A few years ago at graduation season, William Wallace and his colleagues found themselves watching a familiar, yet despairing, scenario unfold. In his 15 years as an English teacher at Downsview Secondary School, Mr. Wallace watched students who were extremely capable, make the decision to forego pursuing a post-secondary education because they simply could not afford to attend. This is despite having overcome significant challenges and still excelling academically. “Growing up is hard. Throw in a bunch of factors: socioeconomic status, mental health, unstable housing, racial injustice... Stress and pressure on young people in those situations are far greater,” Mr. Wallace explained. As students try to navigate post-secondary careers, those issues compound and they end up missing out on key university experiences such as getting time with professors outside of class to better understand course material or having to skip tutorials because they have to work up to 40 hours a week.Mr. Wallace walked away from that scene asking himself, “Are we going to talk about the issues, or are we going to do something about it?”While being a teacher commands a lot of time and focus, Mr. Wallace, along with faculty members at Downsview S.S. began to fundraise for what became the One City Scholarship Fund almost 4 years ago. They began by asking teachers to ask ten friends to donate fifty dollars and have slowly raised up to $500.00 in single donations; teachers have come together over the years, organizing socials and game nights to raise money. He has also found a community partner in the Esther Myers Yoga Studio in the Bloor Street West community and they have donated proceeds from book sales to the One City Fund.After three years of fundraising, they were able to award four $2,500 scholarship last year to students who were eager to begin their post-secondary careers. The scholarship is disbursed over two years, $1,500 the first year and $1,000 is released in the second year. Mr. Wallace himself graduated from university in 1984, during a time where he was able to earn his tuition in a summer. “The idea that I have any idea what students need is ridiculous,” Mr. Wallace said as he cited this privilege. He has convened a scholarship committee comprised of teachers and past students who have attended post-secondary education to help pick candidates and provide mentorship to scholarship applicants.Mr. Wallace believes that the cultivated model of care existing in high school needs to extend beyond that space and the fund is also designed to help bridge the gap. The scholarship is “aimed at students who will benefit from money and mentorship.” Recipients will grow to become mentors to other post-secondary students. Mr. Wallace contends, “Current insight is brought from recent graduates and those going through university is invaluable.” Candidates need to be academically successful, demonstrate financial need and a capacity to excel. Mr. Wallace describes the past and future recipients of the One City Fund as, “Someone who understands where they are from, where they are going and where they want to be.” Applications for the scholarship opens on February 19, 2019 and welcomes students who are graduating from high school and entering their first year of post-secondary. Visit the OneCityFund.com to learn more about how to apply or donate. The Fund is trusteed by the Toronto Foundation and is distributed by the Toronto District School Board’s Toronto Foundation for Student Success.
‘I still use tokens’: Switch to Presto monthly passes reveals fare accessibility issues for residents
It has been a few weeks since the TTC discontinued Metropasses in favour of Presto monthly passes as part of their switch to Metrolinx’s cashless fare system. The change however has not been without criticism from some community residents.Bobbie is one of several University Heights residents frustrated with the replacement of monthly TTC metropasses for Presto. When commuting to work on the 60 Steeles West bus she opts for tokens or cash. As Bobbie explained: “I take the bus from the intersection where I live to work. Between my home and workplace there’s no subway station or I have to find a Shoppers. I don’t do online banking so I don’t use Presto.”Presently, Presto users’ options for reloading their cards are limited. Users can only add funds or purchase a monthly pass at Presto Fare Vending Machines in TTC subway stations, at a Shoppers Drug Mart or online at prestocard.ca. While users do not need to travel to load their passes online, the online loading presents its own issues. Funds can take up to 24 hours to be added to a user’s Presto card which may lead to them being unable to pay their fare if they need to travel immediately. Additionally, there are residents such as Bobbie who do not use online banking services making online loading a non-option.Though Presto is designed with convenience and availability in mind, these remain primary issues for residents who have yet to make the switch. As Bobbie said: “I wouldn’t mind eventually using Presto, but it’s an inconvenience to me right now. I used to buy my Metropass at the lottery stand and I bought tokens because they’re more available.”Such concerns over Presto’s accessibility reveal potential service gaps that can disproportionately affect some residents using public transit. As the TTC continues their plan to phase out tokens and tickets later this year with Metrolinx’s proposed single-fare Presto replacement; they must ensure the Presto-based replacement is as widely available as their current fare system. Otherwise, Toronto’s public transit may inadvertently be made less accessible for more vulnerable groups such as low-income residents and seniors who will have to go out of their way to accommodate Presto’s limited availability.
Black mothers: our community, our strength
This Black History month let’s take a moment to celebrate the incredible women behind the scenes – Black mothers. I owe an incredible lot to the sacrifices made by my own mother, Sheryl Brady, who passed away far too soon after her battle with lung cancer. She was a Black mother with an incredible vision and passion for me to succeed and she carried this out while facing her own battles day to day.Black children and youth have historically and, in cases now, currently are not expected to thrive and do well in our education system, and many scholars have and continue to work to address this (Dr. George Dei, UofT; Dr. Njoki Wane, UofT; Dr. Carl James, York; Dr. Erica Lawson, Western; Dr. Alana Butler, Queens). The advocacy work to address systemic barriers is often taken on by Black mothers, like my own. My mother took it upon herself to ensure that I would have the same educational opportunities and pathways as other students, but this created extra work for her, to not only raise me, but to continuously fight to ensure I was treated fairly. Without her effort, I would not have continued my education past high-school and onto the post-secondary and graduate levels. My story, though, is not unique. Instead, it is the story of many Black and newcomer students, where our mothers muster up the courage to correct a broken system. Importantly, my mother did not only advocate for me, but also for other children and youth and members of our community. Historically, Black mothers have often come together to address injustices through a community approach.In fact, Black women do not need to be biological mothers in order to take on care of members of their community, this is known as ‘other-mothering’ or ‘community parenting’ stemming from African values where it “takes a village”. We see this today in the community programs, after school activities, advocacy groups, breakfast programs and other initiatives developed to create greater access of Black and racialized youth.There are countless Black mothers – far too many to name who take on this important work right here in our community. Moving forward, as we celebrate Black History Month, take a moment to acknowledge a Black mother or community parent that you know who is fighting for a better and more equitable future for generations to come.I dedicate this article to my mother, Sheryl Brady (August 7, 1970 – May 2, 2015)
Nurturing potential, showcasing excellence
Currently only 1.2% of Ontario’s apprentices are represented by racialized individuals in the construction industry. Through Community Benefits Agreements (CBAs) Black Youth are slowly being hired onto the construction sites of large Canadian infrastructure projects. CBAs are also opening opportunities for small to medium sized businesses interested in penetrating the Canadian construction supply chain.On Tuesday, December 12, the Toronto Community Benefits Network (TCBN) hosted a breakfast to officially launch their Black Youth Mentoring Program. The plan applies a 2-pronged approach to changing the narrative around Black Youth. The first piece will mentor qualified Black Youth construction workers apprenticing in the trades known as the “Next-Gen-Builders” program. The second part will enhance the skills of a Black Youth consultancy known as the BYD Team. The goal of BYD Team is to fulfil on current and grow future construction industry social procurement strategies.The Black Youth Mentoring Program Launch, which took place in the beautiful University of Toronto Faculty Club, was a fantastic experience. It was amazing to be in that room where high level representatives from the construction trades and industry professionals, mingled with equity seeking community members. It was especially refreshing to hear some of the Black Youth apprentices recently welcomed into the Canadian construction industry, speak of reluctance replaced by optimism through TCBN’s new mentoring program. Also interesting was hearing Pat Dillon, Business Manager and Secretary Treasurer of the Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario, voice his support for TCBN and community efforts by recommending they approach the struggle “more aggressively”. With high profile support from the likes of Dillon, community must be optimistic that integrating the construction industry in the lifetime of today’s youth is a real possibility, right?Also inspiring were the words of Grover Johnson, Vice President of the American chapter of LiUNA’s African American Caucus. Grover’s words clearly indicated the American Community Benefits movement is far ahead of our own. In his home state of Washington, they have progressed beyond the need to negotiate a CBA for every capital project, it is now policy. They now move directly to Workforce Development Agreements. It really goes to show that what we hear so frequently in the news about our neighbours to the south may be the cries from a group of reactionaries who are in their final death throes. These are certainly exciting times for the Canadian community benefits movement.
North York Women’s Shelter's new facilities bring opportunities
In spring of 2019, North York Women’s Shelter (NYWS) will open the doors to its newly renovated facilities that are set to be kid friendly, culturally competent, and include a community hub. NYWS is nestled in between Downsview Park and Sheppard West station - making it connected to a local scene and accessible to the rest of the city’s resources.Established in 1984, NYWS continues to be a safe place for women and children impacted by violence. As research on how to best help survivors of gendered violence advanced, NYWS took federal funding opportunities to redesign and renovate the facility to better serve their residents. Executive Director, Mohini Datta-Ray, described the new shelter as “future oriented” with a focus on providing survivors a holistic approach to healing and giving women the tools they need to take the next steps in their lives. It will be a 24,000 square feet shelter with 17 bedrooms and 17 bathrooms with 30 beds, with the capacity for an additional 10 beds if their operational budget targets are met. This is a huge improvement from the 3,000 square feet shelter with only six bedrooms and three bathrooms for 30 beds that left residents crowded and prevented necessary programming. Traditionally, women’s shelters are at a confidential and discrete location. Shelters are usually intended to be outside the purview of the community and to exist in isolation of the neighbourhood.“It’s a new model - we’re breaking the paradigm. The model is that we are both a shelter and a community service hub,” Datta-Ray explained. The community hub will service not only those in the shelter but women within the community who need a safe space and cannot leave their situations. The shelter itself will be built to accommodate children, have a kennel for residents’ dogs, and a wood-burning oven for women of different cultures to bake bread. Its new community hub will have partnerships with different groups like the Black Creek Community Health Centre, Black Creek Community Farm, and other service groups to ensure that clients can access the resources they need. As Toronto becomes more expensive and funding for ending violence against women continues to be erratic and dependent on governments, it is important to not only give survivors the resources they need to survive but also to thrive.The new NYWS has a large 1000 square-foot multipurpose room that can be a space where women can self-organize and be political. Alongside providing services, NYWS aims to foster a peer-support system so women can be politically active and demand more from their politicians to enact lasting change.“We realized that you can build 40 thousand shelters but you will never address the issue because you are just continuing to address the symptom of the problem,” Datta-Ray explained. The new space will help empower residents to advocate for institutional changes to end violence against women.
Community responds to inadequate support for local shelter residents
On the morning of Saturday December 8th, around 23 volunteers gathered at the Black Creek Community Health Centre in Sheridan Mall. They convened in response to a call to action by Jill, a certified housing support worker committed to supporting and working with our most vulnerable populations on and off the clock. In mid-November, Jill’s volunteerism led her to the Toronto Plaza Hotel which is currently being used as an emergency shelter space by the City of Toronto. While she was only there for a brief visit to pick up donations, her observation of the hotel premises left her feeling disheartened. She was especially saddened as she realized that there was an overrepresentation of Black individuals and families seeking respite in the shelter space. This was compounded by the inadequate accommodations. “The common areas are filthy, the dining areas are unsanitary, the rooms are cold,” she recounts. Jill left the hotel reflecting on how the housing crisis plays out as yet another example of how one systemic inequity feeds into the next and asked herself, “In what ways can we make room for a holistic intervention?”Her call to action, which was shared with the Black Toronto Community Support Group that connects 25,000 of the Black community across the Greater Toronto Area via social media, urged members to check out the emergency shelter space, rent rooms to shelter residents and to donate goods such as clothing and sanitary napkins. The charge was taken up by Noella Charles, a local caterer. She visited the hotel to try to coordinate a drop-off donation space within the shelter. After learning that external groups were not allowed to distribute donations to shelter residents directly, she got in touch with the executive director of the Black Creek Community Health Centre who was very supportive of an initiative to support residents. The executive director provided staff to do outreach and offered space for community members to drop-off donations over the week long period before the clothing drive and even made the kitchen available for the Community Support Group to host a breakfast for shelter residents. "I donated about 80% of the food and one other volunteer provided a few dozen eggs and bagels," Noella mentioned. Up to 140 plates were provided to shelter residents who attended the clothing drive.The spirit of the gathering was one of infectious compassion. Noella connected with a resident that she was able to offer a casual employment opportunity. "I am in a position to help. I own my own business and can offer people a job if they need it." This was said as volunteers were huddled off into a corner planning their next steps- specifically how they could create a community pipeline to respond to the challenges that precarious housing poses to the community. Shelter residents expressed the exact sentiment of volunteers to maintain a connection to the community. One expectant mother, a newcomer from Nigeria, expressed the following, "With the accommodation problem in this city, the more information we can get, the better we are able to support ourselves and our families." She continued, "It is hard to live on the stipend from the government and also try to save for the new baby." She further shared her surprise that she was able to get a crib at the clothing drive.Jill was overwhelmed as she watched up to 150 families and individuals enjoy breakfast and leave with basic goods and then some. Still, more can be done. "A lot of men came in today seeking adequate winter gear such as boots and jackets. A lot of men left disappointed today." As she was checking in with those who attended the drive, she learned that many had come from across the city- even from as far as Scarborough. Noting the recent changes by the provincial government to freeze the minimum wage increase, coupled with the changes to Ontario Works and Ontario Disability Support Program, which are made worse by the stoppage of rent control legislation, Jill is weary of the ways these instances of negligence will continue to strip community members of their agency. "Poverty is unfortunately a systemic experience and not an individual one," she mulled on this point. Shelter residents carry diverse narratives- they are parents, children, they are fleeing war, they have been trafficked, balancing mental health challenges, are seniors, or have learning disabilities. Jill does not believe that she has the right to speak on behalf of shelter residents but concludes that, "We have an obligation to look out for our most vulnerable."
Youthful and full of promise: exploring how Youth in Politics is promoting grade 10 students' civic engagement
Young people play a vital role in the political and civil life of Canadian society through traditional and non-traditional forms of activism and community engagement. However, there remains a strong need to promote more civic engagement among young people at an earlier age. There is a necessity for more systematic mapping of youth community and civic engagement. Facilitating civic engagement at a young age in Canadians as well as systematically charting a picture of youth civic and community engagement will challenge the socio-normative notion of young people as being apathetic to community development and civil life. #YiP fulfils this need to engage students in civil and political life from an early age and allows them to showcase their civic engagement. Dr. Nombuso Dlamini and Dr. Uzo Anucho co-designed the YiP project to engage grade 10 students in the October school board trustee elections. #YiP also builds students’ capacity to involve their families and communities in local governance issues. Moreover, #YiP facilitates youth action projects that are connected to youth learning about the governance of schools and their communities. #YiP sees youth as having the power to examine their schools and communities, to decide what is good in them and what they want to change. #YiP does three main activities - 1) designing and leading student civic engagement workshops; 2) designing and learning teacher professional development workshop and 3) funding student mini-projects.
- Student Civic Engagement Workshops
We have facilitated a series of youth-led, student-focused 3-day workshops in Ontario to stimulate student interest in community and civic engagement. Our youth presenters engaged students in a conversations and workshops about how they can be change agents in their communities and how to be civically engaged citizens.
- Teacher Professional Development Workshop
We also hosted a workshop for teachers and leaders of experiential learning with student representatives. We engaged our participants in conversations about reframing the Civics curriculum to make it more connected to the students’ lived experiences and community knowledge.
- Promoting Student-led Community and Civic Engagement
What differentiates #YiP from other civic engagement projects is we propose to provide financial support for students to design mini-projects, which would have facilitated the participation of our student participants’ families and communities in the school board trustee elections. Unfortunately, due to logistical reasons, our funding for the project was reduced, and we could not fulfil this aim. To compensate for this, we have provided a series of online resources such as our “Hosting a School Board Trustees All Candidates Meeting: A Student’s Guide.” These online resources provide students with practical ways in which they can host the trustee meetings and encourage their parents to become more politically aware and active.We learned some vital lessons from #YiP;
- Students are engaged in their communities. The majority of our student participants actively participate or led community/school projects. They were members of their student councils, organisers of community activities such as barbecues and summer camps, and volunteers at their public library. They also advocate for issues in their communities.
- Students are concerned about social justice issues. They showed great interest in Canadian and global social justice issues and how it affects their local communities. Our participants are passionate about finding solutions to social justice issues such as human trafficking, gender-based violence, environmental racialization and precarious unemployment. They also commented that due to ageism many young people’s contributions and voices are not taken seriously.
#YiP has taught us numerous lessons from which we can posit the following suggestions. This list is not exhaustive but rather acts to stimulate a more in-depth and thoughtful conversation about youth civic engagement.Our first recommendation is for more systematic research to ascertain the impact of the work that young people are already doing. Second, we need to find exciting ways to increase students’ political engagement. Politicians and their political machinery need to find intriguing ways of connecting with young people about issues that matter to them. Third, we must listen to youth voices and engaging students should go beyond using them as tokens on committees and boards. Our student participant shared with us that on the one hand, this resulted in their opinions being ignored or meaningfully used to impact policy changes while on the other hand, it made them more reluctant to voice their views.In sum, any real efforts to increase young people in civic engagement needs to be research-led and multifaceted. These efforts also need to be informed by and for youth to impact policy changes and practices rather than attempts to solely increase the youth vote.
Teach2Learn in the Latinx Community
Teach2Learn (T2L) is a program focused on the Latinx community in Toronto. T2L began with a group of parents trying to encourage their children to pursue higher education. One problem our community faces is that as immigrants we work and focus on economic stability and this at times leads us to deprioritize our education. That is one of the reasons why the drop-out rate for the Latinx community is one of the highest in Toronto at 40%.Encouraging and working to ensure members from our community stay in school is a top priority for T2L. Together with the Conoser Scholarship Fund group, the charity organization that supports our organization and other valuable community programs, T2L is dedicated to finding funds for projects addressing the needs of our community.This year we managed to obtain funds from Trillium. We used this to fund programs in three different locations on a weekly basis helping youth and parents navigate the school system. One program provides newly arrived Latinx parents with workshops that provide assistance navigating the TDSB system. This series of workshops gives guidance and support to Spanish-speaking parents through new information and tools designed to effectively enrich their role as parents and build their capacity to teach other members of their community and give them tools to effectively parent in the TDSB school system.Another program T2L collaborates with is Academic Youth Success (ASY). It aims to bring high school students together with the goal of expanding youth’s community awareness and broadening their personal experiences. ASY focuses on character and leadership development, education and career development, health and life skills, art and cultural experiences, and most importantly, a secure space in which youth can feel a sense of belonging.Our programs are absolutely free of cost and we do our best to make them as accessible as possible to all youth. Youth who choose to be a part of our programs are able to network with like-minded individuals, meet community and business leaders, and are able to obtain recommendation letters for their commitments and efforts in the programs.The leaders of this program are also young members from our community who have experienced the needs as newcomers. These individuals lead the tutoring program where children practice their native language and receive help completing their homework. They benefit the community and we are always seeking volunteers. Reach out if you are interested - even if you are not a newcomer this is an opportunity to exchange knowledge and build a community that is united and strong.Learn more at teach2learn.ca.
Local community advocate works to be next Miss Africa Canada
Leeann Tanaah is a 24 year-old young woman who has grown up in the Jane and Finch community her whole life. During the week she is a youth worker at Promoting Education and Community Health (PEACH) working with young boys and creating safe spaces and on the weekends Leeann has spent her time training to be the next Miss Africa Canada.“I always wanted to do a pageant and I told myself 2018 is going to be the time I do many of the things I want to do with my life.” Leeann explained that the pageant means “really bossing up and having tenacity.”With the help of her coaches, Ama Deidra, Ms. Folu, Zeeba Enebeli, and Fatou alongside the owner of the Miss Africa Canada competition, Mr. Ibrahim Adekale, Leeann has been able to connect with her competitors as both competition and friends as they navigate what Miss Africa Canada pageant means and win the title. “To me, Miss Africa Canada means being a woman who is not ashamed of being a woman and all that it comes with. It means being tenacious.”Leeann explained that tenacity is a word she lives by and has created the concept of “Tanaahcity” - a combination of her last name and the word "city" to inspire her and remind her of her own strength.“Tanaahcity, or tenacity, inspires me. Tanaah City is a metaphor – it’s a city set on a hill. It’s about being able to see things clearly and to have better discernment in your life,” Leeann explains. This metaphor of the city on the hill – which is also a passage from the Bible – has helped Leeann be tenacious in the face of self-doubt and doubt from others. Leeann describes that sometimes it’s difficult to be a woman – often left navigating being “too this” or “too that.” Training for Miss Africa Canada has built the confidence she needs to make decisions that center her and encourages Leeann to pursue goals she before would have shied away from. “I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels” is a Maya Angelou quote that happens to be one of Leeann’s favourites. The competition requires discipline and commitment - from fine tuning one’s walk, to honing your talent, to continuing your participation despite self-doubt and criticism. Leeann notes that the Miss Africa Canada competition has helped her build the confidence she needs to take control of her life and her future. The competition reinforces Leeann’s tenacity.“I’m done with counting myself out – I am not counting myself out. Over the years people have – ever since I was younger, people have been counting me out. But nope. This year I am counting myself in.”
Connecting communities and creating opportunities: the potential of the Finch W LRT
The Finch West light rail transit (LRT) project will move thousands of people in Northwest Toronto by the time it is completed in 2023. The project will create 600 jobs during the construction period. Although it brings with it many benefits, the Finch W LRT can be problematic.The contract signed between Metrolinx and Mosaic Transit Group, the private group who won the bid to build the Finch W line, specifies that maintenance of the LRT will be outsourced. This means the Finch W LRT maintenance jobs may not be unionized nor well-paying. The TTC should both operate and maintain the Finch W LRT as well as all other new transit projects so that good jobs with fair wages and worker protections stay in our community. Over 20% of workers in the GTA are suffering from precarious employment. When we create good-paying, unionized job opportunities for local residents they will spend their salaries within their communities at local businesses and pay more taxes to fund city services. It is a virtuous circle. Infrastructure projects like the Finch W LRT are a great opportunity for the government to tackle precarious work. Public sector jobs in transit maintenance and operations on new infrastructure cannot address all of the employment issues in our city but it is a step in the right direction. This is an exciting time for transit riders. In 2017 we saw the much anticipated Spadina-University line extension to Vaughan open. In 2021 the Eglinton Cross Town LRT will open and by 2023 the Finch West LRT should be fully constructed. Once built, these new lines will make life more convenient for thousands of TTC riders. But these initiatives need to benefit workers as well.More proposals like the Finch W are gaining popularity and the next five years will be crucial for our cities. Will we invest in the transit projects that riders need while also creating permanent economic opportunities in our communities? On October 22nd there will be a municipal election. We need to be vigilant and insist our elected officials make this a priority. The time to vote for transit and good jobs is fast approaching. Look up your candidate and let them know you want them to invest in transit and well-paying, unionized public sector maintenance jobs. Marco Covi is the Chair of TTCriders, Toronto’s largest transit rider advocacy non-profit organization.