EYET’s Community Conversation: Return to in-person: Emerging from the COVID-19 Pandemic
During the Community Conversation on August 18, 2022, we hosted a panel discussion with three distinguished guests, each holding management positions within well-known non-profit agencies. They provided their views on how demand for services increased throughout the pandemic and what that entailed for frontline staff at their respective locations. We learned that a high demand for services has continued along with creative and innovative approaches for addressing persistent challenges.
In facilitated small-group conversations, we found that participants were experiencing some of the same challenges at their places of work. Clients appear to have the same or similar needs, as they did during the pandemic, including a need for housing, food security, and employment to name a few.
See below for highlights from the panel discussion followed by notes taken during the breakout activity organized under themes.
Highlights from August 18th Panel Discussion with Alaka Brahma, Rejwan Karim, Sarah Singh:
During the first part of the pandemic a number of agencies saw an increase in funding for programs addressing the impacts on community members.
Agencies also saw a huge increase in demand for all types of services (Ex. housing, food security, employment, etc.)
Demand in housing services has resulted in having to prioritize which clients to help first. For example, helping a survivor of domestic violence versus a first time applicant to Access to Housing.
Many of our services had to pivot to virtual, but now that in person offices are opening up again there is an expectation that hybrid models will continue. In some cases, staff were making home visits during the pandemic and now clients are expecting the same level of service while funding cuts are beginning to take place.
It was noted that client mental health has been a challenge for frontline staff with more complaints happening. To address this, agencies have been providing training to staff members on de-escalation and conflict resolution, for example.
Ensuring staff wellness is also a concern for Managers. Managers have had to make sure staff are well and staff have had to take care of themselves in order to be there for clients.
Another strategy mentioned involves placing caps on the number of applications staff have to process to a level staff can realistically achieve.
Future outlook is uncertain. Will our services have to close down again? Trying to prepare for that. It is important to reflect on what has been learned and bring these learnings into the future. For example, make sure there is a pool of relief staff to ensure a level of continued service, if staff need to be away.
Notes taken during Breakout Groups:
Hybrid Models
Some drop-ins never closed, even during pandemic shutdown restrictions
Hybrid (in person, over the phone, by email, visits at home or out in the community)
Partially closed agencies that clients had a hard time navigating
Agencies that underwent location changes during the pandemic placing more stress on to staff
What we learned: Whether or not an organization closed to in person services during the pandemic, the demand for services has generally gone up and has not decreased. This also means that for services that went virtual or hybrid, there is now an expectation that these alternative service models (in person, over the phone, by email, visits at home and/or out in the community) should continue and have in essence created more work for service professionals.
Challenges Facing our Clients
Continued housing crisis at the municipal, provincial and national levels.
Clients with mental health, anxiety and anger about the housing situation.
Clients not being able to access “in demand” services right away. Having to wait in line just like everybody else.
New Access to Housing online centralized waitlist portal: 1) Clients not being able to use the portal independently (no email or laptop) and staff having to essentially process 100% of the application for them. 2) Getting client’s paperwork together for the Access to Housing application (e.g. taxes). 3) Even if someone expresses interest in a unit, does not mean that they will get the unit.
The wait for Special Priority Category (SPP) application is more than 1 year to get offers.
SPP clients have to live in abusive situations longer. Or live in shelters longer.
Continued housing challenges in the private rental market (bidding wars, discriminatory practices by landlords, affordability, etc.)
Increased poverty
Client scenario: A family of refugees from Afghanistan. They were asked for 4 to 5 months’ rent in advance. It seems as if landlords can ask for anything they want. The family is completely dependent on food banks. They have no furniture. Currently sleeping on carpets.
Strategies and Tactics
Staff and managers are having to work together and use what they
have access to.
Workload caps on the number of clients being served.
Even though this helps so that workers don’t get overwhelmed or
overworked. This does not necessarily address situations where new clients
approach an agency saying that they are about to lose their place or instances
where they have already lost their place. So demand is still there.
Limiting time spent in direct service with individual clients and
placing time limits for how long a client can stay at a drop-in.
Frontline staff having to offer emotional support and validation
to clients. At the same time asking clients for their patience because this is
the reality of the situation right now.
Staff Mental Health and
Burnout
Supportive supervisors that recognize when staff are becoming
overworked and allow for some flexibility to manage this (by allowing staff to
come in later the next day for instance).
Managers frequently checking in with staff to avoid burnout.
Vacation days for staff and ability to arrange coverage.
Staff having to move out of Toronto for more affordable housing.
Trying to call them back to work is challenging, if they require child care.
Our Present Situation
Resources still being offered are helpful like food bank services, hygiene kits, harm reduction supplies, etc.
The message from one group was that this is only the beginning of hard times to come. We are not through the pandemic.
Regarding funding cuts to housing support programs:
We haven’t seen the impact of this as of yet.
There is a lack of housing for people.
Are cuts to funding going to escalate the current housing crisis?
All services are under-resourced. E.g. Food banks, mental health supports, etc.
Due to increased poverty it may become more difficult to manage clients living in these situations
Essentially there will be less housing resources for people in this city.
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EYET’s Community Conversation: Exploring challenges and barriers for LGBTQ+ Newcomers
During the Community Conversation on April 27, 2022, we invited a guest presenter from Access Alliance Multicultural Health & Community Services to speak about key findings from their 2021 published report on Beyond Positive Intentions – supporting the social services sector with the purpose of advancing well-being and equity for LGBTQ+ Newcomers.
In the facilitated small-group conversations, most event participants did not find this report surprising as many of them have witnessed that LGBTQ +Newcomers are one the most vulnerable and neglected groups in our communities. Unfortunately, they often arrive here in the mind that you could find a safe space, but find it challenging to settle down.
In the breakout groups, participants also discussed the challenges faced by LGBTQ+ Newcomers and shared some solutions and resources. Click Here to see a list of resources for LGBTQ+ Newcomers.
Key Challenges Identified:
In one instance, an LGBTQ+ Newcomer stayed with family members for a certain amount of time, and when the family found out about their sexual orientation, they had to leave.
In general, LGBTQ+ Newcomers face problems of having no privacy and staying in unacceptable accommodations like a storage room.
Citizenship status is a big issue.
Barriers faced by LGBTQ+ Newcomers include being disrespected and excluded even within LGBTQ+ specific services.
The experiences of refugees with families, and if services change for them when they disclose their LGBTQ+ identity.
A main challenge for health service providers/practitioners is making ‘dead end’ referrals to housing support, which results in clients being placed on a 15 year wait list.
Within primary care, lack of knowledge and awareness of community resources for this population.
Newcomers face discrimination with landlords in regards to race, their source of income and having low income.
Landlords request a credit check, but LGBTQ+ Newcomers don’t have a history in the country.
Income is a big challenge for newcomers. There is simply not enough transitional or supportive housing.
Private market rental units are mostly unaffordable.
Housing workers work from ‘Housing First’ model, but this could represent a barrier – clients need to focus on finding housing rather than securing work that could assist them in finding and maintaining housing.
Other barriers include language, low knowledge of Canada/city they are in, combined with addressing mental health and/or emotional needs.
There are very few services for individuals with intersecting identities (ex. trans man who is pregnant). The more variables in a person’s life the harder it is.
Recommendation
Spreading knowledge of rental laws, and the tenants’ rights. It is essential to have information like this in the particular language, keeping LGBTQ+ Newcomers in mind.
LGBTQ+ Newcomers often require more privacy in some cases. There should be a recognition of this and there should be more subsidies available to them.
Mandatory training for landlords.
A forum like this needs to be created where community workers can speak with other people in similar fields. More awareness and education need to be created to advocate for LGBTQ+ Newcomers at various levels.
More agencies should start having these discussions. There should be best practices developed.
Sharing of available resources is important so that whenever community workers meet people who need them, good connections are already established to refer them.
City-run shelter workers need to get ongoing training and information about how to work with this population.
There should be more hiring of LGBTQ+ newcomers in helping roles, to create more visibility.
Housing is a human right and should be looked at this way by everyone including landlords.
It is important to know that sometimes LGBTQ+ Newcomers want to avoid people from their own communities.
Even though more shelters are being made for Newcomers. More needs to be done for LGBTQ+ Newcomers, specifically.
One-time training is not enough to address the needs of LGBTQ+ Newcomers. Accountability is important and involves leadership and government to get involved.
Accountability mechanisms should be in place where complaints can be brought to municipal government / housing commissioner.
More needs to be done on the ground. An example is rotation of shelter staff. Agencies often use casual, on calls or relief staff. Communication between these staff and regular employees needs to improve. Clients are having to repeat their needs and story, which lacks consistency and could be triggering for these individuals.
Shelter staff need to use an intersectional lens and try not to erase culture. Clients should be allowed to keep their identities and staff should learn how to address diversity, inclusion and equity.
Click Here to see a list of resources for LGBTQ+ Newcomers
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EYET’s Community Conversation: Aging in Place, Featuring the Steering Committee on Aging in Place, Toronto
People living with mental illness and addictions have complex health and social needs, are at higher risk of experiencing poverty, homelessness, and housing instability, and are at a higher risk of experiencing the effects of aging prematurely. People aging prematurely – before the age of 65 – are unable to access supports and services, including supportive housing, that is reserved for seniors in the community.
On September 15, 2021, EYET invited the Steering Committee on Aging in Place, Toronto, to participate in a Community Conversation focused on engaging with housing professionals about how to better support the unique housing needs of a prematurely aging population.
During this Community Conversation, members of the Aging in Place Steering Committee spoke to key findings from that report, identified some of the unique needs of an early aging population, and offered some insights into the systemic barriers to housing stability that are faced by this community.
Using facilitated small-group conversations, housing professionals discussed the challenges experienced related to housing stability and evection prevention for clients who are aging prematurely, shared strategies that they and their organizations use to manage those challenges, discussed resources that exist – or are missing – that would be helpful for housing professionals, and identified some of the system changes that would be required to support stable housing for people who are aging prematurely.
Key Challenges Identified:
Access to Suitable Housing Options
Waitlists through Access Point is extremely long, leaving many people waiting until the end of their loves
There are some housing options that can be accessed at age 55, but there are not enough spaces for seniors, let along options for younger people who exhibit the signs of aging early
Buildings with elevators – and program services and housing with elevators – is limited, and accommodation requests will frequently leave people with mobility limitations unhoused or rejected from applications
There are some congregate living houses that are agency-operated, but they often have stairs and are not physically accessible, and there is not enough funding allocated to those upgrades by funders
There is a severe limitation of available long-term care for people who are not seniors
Available Supports
Clients that experience premature aging often need connection to supports that are targeted and available to seniors. Because this population do not meet the age eligibility requirements, they are left without access, creating a gap in needs-to-services
Medication costs can be extremely high, and there are no income supports committed to prescription coverage for a prematurely aging population
Many clients need a case management approach to providing supports, but service agencies are limited and there are not enough case managers to support their needs, help them manage their health and wellbeing, and maintain their housing
Eligibility Limitations
Some services are eligible to very specific, severe cases and people whose health is deteriorating rapidly are unable to apply until their condition meets eligibility, even though there is a clear trajectory in place
Income supports are limited, ODSP does not cover enough for housing and clients are ineligible for other seniors-specific funding and income supports, despite sharing many of the same barriers, challenges, and needs
Seniors’ waitlists are long, and clients are not able to apply to those waitlists early, which would allow less wait time after into eligibility
Isolation
A lack of social connection and access pathways to community engagement has left many prematurely aging community members isolated, and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic only exasperated that isolation
People need to feel safe to access resources in their area, it’s challenging when people have to move outside of their current communities in order to find affordable or supportive housing, which increases isolation
Cultural and Language Differences
Many clients – especially immigrant and refugee populations – have cultural expectations around aging (ie. family support) that are different from the Canadian cultural context which puts pressure on family dynamics, and on workers who may be faced with language barriers and risks of breeching confidentiality when communicating to family members on behalf of clients
Language barriers can prohibit clients from communicating their needs, from accessing appropriate medical services that could support access to services (ie: communicating medical experiences to physicians, workers, and others)
Disabilities
Individuals with developmental disabilities age faster, and premature aging is not encapsulated within the services and financial supports available for people with disabilities
People with developmental disabilities have shorter life expectancies, and systems were set up with this expectation, but people who are living longer than expected are falling through the cracks
Transition Supports
When circumstances change, often abruptly, there is no clear, easeful pathway to transition to different types of supports
For example, when people with disabilities who have been living independently experiencing a medical crisis that results in a sudden need for supportive living are left in limbo: they can’t be discharged to their independent living situations, and a new process of resource identification, application, and wait lists must begin
Strategies to Meet Challenges:
Group Homes for Living and Aging Together
New buildings designed with accessibility and B3 Care Standards enable aging in place, as they are specifically constructed to be able to add in door openers, lifts, and other things that may be needed as a person ages
Apartment approach is easier to support aging in place than houses, as there are often physical accessibility considerations constructed into the buildings, and residents may have more access to a sense of community that could combat isolation
Supportive Housing and My Access to Housing
Supporting clients in their application for Supportive Housing and My Access to Housing is helpful, and ensuring clients understand how the priority waitlist operated so that there is clarity on the wait times
Advocating for clients to be moved up the waitlist if they are exhibiting signs of progressive illness, in anticipation of them needing supportive housing after independent living
Case Management
Eliminating a time limit on case management for clients who are exhibiting early signs of aging, ensuring they have case managers through to end-of-life care
Medical Support
Including medical support to meet the added challenge of clients not trusting the medical system due to experiences of dismissal and judgement
Referring clients to Community Health Centres to find medical treatment, which are quite knowledgeable and empathetic to early aging populations
Accompanying clients to medical appointments to ensure their symptoms of early aging are being communicated and addressed
Community Education and Outreach
It would be helpful to collaboratively create a guideline for people who are experiencing early signs of aging so that they can understand their medical needs, create a plan for self-advocacy, and access the supports they can anticipate needing
This guide should include information and education about different medical conditions that can arise with early aging, common treatments, and expectations for treatment and healing journeys
Helpful Resources
Community Resources and Referrals
Supports for hoarding behaviours, including hiring specialized Hoarding Support Workers and finding additional help with the Toronto Hoarding Network, has been helpful for some clients
An association or central organization that focuses on this specific issue would be helpful, and organizations could work together to share experiences, lobby for changes, and create a stronger voice about the needs of this population
A central organization could also provide literature and information in multiple languages about premature aging, targeted to the population itself
Training
Specialized training available for service providers that is dedicated to premature aging, including strategies for support, eligibility and programming, and advocacy
Technical Support
Access to devices, and skill development training for use
Access to devices that are outside the home to support the needs of community members who are residing with abusers
Supports for creating email addresses and learning how to update digital files
Access to, and training on, scanners and file uploading requirements for My Access to Housing Toronto
Resources within the Shelter System
Training for staff dedicated to building trust and improving shelter staff and community member relationships, to push back on perceptions of being policed or over-regulated
Resources within the shelter system for transitional housing options for prematurely aging populations
System Change
Advocacy
Pressure on the City to put in place more supportive housing and in-house services
Education in the Medical Field about the impacts that the Social Determinants of Health have on aging, specifically
More case managers and case planning with realistic expectations about the length of client-facing appointments
Computer and tech provision to accompany the My Access to Housing changes and system expectations
Record Keeping and Data Sharing
Centralized file keeping and updating to avoid the need to re-upload information to multiple channels
Centralized computer stations through My Access to Housing, where service users can access their centrally kept files
Education, Training, Guidance
Guidance for workers on how to access necessary services faster, before medical conditions escalate
Resources and training on how to address the question of premature aging
Centralized information on resources and referral options
Eligibility Re-Definition, “Senior” Redefined
Better definition of “senior” is needed, based on development and health condition; this has been acknowledged in the National Seniors Strategy
Re-define eligibility requirements for government programs and supports around specific health conditions rather than age
Open long-term care to health-based eligibility
If age-based eligibility persists, allow early applications for people who are anticipating aging, to reduce wait times once eligible
Funding Priorities
Realistic, service-provider directed needs assessment from all funders
Language and interpretation support, and free translation and interpretation from all government agencies, including My Access to Housing and Income Supports
Technology access funding to ensure access for clients to computers, internet, phones, data, etc.
Transition supports for life changes that easefully shift someone from one type of programming/support to another, without having to re-apply or do a new application procedure
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The current state of evictions and potential strategies for promoting housing stability after the most recent province-wide lockdown.
East York East Toronto Family Resources (EYET) hosted a Community Conversation on June 9th featuring the Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation (CERA) to gather housing professionals from across Toronto to learn more about the current state of evictions in the City of Toronto and discuss challenges and potential strategies for promoting housing stability after the most recent province-wide lockdown.
Breakout groups were offered space to share services available at their own agencies, to share concerns and identify community needs, and to consider skills and strategies that could support the work of maintaining housing for those impacted most by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The breakout rooms invited conversation around three prompts:
Eviction Prevention: What have the impacts of Bill 184 been in the work of eviction prevention? What strategies are you using to prevent evictions? Are you supporting the creation of rent arrears repayment plans?
Eviction Support: How are you strategically preparing to support clients through the anticipated influx of evictions? How have you been supporting clients through online eviction hearings?
Services and Referrals: What services and supports are you offering, or are you referring your clients to, to better support them in either keeping their housing, or preparing for evictions?
The conversations highlighted some significant challenges that are shared by housing professionals and service users across the City of Toronto, shed some light on the unmet needs of service users in the current economic climate, and identified some strategies and resources that housing professionals have found helpful in the work of housing stability.
Sector Needs and Identified Issues:
Language support for clients:
Participants identified the challenges that tenants who do not speak English as a first language face in fighting evictions and maintaining housing.
Issues include:
Rental agreements and leases are legal documents that need to be translated and there is limited capacity and budgets for agencies to translate/hire translation services
Negotiations and mediation with landlords can require translation, and tenants with limited English language proficiency do not have access to translation support to ensure they are fully understanding the terms of the negotiation or mediation
The Landlord Tenant Board does not offer translation services, and so tenants that must go to the LTB are forced to participate in complex legal proceedings that are conducted in English, limiting their capacity to fully access the proceedings and fully communicate their side
The changes that Bill 184 have introduced has resulted in some arrear repayment negotiations being pushed by landlords, and some tenants would need those negotiations and the contracts translated, but resources for translation are limited
There are limited grants, funds, and resources available for translation services within frontline service agencies or within social services systems
Income supports programs and other systems of support (both governmental and nongovernmental) are provided and presented in English and (sometimes) French; translation services are uncommon
Participants named the strategy of mobilizing internal resources such as staff and volunteers who have offered translation supports for tenants, and identified a need for more funding supports and advocacy for translation services to be offered by governmental bodies, including the LTB as a solution to this challenge.
System Navigation for clients and housing professionals:
Participants identified the challenge that both housing professionals as well as tenants face in navigating processes and procedures within social service systems.
Issues include:
Inconsistent and conflicting experiences when speaking with representatives from government programs such as ODSP and OW
A lack of clarity in standard practices in government programs
The shift to remote working during the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in a decreased capacity for workers and tenants to connect with government agencies, which has increased risk of losing housing
Increased requests for support in making applications to receive a subsidy, as a result of reduced employment and prolonged unemployment during the Covid-19 pandemic
The shift to the Rent Café Portal has caused workers and tenants challenges in needing to learn to navigate a new system on top of an increased workload
Access to Housing Centralized waitlist applications have increased, while the waitlist length has grown
People experiencing homelessness have named discomfort at the intrusive questions from Central Intake, which has been traumatizing for some people
The shelter system remains overwhelmed, and people are staying homeless longer without shelter
Tenants are reporting a lack of clarity around the eviction processes, and there is a lack of standardized resources to explain the process
Social housing or RGI subsidies are challenging to navigate; HSF is less challenging, but require the knowledge of how to negotiate with TCH and OW/ODSP Caseworkers
Participants identified a need for clarity in government program procedures and increased accessible and free training for both workers as well as tenants in system navigation.
Financial Support and Budgeting:
Participants identified a major challenge that financial management and budgeting have caused tenants, and the ongoing inadequacy of income support rates as related to the increasingly high market rental rates in Toronto.
Issues include:
Ensuring that clients are budgeting accordingly to plan for rent payments in the long term
The need for increased knowledge and training around resources available to ODSP and OW recipients
More information and free, accessible training on the Covid-19 supports, such as CERB; some tenants had identified the issue of being told they must repay their CERB without having planned for that cost
A lack of clarity around the eviction ban has resulted in some tenants halting rent payment and now being faced with insurmountable arrears and unrealistic repayment plans
Bill 184 has resulted in tenants that do not have adequate support negotiating unrealistic repayment plans and being evicted rapidly
High market rental costs are forcing tenants to withhold rent because they have to choose between rent payment and essential goods like food, medicine, utilities, etc – some tenants would have to choose one or the other and had been alternating, building up arrears over time
Lack of access to subsidies for the internet, especially as the internet has been crucial to employment since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic
Budgeting for rent has been challenging and adding arrears repayment plans on top of rent payment is unrealistic for a lot of tenants, and they are at risk of losing their housing
Many tenants relying on income supports receive monthly payments that are not enough to cover the high costs of rent in Toronto
Participants named creative strategies to support client budgeting such as undertaking annual income reviews to adjust budgets, and negotiating for keeping rent as low as possible, even for tenants that are not on RGI. Participants aim to set tenants up with housing that is the lowest cost possible, and connect them to other subsidies like LEAP or resources like the food banks to make up their needs. Some participants have worked out a pre-payment plan with ODSP or OW to add an extra $50 or $100 to their rent so that arrears are received directly by sending the N4 to the ODSP or OW worker.
Sector Strategies of Support:
Collaborative partnerships for effective referrals:
Participants noted a need for collaboration, connection, and partnership development across the sector to create pathways for support for tenants at risk of losing housing, or unable to secure housing.
Opportunities for collaboration include:
Advocacy to call for subsidies, increased income supports payments, funding for language services, and continued rent freezes
Translation supports between housing support service agencies and newcomer support services, and advocating for language supports to be offered by the LTB
Sharing background information when a client moves out of one catchment area into another
Housing help centres and legal clinics for easeful referrals and support when facing an eviction notice
Coordinated service provision
Coordinated information about THAP and how to access
Coordinated landlord/housing provider information
Referral sheets that can be shared across the sector, identifying services in different areas of the city
Coordinated community mapping
Connection to municipal standards group to build advocacy and support on the tenant side
Proactive Planning & Early Intervention:
Participants recognized the importance of early intervention and creating proactive plans for mitigating the risk of eviction for a tenant, upon intake.
Some planning and intervention strategies include:
Preparing a safety plan with clients regarding their options in the case of eviction, before an eviction notice is even served
In the case of a likely eviction, include a soft-landing strategy that sees clients preparing for accessing a shelter bed before the eviction takes place, in case there is a wait list, to ensure there is no gap between housing and shelter
Applying for mediation to avoid a hearing and to avoid the sheriff
Setting up direct payment between income supports and landlord, or setting up a trust with the agency to pay rent and/or arrears on the behalf of a tenant who consents to do so
Note: there is no pay direct option for tenants on a senior’s income; this is a gap, but they can set up PAP payment from their bank account instead
Engage in a case management approach from the beginning of the relationship with the client to avoid getting to the place of eviction, where possible
Walking tenants through CRA documents, Service Canada calls, and other systems for accessing financial resources
Work towards a realistic repayment plan as soon as the arrears show up
Ask for tenants to bring all documentation required to receive a subsidy to the intake appointment: notice of assessment from last tax filing year; identification; indication of status in Canada; bank statements; etc. – this will help identify early on what could be missing, and build a tenant’s personal file for any potential applications, streamlining the process
As a worker, triage clients based on date of eviction notice and severity of case to ensure high workload does not mean people are falling through the cracks
Tenant Education and Support:
Participants named the education of tenants as a huge factor in preparing tenants for successful tenancies and maintaining housing. Gaps to knowledge around housing, rights and responsibilities, and system processes have led to high rates of evictions, and proactive education and support is the most effective eviction prevention tool.
Some strategies for tenant education and support include:
Education about rights as a tenant, including providing an information sheet upon tenancy, translated to their first language if possible, using clear and accessible language
Educate tenants that they have a right to demand a standard lease – often tenants are evicted due to the lack of a formal lease, or verbal leases that are easier to be broken
Providing FAQ sheets that detail some common misconceptions about tenant rights (ie: withholding rent due to maintenance issues; having to move out as soon as an eviction notice is served; the landlord can change your locks)
Provide “common scenarios in tenancies” to inform tenants about what to avoid and what to watch for if their tenancy is at risk
Provide tenants with viable options when they cannot make their rent (ie: paying something is better than paying nothing because showing effort will take them further in the case of an LTB hearing or mediation)
When facing evictions, a detailed step-by-step overview of how the LTB process works so that clients can feel prepared and there are no surprises
Bearing witness for clients to support their evidence collection in case of an LTB hearing
Creating a promissory note, if possible, to give to a landlord to avoid eviction in the case of arrears
Engaging in skill building with tenants around talking to landlords and assertive communication, including role playing a conversation with landlord
Provide technology on-site, if possible, so that clients can attend LTB virtual hearings if they do not have access to the internet or a computer
Provide a “virtual hub” accessible to clients where they can access computers to attend hearings, print/sign leases, print/sign documents required
Ensure tenants understand the reality of market rent, especially tenants who have been in the same unit for several years and are now at risk of eviction
Landlord Engagement and Mediation:
Proactive relationship building between tenants, their landlords, and housing professionals can contribute to housing stability in case of situations where eviction is a risk. Ensuring that landlords know that the tenant is supported can help
Some strategies for engaging with landlord and undertaking mediation include:
Ensuring that landlords know the tenant is supported by making direct connections to mitigate the risk of a tenant being unfairly treated
Bear witness for tenants who are experiencing challenges with their landlord or their unit to make sure landlords and property managers are following the rules
Offer evidence collection support, like photos, email drafting, 311 reporting, in the case of substandard maintenance
Offer mediation services, where possible, or refer to mediation services between the tenant and the landlord to reach an agreement and negotiate arrears repayment
Educate landlords about tenant rights, income supports, and resources accessible to tenants who are at risk of eviction, advocating for more time before an eviction notice is served
Work with Rent Bank or HSF to find funds to make payments in good faith if rent can’t be made or arrears repayment plans are extensively long
Ensure that any rental agreement is understood by the tenant, and offer translation services or plain-language versions of an agreement, where needed
Mitigate the power imbalance between landlords and tenants in the case of repayment plans by letting both landlords and tenants know that you will support arrears repayment plans to avoid the landlord offering a plan that is unrealistic, and the tenant feeling pushed to sign and set up for failure
Encourage tenants to get to know their neighbours in the building and connect around shared experiences, developing community in a shared building can support tenant rights, and connect them to a tenant organizing organization like the Federation of Metro Tenants Association for support
Helpful Resources:
Participants shared the most helpful resources, programs, services, and supports that their clients have accessed in maintaining housing stability after the lifting of the eviction moratorium in Ontario.
Interest-free loans for people facing arrears or other emergency housing costs. Currently operating a grant program offering non-repayable supports to anyone who lives in Toronto, pays market rent in an RTA-covered unit, is low-income but not on OW or ODSP, and meets other requirements.
Provides money management assistance to facilitate an improved, independent lifestyle for community members with a history of substance use and homelessness, through a stated Harm Reduction lens.
Free legal advice for people who cannot afford a lawyer or do not have representation
Eviction Prevention in the Community (EPIC)
City-provided wrap around eviction prevention services, from Shelter, Support, and Housing Administration (SSHA) EPIC only accepts referrals from specific partner agencies Learn more about the EPIC program in their Pilot Program Evaluation from 2018 here.
Division of the City that oversees social housing, centralized waitlist, emergency shelters and supports, street outreach, and housing stability services.
Baby and Me program supporting 15–25-year-old people who are pregnant or parenting to get a rental subsidy, as well as tenant rights information for young mothers Residential program for young mothers 13 years or older during post or pre-natal
Housed within West Toronto Community Legal Services, this housing help centre is a unique program situated within one of the 17 legal clinics in the city.
City funded program helping people transition from living on the street into permanent housing. Assists with follow up workers for a year after being housed to ensure rent payments, mediation, and other supports.
Community agency with case managers offering one-on-one sessions with clients who participate in their training programs. Programs include Essential Skills Training, Expressive Arts, Relief and Referral, and Paid Work Training Placement program.
Program from Anishnawbe Health that offers monthly rental subsidies, when available, to make housing affordable for community members with mental health and/or addictions issues, support in accessing other subsidies, and other eviction prevention services.
Mental Health and Justice Initiative provides housing support for folks currently or at-risk of homelessness who are involved in the criminal punishment system.
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East York East Toronto Family Resources Organization is pleased to announce that the Accessible Customer Service Policies are reviewed for 2021. To view our Accessible Customer Service Policies, please CLICK HERE.
East York East Toronto Family Resources Organization has also created a comprehensive Multi-Year Accessibility Plan for 2021 – 2025. To view our Multi-Year Accessibility Plan, please CLICK HERE.
The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has caused significant shifts in the ways our agencies are able to operate, provide services, and support people facing housing instability. Since March of 2020, our colleagues, clients, and neighbours have experienced disconnect, isolation, and disruption to the ways we work, the ways we live, and the ways that we connect as a community.
The EYET Community Conversation series seeks to bring us together, to engage, to collaborate, to build community, and to share skills and strategies for facing the unique challenges that this pandemic has presented.
These Community Conversations focus on specific, relevant, and timely housing and homelessness related topics, and invite housing professionals, managers, administrators, and service users together to work collaboratively on identifying needs, discussing strategies for meeting those needs, and sharing skills and ideas that have worked well.
Our Community Conversations are solutions-oriented, and facilitated by EYET staff and guest presenters. The ideas shared in our working groups are captured and compiled in this space for the benefit of the sector. Check the materials and resources that we have made available under each Community Conversation topic, shared by housing professionals from across Toronto.
To find the latest EYET events, workshops, and Community Conversations, click here. To learn more about the EYET Community Conversations, contact Savhanna Wilson at savhanna@eyetfrp.ca
On February 9th and 11th, 2021, housing professionals from across Toronto gathered in a series of Community Conversations to collectively discuss the needs of clients facing housing precarity/inadequacy, the challenges faced in the housing sector during a COVID-19 winter, and the resources available for supporting clients through winter months.
Together, housing professionals shared services available at their own agencies, discussed shifts and changes to service provision, and identified strategies and approaches to facing the challenges of this winter. By identifying the needs of clients and the gaps that exist in services that meet those needs, participants engaged in an effort to share strategies and ideas for support.
The conversations identified the consistent and ongoing needs that communities faced with housing precarity/inadequacy or experiencing homelessness share. Participants identified that folks without housing security were in particular need of:
Housing Help Services
Financial Supports
Food provision, including free or low-cost hot meals and hot beverages
Access to bathrooms with hot water
Access to showers
Access to internet and the devices required to connect online
Access to telephone services
Transportation access, including transit tokens, rides, and pre-paid presto passes
Shelter beds
Mental health supports
Warm clothing, socks, blankets
Clean water
More warming locations for extreme cold weather
More supports for encampments, and reduced policing in encampments
Readily available harm reduction supplies
Participants discussed the challenges that are shared across the sector by folks accessing services, and by service providers themselves. The most common challenges identified were:
Self-care and secondary trauma for service providers
Service providers are stretched thin and it is challenging to prioritize their own mental health and well-being.
Service providers are simultaneously experiencing the collective trauma of this pandemic and feeling called to increase supports offered, to the detriment of their own mental health.
Discrimination and stigmatization
Private market landlords still uphold discriminatory practices housing folks who are marginalized.
Some housed residents in areas where temporary shelter have been created either by the City (in the case of Roehampton) or by the community itself (in the case of encampments) have made complaints that have resulted in dislocation by unhoused residents.
Housing market remains unaffordable
People are struggling to find housing, or struggling to maintain the housing they have found. Employment losses and limited access to viable employment, combined with limitations of income supports, have made evictions consistent and threatening to housing stability for many community members.
Tech accessibility
Access to devices is necessary for surviving a COVID-19 winter, but cost is a barrier to obtaining devices for those in need, and a barrier for providing devices for service providers. Increased funding to provide organizations with devices to give to service users is needed.
Many services are offered online, and the internet remains an expensive and private offering. Locations with wifi access (like libraries, Tim Horton’s, McDonalds, etc) are closed, so communities have no way of accessing the internet
Mental Health
Critical mental health issues persist, but free mental health services remain limited, and some services remain closed due to the pandemic (some detox centers and drop-in mental health supports)
Online resources are available, but rely on access to tech and internet, which many unhoused or precariously/inadequately housed community members do not have
Physical health
Many clients do not have a regular physician for maintaining physical health, and can only access emergency services. Many clinics are limiting appointments to emergencies.
Shelter capacity and safety
There are not enough beds in the shelter system to provide safe indoor spaces to unhoused residents of Toronto.
Shelters are difficult to social distance in, and COVID outbreaks in the shelter system cause uncertainty and risk. Many community members would prefer to live in encampments where they are able to have isolated, socially distanced, and private dwellings in tents or temporary structures.
Shelters and hotel beds have had restrictions that have proved challenging for service users, and many unhoused people with pets have reported challenges and issues with keeping their pets, preferring encampment residency.
Encampment supports are limited, and encampments remain a violation of city bylaws
Limited indoor spaces are consistently full, access to indoor spaces (libraries; Tim Horton’s; McDonalds) is closed; face-to-face supports is high risk and so reduced; encampments continue to be cleared.
Service reduction
Drop-ins are limited to unhoused service users, creating a gap in access for folks who are housed but rely on drop-in services for meals, socializing, and computer/tech access.
Face-to-face services are reduced, limiting ability of service providers to build rapport and trust with service users.
Food provision services saw an increased level of donations at the beginning of the pandemic, but the donations have tapered and it is challenging to continue to provide hot meals during the winter months
Volunteer support decreased
With COVID restrictions and ongoing emergency measures, programs that have relied on volunteer supports have not been able to keep up with demand due to capacity constraints of the lack of volunteers.
Warming locations are limited
There are only four warming locations in the city
There is transportation between the warming centres, but there are no other pickup locations for residents seeking warming spot during extreme cold weather
The participants also shared expert insight into some strategies that could be helpful for community members experiencing homelessness, or who are inadequately housed:
Government supports and government relations
The province, City, and federal governments need to work more closely together to ensure affordable housing options.
More coops need to be built by the Federal Government.
The City could rent condos where vacancy rates have risen during the pandemic.
Income supports are not enough, and now some clients are facing punitive measures against accessing CERB while on social supports
Supports are offered online, but there is not enough effort to provide the tech required to access them.
Outreach van providing hot meals, essential clothing and hygiene supplies
Partnerships with health support services and shelters
Meal box program (currently on hold)
The Ve’ahavta Skills Academy (VSA), a free nine-week intensive digital program that provides training and support in the areas of essential skills and career exploration, in partnership with George Brown College.
The Building Foundations for Women (BFW) program, is a free nine-week intensive digital program that provides training and support for women facing socio-economic, immigration, and/or mental health challenges.
For Women, interest free loans for furniture when moving into a new place
Toronto Public Libraries
Internet connectivity kits provides vital connections for by equipping people with a free laptop and WiFi hotspot with four months of unlimited data. Participants will keep the laptop and Wi-Fi hotspot at the end of the program.
When open, access to bathrooms and washrooms, and provision of referrals to community services
Free skill-building program managed by the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) designed to help people aged 15+ manage low mood, mild to moderate depression and anxiety, stress or worry, delivered over the phone with a coach and through online videos.
Food Security Program delivers fresh food boxes, prepared meals and groceries to clients who have physical disabilities or other barriers to shopping.
Purchased cell phones for clients who did not have phones to connect with their case managers and laptops for clients who are at high risk and require a higher level of contact through video case management sessions.
Social-recreation workshops to our clients by video such as yoga, dance, and cooking sessions.
The Pathways To Home Program, designed to address the critical lack of 24/7 intensive on-site high support housing for long-term users of the shelter system who have complex mental health and/or developmental disabilities as well as physical health challenges.
The RCTech OUTREACH program and the Computers for Schools+ program provide qualifying students, individuals and families with affordable renewed computers, ready to use software and learning modules all in one package.
Nonprofits that provide services to students, individuals, and families may qualify to participate in their program to help clients access affordable technology, by becoming a program partner.
Providing virtual OW Caseworkers through WebEx in shelters for people without phones
OW is not currently requesting documentation for folks with no fixed addresses
MDOT Team (to discuss a potential referral, please call Streets to Homes at 416-338-4766 or the M-DOT office at 647-777-0130). They can often find rooms for people who are homeless. If there is a homeless client, they will go out to the client.
Housing Stabilization Fund has increased to allow clients up to $1,600 in one year, so they can acquire it twice per year.
Seniors
The City of Toronto is partnering with community agencies to connect residents to resources, services, programs, and support during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Preparing for Reopening: A Conversation for Managers and Administrators
Successful reopening requires the leadership of Managers, Human Resources Administrators, and Executive Directors. On May 21 and 22 2020, EYET hosted and facilitated a conversation that brought over 75 leaders and decision-makers from across the housing sector together to discuss preparing organizations and teams to reopen doors to clients and community in the wake of the Covid-19 quarantine restrictions.
The conversations were guided through three themes:
Physical Spaces
How must we shift our physical spaces to adhere to social distancing rules? What are the safety measures needed, and how will they be supported and communicated?
Client Services
What do client services look like? How must we prepare for this new interface? How are we prioritizing client safety as policy? How are we communicating that to staff and clients?
Managing Remote Teams
How do we continue to support workers working remotely?
GoToMeeting – alternate video conferencing platform
Cisco Webex – alternate video conferencing platform
As leadership strategizes ways shift their organizations to prioritize safety in reopening, staff need to know that there are structures in place to ensure their safety. Policies and procedures need to be created and communicated clearly, and staff need to be trained on any changes.
Physical Spaces
How must we shift our physical spaces to adhere to social distancing rules? What are the safety measures needed, and how will they be supported and communicated?
During our community conversations with Housing Professionals across the sector, we heard a lot of feedback and concerns about returning to the office. Some of those concerns include:
Small office and/or client meeting spaces making it difficult to practice social distancing
High volume of traffic in office spaces lead to increased risks
Office computers are not always set up with needed technology for digital connection (cameras, headsets)
Office spaces/desks are close making privacy a challenge for digital meetings with clients
Leadership-identified challenges and strategies:
CHALLENGE / PROBLEM
STRATEGY / SOLUTION
Shared Workspace: Many front-line staff share spaces or use the same computer/equipment
Divide staff into teams and alternate their in-office time
Allow all admin/reporting to be done at home on ‘work-from-home’ days or weeks
Implement policy for deep sanitation of all equipment by staff at the end of use.
Limit capacity in supply rooms, bathrooms, and other rooms where things are stored; display supplies list for convenience
Safety for direct service provision: Frontline essential services (i.e.: drop-ins) must continue, high risk activities that includes prolonged close contact
Secure full PPE (Personal Protective Equipment): face shields, masks, goggles, gowns
Provide PPE to staff and clients
Sanitation station upon entry to building (hand sanitizer)
Consider screening and having in-house testing
Active screening of visitors/clients can include: taking temperature and asking questions to identify potential exposure or risks, identifying symptoms
Acquiring PPE: Can be expensive; unexpected expense, not budgeted for
Advocate for the city to provide PPE to agencies for at least one full year
Advocate city to provide in-person assessments for IPAC advice
Negotiate with funders and the city – it should not be up to agencies to offer that themselves; the city must provide these for at least a year if not longer
Advocate for in-person assessments for IPAC advice; physical things can be done, and reasonably well, but it’s a matter of funding it
Lobby / intake crowding: Intake spaces are modelled in ways where congregation happens
Consider remodeling to reduce congestion
Remove waiting area or significantly reduce capacity
Add clear markers on ground for lines, including outside
Clearly mark capacity on the door, redeploy staff to monitor at the door
Install plexiglass Safe Guards at intake desks (consider moveable Safe Guards to maximize utility
Noncompliance with Social Distancing: Staff or clients may not comply fully with the social distancing guidelines in place.
Make social distancing a policy; have regular safety check-ins about it to reinforce
Make client services by appointment to ensure control over space where client interaction occurs
Clearly mark spaces with appropriate distance, including meeting space, working desks, hallways
Maintaining staffing levels: Some staff may be physically compromised and unable to work; pay not competitive enough, staff retention challenging.
Reallocate labour to keep staff employed
Advocate for increased funding and re-structured work plans
Leadership may have to take on new workload to complete work employed staff are unable to do
Contamination: High traffic offices may have increased risks of contamination.
Ensure well stocked on supplies (disinfectant; disposable wipes; alcohol-based hand sanitizer; touchless garbage cans)
Create and post a regular cleaning schedule in the office
Staff rotate to sign up for a disinfecting shift every 2 hours
Use laminated paper/whiteboard for a cleaning checklist to ensure all surfaces are disinfected at least 4 times a day
Hire a deep cleaning company to disinfect office fully between rotations of staff teams
Post signage on how to keep clean and sanitized
Staff may contract COVID: There is high risk to frontline service delivery, and staff may contract Covid-19 and be unable to work, or spread it to other.
Revise sick days policy to be flexible to accommodate unique circumstance of pandemic
Use SSHA guidelines to screen staff daily upon coming to work
Offer support in monitoring symptoms before and after work, allowing remote work if any symptoms are present at all
Consider policy to reimburse Transporation costs to encourage staff to avoid TTC
Policy and Guidelines: New or revised policies are needed related to COVID-19
Revise existing policies to make amendments to include information from policies put out from Toronto Public Health and other governmental guidelines
Revise illness policies, including return to work post COVID illness
PPE (ex: when to wear masks; wearing gloves to touch communal equipment)
Client prioritization and triage guidelines to prioritize essential services
When Covid-19 is suspected or confirmed
Rearranging and Reducing Furniture: Furniture currently in the office needs to be removed to make space for social distancing.
Rent a storage unit to move furniture into
Consider partnering with a community partner who is in the same situation
Signage: Clear communication of all guidelines, policies, and safety measures in the office spaces is extremely important.
Passive Screening Signage: prompting visitors to self-identify if they have symptoms of Covid-19
Active Screening information: if there is someone screening visitors, signage at entrances outlining procedures
Reminders to perform hygiene (hand washing)
Physical Distancing reminders
Reminders to use PPE, with instructions
Funding and Costs: Implementing measures needed to address safety concerns is costly.
Ministry allows shifting of agency funds if related to safety
Combine advocacy efforts to secure funding for safety needs (like the provision of PPE)
Client Services
What do client services look like? How must we prepare for this new interface? How are we prioritizing client safety as policy? How are we communicating that to staff and clients?
During our community conversations with Housing Professionals across the sector, we heard a lot of feedback and concerns about returning to the office. Some of those concerns include:
Examples (Staff have identified):
Unable to hold in-person workshops and programs for clients
Clients feeling social isolation and unable to connect
Accessing food services
New move ins require furniture but moving is a challenge
Shared living spaces may be unsafe for clients and workers
Outreach and client intake
Supporting clients to viewings
Home visits
Regular office hours have not consistently met shifting needs of clients
Leadership-identified challenges and strategies:
Challenge/Problem
Strategy/Solution
Program Risk Differentiation: Not all programs pose the same risk or need.
Undertake risk assessment for each program offering to prioritize bringing programming back
Incorporate impact to the risk assessment to balance risk- with impact/need
Determine a rollout of program returning on a basis of low-risk/high-impact metrics
Groups and Programming: Clients need to return to programming and groups as soon as possible.
Reduce capacity for groups
Reduce program length
Increase frequency of programming
Shift staffing schedules to accommodate offerings
Consider hiring security or using Volunteers as security to monitor capacity
Risks to client one-on-one meetings: How to ensure social distancing while sitting in the same room as a client.
Switch to appointment-based meetings only
Screen clients upon entry
Re-purpose office space to make client meeting rooms larger
Install barriers between client and worker (ie: plexiglass)
Secure virtual platforms like Ontario Telehealth Network that Doctors use or ZOOM platform
Ensure compliance with privacy legislation, Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA)
Supporting non-essential services: Clients still need information but non-essential programming is limited.
Provide a resource centre for clients with information packets to grab
Space public computer stations
Computer time limitations, sign-up basis
Application Support: Clients need help with applications, challenging to do socially distanced.
Shift to a ‘drop-off’ service with respect to applications
Install a box for clients to drop off forms to minimize number of clients coming in to the office
Use DocuSign – software that allows clients to click a button to sign an application instead of having in-person
Prolonged contact unavoidable: Orgs that offer spaces to sleep or food services cannot mitigate risks of prolonged contact.
Prioritize space as risk mitigation
Move cots apart
Limit people at a dining table by closing or removing chairs
Clearly mark distanced spots for sitting, socializing, smoking, etc
Client noncompliance with PPE guidelines and policies: Especially for clients with mental health issues, or clients who struggle adapting to new/changing environments.
Provide education and training on protocols
Provide PPE for clients
Post information in multiple languages, formats (ie: visuals and pictures as well as words)
Other Organizations Changing Services: Staff struggle to keep up with service changes for referrals.
Coordinate with partners to update changing services
TDIN is currently updating service changes for all Drop-Ins
Clients not self-screening: Clients unaware of self-screening strategies and not screening prior to accessing services.
Implement screening on-site prior to entry
Form for staff and clients to complete at check-in asking about where they have been, if they’ve been in contact with COVID-19 infected person, if they have symptoms
Install intercom systems for screening to occur before clients enter building
Tech Limitations: Clients don’t have access to the tech needed for remote support.
Shift drop-in to appointment based
Organize tech literacy training to facilitate clients shifting to digital support models
Set up virtual meeting room with computer with tech set up so that clients can access workers remotely, and the workers can provide meetings to clients from home
Toronto Public Library lends out hotspots
Management of teams: Organizational changes and working remotely
How do we continue to support workers working remotely? What considerations must leadership and management have to adapt to managing teams in new structures.
Examples (Staff have identified):
Disconnect between staff and teams working remotely
Workload changes and feeling unsure of new shifts
Recent technologies and software are overwhelming
Staff don’t have access to hardware at home (printing, scanning, copying, stamps)
Staff need reliable high-speed internet for working from home
Staff who parent find it challenging to balance childcare with consistent work hours
Work/home life lines are blurred while working from home, challenging to set up boundaries
Leadership-identified challenges and strategies:
Challenge/Problem
Strategy/Solution
Strategy: COVID-19 requires adaptations and workplan strategies that are temporary and unpredictable.
Create a COVID-19 Strategic Plan that covers: Minimum staffing needs; critical and essential services; policy development functional limitations and barriers; work from home plan
Begin near-future planning and recovery planning; draft frameworks for planning beyond reopening: one year, three years.
Remote work impossible for some positions: Some front-line service delivery needs to be in person.
Reconsider expectations and redefine service delivery
Provide meeting rooms for clients to meet with worker who works remotely by providing tech, so worker can deliver services from home
Set up an inexpensive voicemail service that clients can leave messages to for workers to get a hold of them
Team building: Teams feel disconnected and isolated in their work
Prioritize regular meetings and check-ins
Create self-care check-ins for the team to ensure collective care is considered
Provide space for socializing – organize lunches, social meetings
Provide prompts for a ‘fun’ check-in at the start of each week
Productivity and Outputs: Working from home may limit productivity; there is only so much work that can be done from home.
Identify what productivity looks like to staff working remotely vs in-person, strategize ways to replicate productive environments for staff
Survey staff about reimagining work in this context: what to stop/start/keep, what is realistic
Survey clients and volunteers about capacity and need in order to adjust expectations
Review workplans and deliverables, adjust
Recognizing challenges to work/life balance and childcare, offer option of flexible hours to accommodate life, focused on deliverable and not hours “in the office”
Adhering to collective agreements; undertaking union bargaining: Adhering to collective bargaining agreements is challenging with this shift in staffing structures; consistency is unattainable across many staff departments
Prioritize building a relationship with the unions and consider Covid-19 response and bargaining
Find ways to redeploy staff or reassign work to ensure consistent and equitable workloads for people working from home
Establish a Pandemic committee: a joint union-management committee to problem-solve collaboratively
Grants and Funder Expectations: Funding allocation has been provided for outputs that are no longer realistic; those funds could be used to implement new and shifting services, program, and projects.
Build and strengthen relationships with funders
Contact funders to renegotiate terms and deliverables, negotiate re-allocation of funds o adjusted programs and services
Re-define productivity and output to prioritize IMPACT in the COVID context
Collaborate with staff providing services to identify new, realistic deliverables and advocate for expectations informed by staff capacity
Remote work has tech challenges: Staff do not have access to the tech required to provide services remotely, or to do remote work
Provide computer, phone, phone number, headset, camera
Provide a budget for highest speed internet and to pay phone bill
Compensate for supplies for printing or provide account at printshop closest to employee’s home, or one that delivers
Provide training on chosen software and communication tools for remote work
Immediate solutions don’t work long-term: The quick adaptations to working from home don’t feel sustainable
Evaluate quarantine: Review and survey on the tech and software used during quarantine to work from home
Identify long-term solutions (software, systems management, training) for working from home
Set up sufficient training, provide resources for staff to learn
Ask staff for input in planning work from home strategy, and offer them to demo and train coworkers on what works (learn from one another)
Identify a mentorship model for those comfortable working from home and those uncomfortable – pair people in a buddy system to troubleshoot and learn together
Compassion Fatigue and Mental Health: Burnout seems to be increasing as boundaries are thinning.
Create an Action Plan for compassion fatigue
Cultivate a community of care in the workplace
Prioritize providing professional development around self-care, burnout, collective care, compassion fatigue, secondary trauma
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On July 22nd 2020, housing professionals from across Toronto gathered in a series of Community Conversations to collectively discuss the impact of COVID-19 on eviction prevention work, and to share skills and strategies for preventing, planning for, and support clients through evictions once the emergency eviction ban is lifted in Toronto.
Together, housing professionals shared ideas on how to engage with landlords, how to prevent evictions, how to help clients prepare for evictions, and how to prepare for potentially high eviction notices from clients. This document provides some compiles resources to support eviction prevention planning and preparation, and the notes from the conversation breakout rooms.
For comments, feedback, or questions, please contact Savhanna Wilson, savhanna@eyetfrp.ca.
Conversations produced notes in the following areas:
How are you currently engaging with landlords and clients to prevent evictions?
How are you currently helping clients prepare for evictions?
How are you preparing for potentially high eviction notices from clients once the emergency ban is lifted?
Preventing Eviction:
Undertake proactive Eviction Risk Assessments with all clients, and continue to check in frequently. Create a template that could include gathering:
Date of rent payment; last date of payment; amount owing; if they have enough money to pay rent; if they need financial supports or access to Rent Bank
Relationship between client and their landlord (do they get along? Is the landlord responsive? How do they communicate, and how frequently?)
Budget check-in, including income/outgoing expenses, how funds or financial supports are received (direct deposit? Direct to landlord? Cheque? Etc)
Show up and build relationships directly with landlords: some landlords who have been pushing tenants out have shifted away from evictions when advocates step in
Educate landlords: many small landlords don’t have full information about landlord/tenant rights, cost of evictions, etc.
Landlords do not require a license or education to be able to rent out their place; encourage them to take Rent Smart courses, potentially get a Rent Smart certified staff member at your organization
Focus on cost: landlords evicting will not only lose the income from arrears but also cost additional money – appeal to that
Check with client about direct payment from ODSP or OW; support client in making that decision and communicate that to landlords
Try to be proactive and mediating between them and landlord from the beginning to come up with payment plan that they are both comfortable with
Meet with client one-on-one to empower them to see if they’re able to have the conversation with the landlord, and build their communication skills
Role play with them about what they could say to their landlord
Step in to mediate if they are too uncomfortable, or reach out to mediation services like St. Stephen’s
Addressing emotion and knowing when to walk away and come back to a conversation
For those struggling with rental payment, work on budgeting and looking at how to compensate the amount they need to repay – what areas in their budget can they pull from to make ends meet and repay
Education – people feel disempowered and not familiar with legalities and rights and responsibilities, etc; housing professionals can refer to services, legal clinics, etc to help clients become educated and informed
If non-payment has occurred, engage with Eviction prevention programs
Call city 311
Mediation – St. Stephen’s!
Community legal clinics have been great and supportive; have helped review Ontario standard leases; are a great partnership to build into the work
Support clients to prepare any paperwork or information that they might need ahead of a legal consult
Get consent from your client to talk to the landlord, and provide landlord with direct contact information; collaborate with other staff or management and landlord to come up with the solution (open communication)
Rent bank referrals
Mediate and negotiate payment plans
Some housed OW/ODSP recipients have collected one or more CERB cheques (more than they were entitled to), and must pay back the money before December 31st 2020 or they risk fraudulent activity charges. Concerns and uncertainty around if they can lose benefits (ie child tax benefits or GST, or OW/ODSP) if they can’t pay it back, which would result in losing housing
Providing landlords with PPE has generated positive responses and been deemed helpful to them. They feel more secure, and safety is important to them.
Rent Bank – a lot of folks going into arrears don’t know about Rent Bank, so a referral to them will help
Rent bank has made amendments for covid19
Discuss with clients a strategy to maintain housing (ex: pay rent first and refer to other supports for food access, etc.)
Preparing for Evictions:
Contacting landlords in the catchment area about the Eviction Prevention Program (EPIC) and asking if they have tenants with a lot of arrears in the moments to help planning for arrears before the LTB opens – assessing documentations; trying to coordinate services between EPIC, Housing Stabilization Funds, and putting together payment arrangement plans and getting all of it in writing so that when the LTB opens there’s no motivation to evict because there is already a payment plan
Education for landlords to salvage housing before LTB opens
City of Toronto Team for the GTA; another team that works out of Albion in the west end, and St Stephens for downtown.
City of Toronto Management is working with OW and ODSP offices and LTB folks to get direct referrals from them to make sure that tenants can make realistic repayment plans
Assess risk through Eviction Risk Assessment, determine who will need re-housing and set them up looking
Contact Toronto Community housing lawyers, where applicable
Seeking Rent Bank, HSF, or legal clinic support, letting clients know there is an eviction ban at the moment but it is about to be lifted
Create information boards on the ban lift, seek all forms of income support and tackle cases one by one
Some Landlords are asking for rent plus repayment. Ensure all evictions presented to clients are legally binding, as laid out by the LTB; connect with legal aid clinic where uncertain
Some clients have been presented with N4 forms that are ammended by landlords to include “if July rent is not paid along with August rent, tenant agrees to move out.”
Review all eviction notices with client to ensure legality
Preparing for heavy workloads:
Take vacations right now to anticipate high volumes of workload
Document all issues – create templates so that each client can be swiftly assessed and documented
Start the assessments now, and develop a triage system to address highest-to-lowest risk/need
Building proactive relationships with landlords before the ban is lifted, or as the ban is being lifted
Case load anticipate double or triple – Adding additional staff (landlord and housing support person), temporary staff/contracts, shifting responsibilities and expectations to prepare for client support increases, and anticipate other services clients may need with a plan in place for swift referrals
Extra services required may include legal services, financial services to prepare for evictions; moving support; furniture; housing help; etc
Develop standard template for crisis response strategies to enact in cases of imminent/swift evictions
The eviction ban has allowed focus on other aspects of case management; preparing to shift to focus more on housing.
Housing Professionals need to continue to connect and collaborate, perhaps through an inter-agency communication forum. EYET’s Community Forum can be a space for that.
Clients need support creating a budget that includes CERB and rent arrears repayments; create some templates for that to ensure the budget creation can be swift.
Concerns around Bill 184: for further consideration
Who will be drafting the repayment plans? Will it be landlords solely? Will verbal repayment plans be accepted? How can we ensure only written agreements with defined terms are standard? How can we advocate that the repayment plans should be standardized (I.e. the TCHC where the percentage of arrears for repayment not higher than 30% of income.) Alternative review of repayment plans could be the Duty Council at the LTB. — Legal clinics will be inundated.
Must ensure clients check in with supports before agreeing to a repayment plan. If a landlord wants to make a repayment plan agreement with them, and wants them to sign anything, advise them to tell the landlord they are interested in signing, but need time with the document to review. Support and connect them to legal services, review plan to ensure that it is realistic. Fear landlord will draft repayment plans that are not fair for client’s ability to pay. Educating clients on what their rights are and making sure they seek support before signing anything.
Housing professionals are uncertain of the ramifications of Bill 184, and need to take the time to educate ourselves on the bill itself to get the full knowledge base to support clients.
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