A message from the Chair

In 2021, COVID-19 continued to challenge all of us and we recognize that it was a difficult year for many tenants. TCHC prioritized our commitment to tenants by ensuring the safety of our buildings and spaces during the pandemic, improving our services overall, and focusing our efforts on providing clean and well-maintained homes across all of our communities.

It was an eventful year for our Board at Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC). In February, we approved TCHC’s Confronting Anti-Black Racism Strategy. The strategy will guide TCHC in implementing changes needed to address the realities of anti-Black racism experienced by Black tenants and staff, and to proactively dismantle policies, systems and procedures that reinforce anti-Black racism. In June, the Board approved funding for a key recommendation of the strategy, the creation of The Centre for Advancing the Interests of Black People, which began operating in December 2021.

The Board said farewell to Kevin Marshman, who retired after serving for two years as President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Kevin had also served as Board Chair and Vice Chair during his five years of dedicated service to TCHC. Later in the year, following an extensive search process led by the Board, we announced the appointment of Jag Sharma as President and CEO. When he joined us in August, Jag brought exemplary leadership skills and an unwavering commitment to service excellence. The Board is confident that, under Jag’s leadership, TCHC will continue to improve its service delivery and business operations.

Our Board welcomed two new directors in 2021: Tenant Director Marcel Charlebois and Citizen Director Naram Mansour, and welcomed back Tenant Director Ubah Farah for a second term. We thanked Tenant Director Amanda Coombs and Citizen Director Linda Jackson for their service during their terms, which ended in 2021. We also began a process to add a third Tenant Director to the Board which will be completed in 2022.

Our board provided oversight and advice in 2021 on the transition to the new Toronto Seniors Housing Corporation (TSHC). The transition has involved the boards of both corporations, the TSHC Transition Team, TCHC management and City staff working together for a smooth transition. Our goal is to implement the transition in a way that minimizes disruption and positions both Toronto Seniors Housing Corporation and a smaller, focused Toronto Community Housing for future success.

On behalf of the Board, I want to thank all TCHC employees for the tremendous work they have done throughout 2021 to deliver our response to COVID-19. Staff did exemplary work to deliver essential services and keep tenants safe by connecting them to food, medications and other urgently needed supports. They also organized some 400 clinics in our buildings to break down barriers and help seniors and isolated tenants get the vaccine. The Board deeply appreciates these efforts.

Tim Murphy (he/him)
Chair, Board of Directors

A message from the President and CEO

This is an important time for Toronto Community Housing. We have a great team with great leaders, great tenants who care about TCHC and want to be part of the solution, great partners and stakeholders, and strong support from our shareholder, the City of Toronto. Our strategic priorities are the right priorities at the right time. They set the groundwork for delivering service excellence and meeting the support needs of tenants.

TCHC continued to improve service delivery in 2021 through the Tenant Service Hubs in the family portfolio and the Integrated Service Model in the seniors portfolio. We opened 88 Tenant Service Hubs across the city and are adding more in 2022. The Hubs reflect our commitment to empowering decision-making by local staff to support tenants’ needs. In September 2021, our Seniors Housing Unit launched Phase 2 of the Integrated Service Model for seniors housing. By the end of the year, staff were using this enhanced approach for delivering services and supports in 52 of our 83 seniors buildings. Once fully implemented in 2022, the model will support more than 14,000 senior tenants to age in place with dignity and in comfort.

In 2021 we began work to transition the responsibility for operating our 83 seniors-designated buildings to the Toronto Seniors Housing Corporation. We welcome this opportunity to make a strong contribution to our city and help senior tenants get the housing, health and community supports they need. TCHC, TSHC and the City are working together to plan for a smooth transition on June 1, 2022.

We made great strides in 2021 in replacing our aging information technology infrastructure and transforming our business processes through the HoMES project. HoMES will give our staff the information and tools they need to deliver tenancy management and build a business intelligence foundation that supports timely decisions and effective actions.

In launching The Centre for the Advancement of the Interests of Black People in 2021, we delivered a key recommendation of our Confronting Anti-Black Racism Strategy. The Centre is an open, safe space to have conversations about race and anti-Black racism. It will drive our efforts to address systemic anti-Black racism and, in turn, address all forms of discrimination and prejudice, and build a foundation for strengthening equity, diversity and inclusion across TCHC.

TCHC cannot solve issues of crime and gun violence alone, but we learned from incidents in 2021 about how we can listen to those impacted by violence in our communities and work with our partners to find solutions. Through our Violence Reduction Program, we continued to implement a range of enforcement, community economic development, social supports and youth programs in communities that have been deeply impacted by gun violence.

Our actions are building employee pride, tenant confidence and the trust of our partners and City shareholder. While there is still more work to do, our efforts have energy and momentum, and we are on the right path to consistently deliver positive outcomes for the tenants and families who call TCHC home.

Jag Sharma (he/him)
President and Chief Executive Officer

2021 Investing in Our Diversity Scholarships

2021 was another successful year for the Investing in our Diversity Scholarship Program.

The program awarded scholarships to 49 recipients who will attend 15 different colleges or universities across Ontario, Canada and the United States.

The Investing in our Diversity Scholarships are awarded to Toronto youth based on academic excellence, financial eligibility and community leadership. The scholarships promote youth empowerment, diversity and community safety in Toronto. Students receive up to $4,000 to pursue postsecondary studies or professional training.

The Investing in Our Diversity Scholarship Program was founded in 2001 by the late Bill McMurtry, Founding Partner, Blaney McMurtry LLP, and Kevin Lee, former Executive Director of Scadding Court Community Centre. Toronto Community Housing became a partner in 2006.

View this video to hear the stories of two successful scholarship recipients and a scholarship donor.

Representing and connecting the community: Rob Bezanson

Rob Bezanson has always been an active member of his community. Born in Nova Scotia, Rob has been a firefighter and a paramedic, and has practised law. Now, he is a TCHC Building Committee Co-Chair and Community Representative for his building.

As a new tenant to TCHC in 2012, Rob was motivated to investigate how he could contribute to his community. In seeking opportunities to help, various barriers to communicate presented a challenge. As he worked through these barriers over the years, the building tenant representative invited him to a Tenant Representatives meeting.

After attending a couple of their meetings, he asked the Community Services Coordinator (CSC) if he could organize a tenant meeting in his building. This led to the development and creation of the building’s Health and Safety Committee that is still in effect. During the meeting, it was decided that the group needed another “team leader”. Rob was unanimously voted in as a Building Committee Co-Chair and Community Representative.

Rob has long recognized that there are two sides to every problem and that there is always a way to make a solution work. “When you build a solid community, your problems become easier to correct,” says Rob. “It’s about bringing people together to resolve challenges and get on the same page.”

One of the first things Rob did as Building Committee Co-Chair and Community Representative was to invite the Community Safety Unit, followed by Toronto Police Service and Toronto Fire Services, to meet and engage with tenants in his building. The sessions were well received, and tenants have shared that they appreciate the opportunity to ask questions and build connections.

Since Rob became a Community Representative, he has worked tirelessly on new initiatives for his building. This includes the repainting of the building’s recreation room for re-opening, starting a food bank, running a book club, creating a kid’s area, and preparing the patio that will be ready for the summer.

While much of Rob’s work through TCHC’s tenant engagement has been paused during the COVID-19 pandemic, he continues to work hard on maintaining lines of communication with TCHC. He emphasizes the importance of improving communication and building greater respect for all tenants in TCHC communities. One of his goals is to share his experience at TCHC and to work toward challenging the social stigma associated with living in his community.

As an advocate for his neighbours, he is enthusiastic about continuing to work with TCHC, creating a new dynamic between the organization and tenants in his community. Rob believes that there still is work to be done to improve the situation for tenants. "I look forward to getting started now that we are hopefully approaching a different phase in the COVID-19 pandemic.”