led group based in Alexandra Park. This could include resident associations, grassroots or emerging organizations, unincorporated non-profits, or incorporated non-profits.
• Be in good standing with the City of Toronto.
• Comply with the City of Toronto's Grants Policy.
• Familiarity with Alexandra Park's specific SDP action areas and goals.
• Demonstrate readiness to design, implement and evaluate your project’s activities and its outcomes to help advance the selected SDP action item(s).

Ineligible applicants include:

• Organizations, community or resident groups that do not offer services in Alexandra Park
• Organizations that are not based in Alexandra Park
• Organizations with less than 50% Toronto residents on their board
• Individuals or for-profit businesses or ventures
• BIAs* (*BIAs may be listed as project partners but cannot apply as grant applicants)
• Religious organizations that cannot show a clear separation between religious and community service functions
• Political parties
• Grant-making organizations
• Industry or trade associations
• Organizations with mandates from other levels of government (universities, schools, hospitals, etc.)
• Landlord/tenant and condominium corporations

What types of initiatives does the Alexandra Park SDP Grant fund?

The Alexandra Park SDP Grand intends to fund time-limited projects that are:

• Temporary, time-limited projects or activities with a defined start and end date that corresponds to the grant funding period (e.g. project activities will end by Dec. 31, 2023).
• New activities or new enhancements of ongoing initiatives. Note, if applying for new enhancements of ongoing initiatives, describe how the enhancements will conclude after the funding period has ended, or how you will continue to sustain the enhancements after the grant funding ends.
• Neighbourhood-based in the Alexandra Park community, an area bounded by Alexandra Park is bounded by Dundas Street West on the north, Spadina Avenue on the east, Queen Street West on the south, and Bathurst Street on the west.
• Designed to engage a diversity of community members including residents and/or resident leaders and community partners in the planning, implementation and evaluation phases of the work.
• A catalyst for change.

Will there be another opportunity to apply next year?

For questions about the grant program program, the SDP action plan or approach to funding, please email or call: Jedrek So, Community Development Officer at (416) 554-2355 or Jedrek.So@toronto.ca and Mohsin Khattak (APCC) at mohsin@alexparkcc.org.

Published: May 8, 2023

Updated: October 20, 2023