Buddy/mentoring program

• Encourage more intergenerational activities: pair up youth with seniors to provide help to vulnerable seniors and to promote the sharing of experiences.

Case management

• Bring back social workers in the buildings.

Community Agencies

• Form more partnerships with community agencies, particularly those serving vulnerable tenants and those that can help with economic opportunities for youth.
  • Make a list/map of agencies in the area available for each building.
  • Work with legal clinics.
• Bring community agencies in to the buildings, but make it easier for them to visit tenants by providing things like identification, parking, and space.
  • Competition for space between agencies and tenants - need accountability to ensure agencies are providing services as required.

HPO

• Increase HPOs for seniors' portfolio.
• HPO to visit buildings, get to know tenants, issues & concerns.

Job Fair

• Hold more frequent job fairs.
• Ensure job fairs are fully accessible (e.g. for visually impaired).

Job opportunities

• Create a job database for tenants, and advertise available jobs.
• Make connections with big and small companies in the neighbourhood.
• Help tenants to translate their skills into marketable job skills.
• Help remove barriers to education/employment e.g. language, childcare.
• Create an incentive program for tenants that are working.
• Provide more apprenticeships, jobs, internships and volunteer opportunities within TCHC.
  • Work with unions to establish apprenticeship programs.
  • Tenants should be able to vie for building contracts.
  • Allow tenants to set up business in the building to support other tenants. 
  • Create a summer and/or an after school work program for youth.
  • Hire young people and seniors in the building.

Languages

• Provide more translated documents - use pictures too, particularly for seniors.
  • Information posted in lobby should be available in different languages.
• Have the ability to register concerns in tenants' own language.
• For those buildings where the majority of tenants speak a different language, ensure the presence of a super that speaks that language, at least occasionally.
• Interpreters should seek out tenants and personally introduce themselves, particularly for those who are vulnerable.
• Identify tenants to support other tenants in their own language.
• More small group discussions with interpreters for big issues.
• Consider an internal pool of interpreters.
• Have an ESL class in the building.
• Enable access to Google translator for maintenance staff

Legal services

• Legal services to share information on Toronto Community Housing's legal obligations for supporting tenants.
• Create a way to legally discuss issues about tenants with agencies.

Mental Health

• More education and training around mental health, have devoted staff to assist tenants, and more contact/support with social services.
• More health and social programs for those with mental health issues.
  • More follow up with tenants that have mental health issues.
  • Group tenants so services can be more focused for them.
• Improve documentation trail about mental health tenants.
• Suggestion re: a policy for evicting tenants that are negatively impacting the lives of other tenants.
  • Removal of individuals presenting a danger to the community.

Resource Center

• Access to information, Internet, addiction support, mental health.

Seniors

• Increase programming for seniors (social activities).
• Provide help to seniors, especially with bed bug protocol.
• Mixed buildings seniors need help of live in staff.
• Move seniors building back to being just seniors - not families - lobby for change in the law.

Tenant Budgeting System

• More consultation with tenants regarding budget priorities.
• More notice so people can attend.
• OU manager and tenant reps meet to discuss priorities before the budget meeting.

Tenant communication (in the buildings and units)

• Communicate better with tenants; better address cultural/language barriers with posters in lobby and info through the mail.
  • Newsletter for tenants across OUs
• Notice board with job postings, tender requests.
• Welcome package including insurance information, services in neighbourhood, 311, elected officials.
• Getting tenants to feel like they own the buildings - create a slogan "take care of your housing".

Tenant communication (meetings)

• Building meetings every month to share/communicate information with the OUM and supervisors present to respond to tenant concerns.
  • Create a mechanism to provide feedback when issues are identified at meetings.
  • Send out invitations early so real participation occurs.
• Better communicate building issues and meeting minutes outside of meetings.
• Get tenants together more often to talk about issues and address and identify shared interests.
• Hold a tenant forum.

Tenant communication (staff-tenant communications)

• Staff to help tenants with communications - meetings, encouraging attendance, not just flyers but face to face communication.
  • Staff should get to know tenants on a first name basis.
• Tenant feedback about work done in units/buildings and service calls should be sought by TCHC staff.
• Staff needs to clearly communicate with tenants about rent reviews.
• Ability to report issues without being "targeted" as a result - anonymous reporting.

Tenant communication (topics & tactics)

• Suggested tenant education/communication topics:
  • Rights and responsibilities
  • Role of the landlord
  • How to connect with outside agencies/resources for help
  • Transfer process
  • Where to go for certain issues (safety, repairs, etc.)
  • Health improvement
  • Garbage management
  • Pest control (door to door)
  • Cost of garbage pickup, water and electricity usage
  • Guidelines for pet maintenance
  • What tenants can ask of community safety; guidelines for interacting with CSU
• Campaign to get tenants to make more reports to police and security
• Tenant communication tactics: 
  • TV channel
  • Mobile community van to meet tenants
  • Computer in lobby
  • Digital communication
  • Teleprompter in building
• Tenants would like an annual report of how the funds for housing have been distributed.
• Feedback: "Ask the CEO"

Tenant engagement (communities)

• Tenant driven programs - start to finish; tenant sign-off.
  • Tenants to run recreational programs 
  • Basketball; cultural; ESL; moms and tots; cooking; exercise; physio; dietician, etc.
• Encourage neighbours to meet; have more social events and dinners.
• Designated community space for tenants - tenant-run not agency run.
• Development committee - social and other activities, clean up, etc. 
• Focus on cleaning by getting tenants involved; educate tenants and provide incentives for involvement in cleaning, community gardens etc.
• Provide more volunteer opportunities.
  • Tenant volunteers on every floor.
  • Tenant volunteers working to help staff
• Participatory budgeting - more money for tenants to decide
  • How do we engage more tenants in the PB process (few vote)?
• Improve engagement between tenants in high rise and town houses.
• Streets to homes program - need a plan to integrate them into the community that involves tenants. 
• Link green animators with the revitalization animators for shared learning; partner with external agencies to help animators build skills and for support.

Tenant engagement (Operations)

• Hire tenants to be on site on weekends.
• Orientation at lease signing of expectations.
• How do we make tenants more accountable around upkeep/cleaning/recycling in their buildings/units?
  • Surcharge for tenants who break the rules.
• More intervention with tenants to determine tenants' problems re: rent.

Tenant representation & leadership

• Establish a protocol for tenants to call a general meeting.
• Tenant CEO for the day - use tenant lens to make decisions.
• Tenant groups formed to make representations to political members.
• Ombudsman for tenants - centralized system. 
• Joint staff-tenant committees (e.g. youth); more interaction between staff and tenant reps (internet training).
• More tenant activities directed by tenant rep - inclusive and regular.
• Support tenant reps to be more involved in the community and participate in more community committees.
• Greater involvement between tenants and reps - monthly meetings - better communications for meetings.
• Meeting spaces for tenant reps/councils and easy access to space.
• Training programs for tenant reps & leaders.
• Improve tenant elections - more participation. 
• Tenant rep governance structure: limited terms; Code of Conduct; better screening.
• Conflicting leadership in tenant reps - power dynamics, perception of authority.
• All tenants should have the opportunity to go to conferences, not only tenant reps.

Tenant training

• Training on:
  • Capacity building
  • Cleaning
  • Skills
  • English composition
  • Business correspondence, resume, computer
  • Job readiness for youth
• Include tenants in some staff training.

Vulnerable tenant identification

• Encourage other tenants to get involved and identify tenants at risk.
• Neighbourhood watch for every building.
• Closer contact with Street to Homes. 
• Rent reviews at buildings for vulnerable tenants.
• System/process/guidelines on how to identify and care for vulnerable tenants:
  • Define what is meant by "vulnerable tenants"
  • Have floor reps or community leaders that can check on tenants 
  • Management to create a priority list of tenants who need assistance, then outside agencies should check up on them
  • Supports - cleaning, food, identify HPO, community agencies, Meals on wheels
  • Use inspections
  • List of resources including arrears advice, social services, housing support centers, payment plan
  • Paid on-site housing rep/support workers 
  • Agencies should be more accountable to TCHC regarding vulnerable tenants
  • Tenants deemed unable to live independently should be housed in a facility with full time support and care 
  • Help for staff to do paperwork for vulnerable tenants

Youth

• More funding for youth programs - trades, gardening, art, cooking, sewing.
• More committees and activities, especially for youth & children.
• Engage youths - have youth councils for every community. 
• Create a balance for youth - e.g. shared space, funds for programs, not just seniors.
• Provide counselling for youth.
• Youth rep for larger communities.
• Encourage youth and children to stay in school - get volunteer experience with TCHC and mentoring.
• Provide after school programs, youth apprenticeships, job opportunities (inside and outside TCHC).