Black Creek Community Health Centre: Where Everyone Counts and Everyone Matters

What seems like a well-kept secret, Black Creek Community Health Centre (BCCHC) has been in the Jane-Finch neighbourhood for the past 28 years. Many people react with surprise when they learn about the wide range of services offered at the Centre, located along the east side of Sheridan Mall at Jane and Wilson, facing Jane Street, between Walmart and Food Basics.“I had no idea you were here!”.  “You have cooking classes and exercise classes?”. “Your services are all free?”Black Creek is just one of close to 100 Community Health Centres in our province.  CHCs are started by people in the community, who recognize that not everyone has easy access to health care services. In fact, many groups face barriers to receiving high quality health care due to language, immigration status, poverty, and race. The CHCs’ approach to health focuses on the person and all of the factors that impact health, not just what health condition they have. Community Health Centres provide medical care and health promotion services. We offer individual appointments and group programs to help people stay physically and mentally well, active and engaged with their community. We have a variety of healthcare professionals, including doctors, nurse practitioners, dietitians, nurses, social workers and kinesiologists that work together in providing the best care to people. And recently we opened a pharmacy.Six years ago, we opened a second location at Yorkgate Mall, at the northwest corner of Jane and Finch, upstairs beside the Dollarama. This gave us the opportunity to continue to expand our services to youth and families in the wider Jane & Finch community.   The week of October 16-22 is Community Health and Wellbeing Week, a time to share and celebrate the work of CHCs across Ontario and promote the CHC “Model of Care”. Black Creek will be hosting a number of events at our Sheridan Mall and Yorkgate Mall location and in various community spaces. For more information:Call: 416-249-8000 or 416-246-2388Website: www.bcchc.comTwitter: @BlackCreekCHC

Alterna Savings, the Financial Life-Time Partner of Business

Downsview Advocate met up with Alterna Savings in their buildings located in Toronto, in the centre of the City, at 800 Bay Street. Their offices are bright orange, immediately referring to a bright future, fortune and great opportunities.

Alterna was founded in 1908 as a Credit Union and along with providing financial products and services, Alterna provides micro-credits to individuals with low-income or individuals not eligible for a traditional credit in order for them to build their business. Every member is an owner of the company. Each member owns a share and also has the opportunity to vote for the board of directors. Everyone has a voice and a say. All profits generated by the financial cooperative are re-invested back to the credit union, a community and the micro finance program.

Today, Alterna has 143 000 members and 23 branches, one being at North York and only operates in Ontario. To help reach diverse communities, the Alterna Community Micro Finance program works with different organisations who have a good understanding of their communities.

Similar to other financial institutions, Alterna’s services range from chequing, savings to personal loans, mortgages and investment products.

To better understand the Alterna Savings Community Micro Finance Program, we met up with Susan Henry, Manager of Community Investments; she has over 20 years of experience in micro-finance. At Alterna, she is in charge of the Community Micro-finance program and the Community Loan Funds Partnership Program.

She went through the six programs Alterna has established =

• Alterna Savings Income Builder Loans, in partnership with the Whole Planet Foundation. It helps people with low income, such as young adults, jobless people and people living on social assistance, who all want to become entrepreneurs in order to bridge their income gap.
• Alterna Savings Skilled Professionals and Trades Loans which could apply to people with an earning of less than $50, 000 a year (per person). It helps people who want to start out in a skilled profession or trade.
• Alterna Savings Working Women Business Loan, for women who already have a business and a year of revenue but still need a financial support to develop their company
• Alterna Savings Social Impact Entrepreneurship Loans, which help business specialized in social issues, community issues or environmental ones.
• Alterna Savings Success Accelerator Professional Development Loans, which give $5,000 to pay for courses, training, licensing, registrations fees.
• Alterna Savings Community Micro-Finance Program.

These loans range from $ 1,000 to 25,000 with an average of $5,000.

Susan Henry is also in charge of ‘Networking Café’ which helps members build a network and their skills through workshops and webinars. For example, one of the last webinars  was ‘Understanding Your Number’, which provided a step-by-step guide to interpreting small business financial information.

In the 17 years she has been working at Alterna Savings, the Credit Union has given the equivalent of $4.5 million in loan capital  to individuals and organizations for them to build and strengthen their businesses.

Alterna Savings put the emphasis on helping people with financial situations which won’t allow them to get traditional loans or credits but also to help these entrepreneurs in every step of their business creation and development with a tight and personalised follow-up, making it a life-long partner.

Alterna Savings is why one idea, one individual’s dream, can become one business employing a hundred of people.

For her hard work, Susan Henry was rewarded with the Gary Gillam Award for Corporate Social Responsibility for championing Micro-finance in Canada in 2015 and Alterna Savings was awarded in 2016 with Ontario Credit Union Corporate Achievement Award.

Community Cats: Our Furry Neighbours

There are as many as 100,000 feral cats in the Greater Toronto Area.  Unlike lost pets or stray cats, ferals shy away from humans, don’t meow, and have a life expectancy of only 2 to 3 years.  They live a hard outdoor life scavenging for food and shelter wherever they can find it, driven by a strong instinct to reproduce as often as possible.Feral cats can get pregnant as young as 4 months old and have litters of up to 6 kittens as often as every 12 weeks, which quickly leads to a population explosion, usually in the early spring.  Sadly, many of the kittens fall ill, suffer from malnutrition, and don’t survive harsh weather and predators. Feral cats will mate even if they are ill or starving, taking a huge toll on the health of females. Male ferals will spray and fight to establish and protect a territorial area, leading to those night time “cat fights” that can sometimes be heard in the distance.To address this problem, cat-loving volunteers from animal welfare organizations including the Toronto Humane Society, Toronto Street Cats, Annex Cat Rescue, and the city’s Toronto Animal Services created Community Cats Toronto with the mission of making a difference in the lives of community cats through education, advocacy, and collaboration.Volunteers take a formal workshop to learn about the best practices for helping feral cats.  The primary focus is on Trap, Neuter, and Return, or TNR, which has been shown in numerous studies in large metropolitan areas across North American to be effective in reducing the population of feral cats and improving the lives of the cats already living in our communities.  Once spayed or neutered, feral cats roam less, fight less, spray less, and the population normalizes through natural deaths instead of disease, exposure, and malnutrition.Volunteers are trained on humanely trapping feral cats, minimizing their distress and discomfort.  The cats are then taken to a clinic where a veterinarian performs a spay or neuter surgery, depending on the sex of the cat. Every cat is vaccinated for rabies and other common diseases.  A small tip is removed from the left ear of each cat to mark it as a feral from a monitored colony.  A microchip is inserted below the skin of the neck, which, along with the ear tip, ensures that the cat swill not accidentally be picked up by the city pound and can be returned to their local colonies if lost.  After a recovery period, the cats are released where they were originally trapped.  Insulated winter shelters are built and distributed to colony locations to provide the cats with comfort during the coldest months.  Feeders provide food and fresh water to the cats on a daily basis, sometimes donated by companies such as Purina or Whiskas.  They also monitor the cats for signs of injury or distress and arrange for veterinary care as necessary.In the past, many cat lovers in our community took care of feral cats in secret out of fear that neighbours would blame them for the cats’ presence in the area.  In fact, studies have shown that feeding cats does not increase their population.  Rather, feeding the cats is the first step in identifying and handling a feral colony through a local TNR program.  The City of Toronto established by-laws that authorize feeding and management of feral colonies, recognizing their importance in reduce the overall cat population in the city over time.It’s thanks to tireless volunteers who care about feline welfare that there aren’t hundreds of thousands of more cats on the streets of the GTA!  Community cats are our furry neighbors who do their part for pest control and help keep other animal species such as raccoons and squirrels in balance in the urban ecosystem.  With care and love and education these cats can be safe, welcome local companions as they have been in cities worldwide for millennia, such as in Istanbul, Turkey, as recounted in the documentary film “Kedi” that is playing at cinemas around the world (www.kedifilm.com).If you would like more information about feral cats or need help managing a feral colony in your area, please contact Community Cats Toronto (www.communitycats.ca).

$15 and Fairness Town Hall at the Jane Street Hub

The room at the Jane Street Hub was crowded  with people coming to hear about the Campaign for “$15 and Fairness”.  $15? That’s the Ontario minimum wage the campaign is fighting for.  Fairness? That’s all about the improved working conditions the Campaign wants to see brought in through changes to Ontario’s workplace legislation.It’s obvious that for millions of us the workplace has been changing for the worse.  It’s become harder and harder to get jobs that pay a living wage, that provide dependable  employment, benefits such as sick pay and decent schedules.   This is a fundamental source of the struggle so many have to get by at the same time that we see those at the top of the scale becoming better and better off.   The Campaign has been fighting to address these problems.Deena Ladd, Coordinator of the Worker’s Action Centre which played a central role in the Campaign, remarked on how awareness of and support for the Campaign’s demands had grown.  Leaks in the press indicated that the government was likely to support a $15 minimum wage and some of the other demands of the Campaign. Deena emphasized the important role that strong organizing had played in helping to build the public pressure needed to bring this about.Patty Coates Secretary-Treasurer of the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) spoke about “Make it Fair” the parallel campaign of organized labour. That campaign has emphasized the importance of making it easier for workers to unionize.Malka Paracha is a food service supervisor at York University and a member of UNITE HERE Local 75. She described a long, difficult, but inspiring struggle at the University that ultimately succeeded in obtaining a breakthrough contract.Fatima Mussa is a Project Coordinator at Access Alliance Multicultural Health and Community Services at Jane Street and Woolner .   She described why Access Alliance became actively involved in the 15 and Fairness Campaign. It’s simple: low wages and stressful working conditions are a central cause of poor health.Laurie Simpson, is the chair of the Weston Chapter ACORN.  She spoke of her organization’s strong support of the Campaign’s objectives and activities.The Ontario government is committed to making changes to workplace legislation. It established a Changing Workplaces Committee to make recommendations to it. The Committee had made its recommendations the day before the meeting.Deena Ladd summarized those recommendations.  She pointed to some that were positive, some that were negative and some that were missing.Access Alliance and co-EMCEE and local activist Chiara Padovani had an appointment to see York South-Weston MPP Laura Albanese the next day.  The attendees made suggestions about what they should tell her the government should do with the Committee’s recommendations.The attendees were treated to moving spoken word and musical performances by MC Mohammad Ali and local resident Zoey Amour.  They also heard a closing deeply stirring performance of a piece composed by co-EMCEE  Donna Michelle St. Bernard which you can find on Youtube.On May 30 the Ontario government announced Bill 148, a package of proposed reforms to workplace legislation.  The Bill does not contain all of the changes the Campaign wanted.  But if brought into law it means a huge step for workers in Downsview and right across Ontario.  Here are some of the changes: a $15 minimum wage within 18 months, measures to make it easier to join a union, equal pay for part-time, casual, temporary and contract workers and fairer scheduling.    Let’s work to make sure the Bill passed. The lesson?  Organizing for change can succeed! 

Community Spotlight: Black Creek Community Farm

By: Giovanna Loureiro and Rhiannon Moller-TrotterBlack Creek Community Farms is a local staple in Downsview. The farm is dedicated to helping the area flourish through organic initiatives and outdoor education.The land used to be occupied by Toronto Urban Farms, which was fully funded by the City of Toronto. Black Creek then took over when funding for Toronto Urban Farms halted, and it is now in its fourth operating season. Black Creek Community Farms is an urban agricultural center that teaches members of the community how to utilize their lands to grow vegetables, and wants to encourage those in the area to use the facilities.Leticia Boahen, who runs the farm, has been a Downsview resident since she was 12 years old. She is constantly promoting agricultural education through farm schools and camps for elementary and high school students, outdoor environmental education and experiences, and many other events and activities.The farm offers a youth internship program that helps the young people gain experience in urban agriculture and teaches them how to start their own farms and engage community members to do the same. The farms offers many festivals, fundraisers, volunteer opportunities, and camps that run from January all the way through to November.Be sure to check out their website and the farm itself for more information on how to benefit from healthy initiatives taking place right in Downsview. The farm is an ideal spot for trail walks and picnics, and there is no charge for these opportunities.For more information visit or call:www.blackcreekfarm.ca / (416) 393-6381

RALLY TO SAVE BRANSON URGENT CARE CENTRE TO TAKE PLACE TODAY

Tuesday, May 8, 2017FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE TORONTO –May 4, 2017 The Branson Community Action Group and the residents of the Bathurst/Finch community are planning a rally outside the Branson Division of North York General Hospital to protest the imminent closure of the Urgent Care Centre.  The rally is to take place: Date:  Wednesday May 10^thTime:  5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.Where:  on the sidewalk in front of the Urgent Care CentreOn the north and south sides of Finch Avenue555 Finch Avenue West, Toronto, ON  The Branson Community Action Group (BCAG), a local citizen’s group, believes that the Branson Urgent Care Centre is an extremely important part of this neighbourhood which provides necessary medical services within reasonable walking distances to a community with a high concentration of seniors, disabled, new Canadian residents and families of limited income.The members of the Branson Community Action Group feel that closure of the Urgent Care Centre would cause a great hardship in the community that might lead to avoidable deaths due to a lack of easy access to urgent and emergency medical care.  Collectively the Branson Community Action Group strongly advocates that the Urgent Care Centre should remain open to serve the community to ensure that the community has access to health care.  The Branson Community Action Group feels it is important to postpone the closure of the Urgent Care Centre to at least November of 2017 to allow a reasonable amount of time for public consultation on the matter.  It is the hope of the members of the Branson Community Action Group and the affected community that, with proper public consultation, an alternative solution to providing the medical needs of this area can be found.Contact:Kenneth Schafer, Co-chairperson,   Branson Community Action GroupEmail:  drkschafer@rogers.com                                    Tel:  416 618 4114

Highway of Heroes Living Tribute Honours Canada’s Military this Earth Day

Over one thousand trees to be planted at Downsview Park on April 23TORONTO, Ont. – Canadians who have served in the Armed Forces will be honoured with 2,000 new trees to be planted at Downsview Park’s annual Earth Day celebration.  Contributions to the Highway of Heroes Living Tribute on behalf of TD Bank Group (TD) and Maple Leaves Forever will also be announced.As part of Earth Day celebrations on April 23, 2017, the Highway of Heroes Living Tribute will enlist the help of volunteers to honour the Canadian men and women who both served and gave their lives for their country.  Volunteers will witness a special ceremony, hosted by Ziya Tong of Discovery’s flagship program, Daily Planet, and will also feature a special performance by JUNO Award winning group, The Trews, who will perform the hit song, Highway of Heroes.“With the 150^th anniversary of Canada just around the corner, we’re doing something special to recognize Canada’s fallen soldiers in conjunction with Earth Day,” says Mark Cullen, Canada’s gardening Guru and Chairman of the Highway of Heroes Living Tribute. “This is a perfect opportunity for people to take part in a great cause while also getting outside to enjoy the spring weather.”“The Highway of Heroes Living Tribute honours Canada’s fallen soldiers by creating a living reminder of the world they gave their lives to protect,” says Karen Clarke-Whistler, TD, Chief Environment Officer. “We’re proud to be supporting such an important event as part of the TD Common Ground Project, which is helping to connect people across Canada in celebration of Canada’s 150th birthday.”“We are proud to once again provide support for the Highway of Heroes Living Tribute,” says Ken Jewett, founder of Maple Leaves Forever, a founding partner of the Living Tribute. “This additional contribution was made specifically to honour the three gentlemen whose vision made this campaign come to life – Mark Cullen, Michael de Pencier and Tony DiGiovanni.”The Highway of Heroes Living Tribute is creating a living, breathing memorial along the Highway 401 corridor between Trenton and Toronto — known as the Highway of Heroes.  The campaign will see 2,000,000 trees planted to honour Canadians who have served in the armed forces, 117,000 of which will be planted directly on the highway – one for each Canadian that has fallen in war since Confederation.The Earth Day event will take place on April 23 from 10:45 a.m. to 4.p.m at Downsview Park with the ceremony starting at 10:45 sharp.The day will also feature;

• Military focused story telling session
• Birds of Prey demos
• Campfire and busker
• Information booths
• People Mover rides
• Face painting, glitter tattoo booth and more.

This planting is being undertaken in partnership with Downsview Park and in collaboration with TD, Maple Leaves Forever and Michael Levitt, Member of Parliament – York Centre.Available for interviews:

• Mark Cullen, Chairman, Highway of Heroes Living Tribute
• MP Michael Levitt

About Highway of HeroesWhen is a tree more than just a tree? The answer is when the tree is part of a memorial to honour Canada’s fallen heroes. The mission of the Highway of Heroes Living Tribute is simple: To honour Canada’s military contributions by planting 2,000,000 trees, 117,000 of which will be for each Canadian that has fallen in war since Confederation.  The Highway of Heroes Living Tribute is made possible by contributions provided by Mark’s Choice, Landscape Ontario, TD, Maple Leaves Forever, the Garden Club of Toronto and donations from Canadians from coast to coast.To learn more, visit www.hohtribute.ca 

Daniel G. Lovell | Special AssistantMichael Levitt, MP | York CentreOffice: 660 Wilson Ave, North York ON M3K1E1T: 416.638.3700F: 416.941.2421

Ward 10 Community Update: Town Hall on Monday, April 24th to Oppose the Upcoming Closure of the Branson Urgent Care Centre

Moderated by Sean Meagher, Executive Director of Social Planning TorontoFriday, April 21, 2017The Branson Community Action Group (BCAG) has been formed by the residents of Bathurst-Finch area after learning that the Branson Urgent Care Centre is being closed down by North York General Hospital.On March 1, 2017 Mr. Tim Rutledge, CEO of North York General Hospital announced through the hospital website that the Urgent Care Centre of North York General hospital would be closing effective June 1, 2017.The services provided by the centre will be transferred to the North York General Hospital main campus at Leslie Street and Sheppard Avenue East at least for the foreseeable future. Residents are crying foul for such short notice with no community consultation, and are mobilizing opposition to the closure.What: A resident led town hall to obtain and organize public input on the closure of the Branson Division of North York General Hospital.Where: Northview Heights Secondary School (550 Finch Avenue West), AuditoriumWhen: April 24, 2017, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.Further background:The Branson Community Action Group feels that the Branson Urgent Care Centre is an important part of this neighbourhood providing necessary medical services within reasonable walking distances to a community with a high concentration of seniors, disabled and new Canadian residents and families of limited income.BCAG feels that closure of the Urgent Care Centre would cause a great hardship in the community that might lead to avoidable deaths due to a lack of easy access to emergency medical care. It is the feeling of BCAG that the Urgent Care Centre should remain open to serve the community for the foreseeable future, as BCAG believes that the Bathurst-Finch neighbourhood should remain a walkable neighbourhood.BCAG feels it is important to at least postpone the official closure of the Urgent Care Centre to October of 2017 to allow a reasonable amount of time for public consultation on the matter. It is the hope of BCAG and the affected community that, with proper public consultation, a different solution to providing the medical needs of this area can be found.Media contacts:Ms. Vicki Jewt, Co-chairperson BCAGvictoriaajds@gmail.comKenneth Schafer, Co-chairperson BCAGdrkschafer@rogers.comBranson Community Action Group 

Services that Support and Empower Women in the Downsview Area: Profiling the North York Women’s Shelter

In Downsview, many women are unaware of the types of services that are available to support and empower them. Women services that are in or near the Downsview area, such as North York Women’s Centre, Working Women Community Centre and SASSL (Sexual Assault Survivors Support Line) are available to all women.The North York Women’s Shelter is one of the most well known women’s services in Downsview and has been servicing this area for over 30 years. This feminist based service is the only women’s shelter in North York that has been working with survivors of violence and abuse (intimate partner violence, family violence, etc.) to empower and support them.Their mission is to provide both women and children a life without violence by having a safe, non-judgmental and inclusive environment in their shelter.  The shelter provides many programs, counseling services, and a 24-hour crisis phone line for survivors or victims of violence and abuse. Michelle Johnson, Manager of Development and Communications, explained that, because they are a feminist based service, they believe that “the survivor should a choice in how they want to deal with and get help for their situations.”A new program was implemented in January 2017 called: Express Art. This program allows counselors to work with women individually or in groups, to create art pieces.  Jiin Yiong, Director of Programs and Services, explained that this therapeutic program is an effective way to help women and children as a family unit, to not only create beautiful art, but it is also helpful in dealing with trauma. The programs in the shelter help the women and children build new friendships and engage in multiple activities.  Jiin explained that “programs such as yoga lessons help the women develop bonding ties between the counselors and the other women in the shelter.”Want to get involve and help the North York Women’s Shelter? You can volunteer with: administration and fundraising, special events and outreach, and shelter services or bring in donations to the office, make monthly donations, host community fundraising events, corporate partnerships, become a member, or even sponsor a family in the shelter.Whether you are a survivor seeking empowerment and support or you want to get involved in your community, women services like North York Women’s Shelter are here to serve you!

Spring Cleaning? Donate your Gently-Used Clothing and Small Appliances to Just-A-Second Shop!

Not-for-profit organizations are often undervalued and as a result underfunded, but they are so important! Why, you ask? Because their work is very significant to the community or group of people they serve. Instead of maximizing profits, which means maximizing revenues while minimizing costs, they are more concerned with ensuring the revenue is greater than costs. The focus is instead on the people and not the profits. People who dedicate their lives to helping others need to be recognized and celebrated.One example of a non-profit in the Dowsview area is: The Jewish Family and Child Services run thrift shop called Just-A-Second Shop. They are opened six days a week and offers new and gently used clothing and small household items at very reasonable prices. All proceeds are used to focus on sending children in the community to Jewish day and overnight camps -among other things. The shop is staffed by a team of dedicated volunteers and employees who are happy to help.If you are planning some spring cleaning and have gently-used clothing and/or small household items in good condition, Just-A-Second Shop would be happy to take them off your hands. By donating you are helping people in need in the community. If you have questions about donating you can call 416.638.7800 x 6999. You can also drop off the items you’d like to donate at any of the bright yellow drop-off boxes located at the store and the following locations: Sherman Campus, 4600 Bathurst Street; Beth Tzedec Synagogue, 1700 Bathurst Street (NE side of the parking lot), Beth Tikvah Synagogue, 3080 Bayview Avenue; and, Associated Hebrew School, 300 Atkinson Avenue, Thornhill.For more information: Call, 416 633 9898 or visit 4117 Bathurst Street, Toronto, ON M3H 3P4Hours: Monday to Wednesday - 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.; Thursday - 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.; Friday & Sunday, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Closed Saturdays and Jewish Holidays.