Community Knowledge Centre - Toronto Community Foundation

About this organization

Mission

FST strengthens individuals, families and communities through counselling, education, social action, advocacy and community development and works with partners to build a vibrant community social services sector.

We envision a City of Toronto where people live with dignity in thriving neighbourhoods and inclusive communities; public policy is grounded in social and economic justice; programs and services are accessible to all, especially to those who face barriers; individuals and families navigate life transitions successfully and enjoy effective personal relationships.

We are committed to:

• deepening our understanding of diversity and acting on this knowledge
• grounding our work in the lived experience of clients and the community
• ensuring access and equity in all of our activities
• using an inclusive definition of family (i.e., a family consists of two or more people, whether living together or apart, related by blood, marriage, adoption or commitment to care for one another)
• pursuing quality, excellence and innovation
• improving through reflection, evaluation and research
• acting with integrity and fairness
• working collaboratively
• creating opportunities for individual and organizational learning
• maintaining transparency in our relationships and communications
• holding ourselves accountable for achieving our mission and living our values

History of Organization

Family Service Toronto (FST) started as the Neighbourhood Workers Association (NWA) in 1914 when a group of volunteers came together to address the growing levels of poverty faced by many families in the city. In 1962, NWA changed its name to "Family Service Association of Metropolitan Toronto" and in 2008 to Family Service Toronto.

Originally, NWA served as an umbrella organization, bringing together churches and other charitable organizations to coordinate the provision of relief to families in need. The association was instrumental in organizing relief during the influenza epidemic in 1918 and the Great Depression during the 1930s. NWA's constitution charged the agency with the responsibility to acquire “information regarding the social needs of the community” and promote “the means to meet those needs.”

Today, with a history of over 95 years of service, FST provides more counselling and community building services than relief, but we are still here for Toronto's most vulnerable citizens. While our organizational structure and nature of our work has evolved over time, our core values haven't. In 2010, through several programs, services and partnerships with other agencies we touched over 62,000 lives.

Accolades and Accomplishments

In March 2010, FST was accredited by Community Organizational Health, achieving all of the standards in the Building Healthier Organizations (BHO) accreditation program.  This rigorous process evaluates policy and practice in board governance, management and administration, programs and services and community development work.  BHO also commended FST for excellence in regard to:

• the multi-faceted strategy FST uses to increase the diversity of its board of directors
• the accessibility of FST’s programs and services
• FST’s responsiveness to community needs and issues
• FST’s capacity to advocate and act as a change agent.

FST is a past recipient of the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council Immigrant Success Award, recognizing its recruitment practices that have resulted in FST hiring many skilled immigrants.

FST’s Family Service Employee Assistance Program (FSEAP) works with a number of public and private sector clients to provide counselling services. Hydro One, one of FSEAP’s clients, won the Employee Assistance Society of North America Award of Excellence in 2010, the fourth consecutive year that one of FSEAP’s clients has won this prestigious award.

Programs

>Community and Neighbourhood Development
>Seniors and Caregivers Support Services
>Violence Against Women

• Counselling Services
• Connecting Families - Parenting Program
• David Kelley Services (counselling for LGBTQ community and people living with HIV/AIDS)
• Families in Transition – help for separating, divorcing and remarrying families
• Seniors and Caregivers Support Services
• Pat's Place - Abused Older Person's Program
• Violence Against Women – help for women in abusive relationships
• Next Steps/Partner Abuse Response Program
• Campaign 2000 – provincial and national anti-poverty coalitions
• Options - a program for people labelled with intellectual disabilities
• Passport Initiative - community participation supports for young adults who have a developmental disability
• Community and Neighbourhood Development Projects
• Growing Up Healthy Downtown - GUHD - a program for families with young children
• Social Reform

Community and Neighbourhood Development

The Community and Neighbourhood Development unit of Family Service Toronto supports marginalized communities and neighbourhoods to make sustainable social changes and increase inclusion.

We are facilitators who support communities and neighbourhoods in dynamic processes of civic engagement and meaningful participation to effect sustainable social change and inclusion. We work from within an anti-oppression framework. We value the exchange of knowledge and embrace opportunities for learning and capacity building – for others and for ourselves. We do this by focusing on issues identified by communities through open dialogue using a range of tools and approaches.

Our team does not provide one-on-one services. Instead marginalized community groups seek our support to help them meet identified or emerging needs.

Some issues marginalized communities have utilized our support to deal with:

• Achieving their short- and long-term goals
• Strengthening organizations
• Health promotion
• Community economic development
• Supporting the development of leaders
• Building strong, successful partnerships within and outside the community
• Research on a variety of community issues
• Civic engagement on issues identified by neighbourhoods

Funding and Program Partners

United Way Toronto and City of Toronto

Toronto's Vital Signs® indicator(s) addressed by Program

"Poverty is increasingly concentrated geographically in Toronto:

• In 2005, the City identified 13 Priority Areas (PAs) for particular investment aimed at building stronger, healthier neighbourhoods. The results of the 2006 Census indicate some of the ongoing challenges:
• The 13 neighbourhoods had higher numbers of populations vulnerable to poverty than the City averages: visible minorities (66.2% vs. 46.4%), lone parent families (25% vs. 20.3%) and recent immigrants (14.4% vs. 10.7%).
• The percentage low-income rate (after-tax) was 24.1%, compared to 19.4% for the City; one neighbourhood sustained a 30.4% low income rate.
• The percentage of the population younger than 16 and older than 64 was 33.1%, compared to 30.5% for the City as a whole. 6 of the 13 areas had rates of growth in this ‘dependent’ (higher risk) population that were much higher than the City average (one area experienced 10.2% growth in five years, compared to a -1.1% growth rate for the City).
•  Toronto risks becoming a City of even fewer middle income neighbourhoods, as wealth and poverty become more clustered in three ‘cities.’ "

(Toronto's Vital Signs®, 2009)

Participant Vignette

“This is the best place I ever lived in my life! When I came here, at the beginning of 2008, I could not speak English. People could not understand me. Here, at Pears, I had this great opportunity to take part in this program “Tenants help in tenants hands” initiated by Araceli (FST Tenant Support Coordinator at Pears) and I was matched with a tenant who basically opened my eyes and helped me finish my high school and get a diploma. For people whose first language is not English, it is very hard to get something like this.

In 2009 I applied to Seneca college and I got accepted in the chemical engineering technology program. Now, I already finished two semesters and I am getting ready for the third one. It is really a great opportunity to live at Pears Avenue. For me this is the safest and affordable place with a convenient location and access to many facilities. We are 15 minutes away from the subway. It is a great area with no violence and this helps me concentrate on my studies.”

Tenant from Pears Avenue St. Clare housing program which transformed a former hotel in downtown Toronto into an apartment building for no-income or low-income Toronto residents. FST-CND is one of several partner agencies who have made this project a reality.

Seniors and Caregivers Support Services

The Seniors and Caregivers Support Service Unit at Family Service Toronto provides social work services to older people and caregivers. Our work includes counselling, group work, advocacy, training and educational sessions on a variety of topics such as aging and memory loss, anger and guilt, how to access community resources, abuse of older adults, etc.

We help older adults with:

• Dealing with an abusive relationship
• Learning to cope with difficult medical conditions like Alzheimer's Disease, stroke and depression
• Learning to live with change and loss
• Accessing community support services such as day programs and meals-on-wheels
• Speaking out and making an impact on issues that affect your quality of life

We also provide counselling services for those facing issues such as:

• Elder abuse
• Dealing with chronic or degenerative illness
• Stress in family relationships
• Bereavement
• The uprootedness and difficulty of adapting to a new culture at an advanced age
• Caregiver stress

We also operate Pat’s Place – Ontario’s first safe haven for older adults experiencing abuse.

Funding and Program Partners

Toronto Central Local Health Integration Network and United Way Toronto.

Program Impact

Decreasing abuse, increased ability to live at home in a safe and dignified manner

Toronto's Vital Signs® indicator(s) addressed by Program

"Toronto has the highest proportion of seniors in the GTA and nearly double the rate of low income seniors in Ontario. Sadly, more seniors are living alone, cut off from family and community." (Toronto's Vital Signs®, 2009)

Participant Vignette

"Before Pat’s Place, my experience was very frightening. I had no privacy, I couldn’t lock the door, couldn’t sleep at night… He would tell me to be open minded… I could not move to another place as I could not pay the rent anywhere.

When I met with Pat’s Place staff and told my story, they organized everything and I never looked back. Now I look forward to every day.

At Pat’s Place I could lock my door, have a shower, rest – it was so safe. During my first days there, I just slept and slept until I felt much better. It was the only place where I could relax. Lovely, safe, comfortable. This place gives you a home when you need it the most. For two months, everything was taken care of – furniture, basic necessities – and Pat’s Place staff would check on me at least once a week or whenever I needed to speak with somebody. I did a lot of thinking while there. Heaven on earth!"

A former Pat’s Place resident whose landlord and employer became abusive towards her. After two months at Pat’s Place, she received help to find alternate housing.

Violence Against Women

Violence Against Women program offers confidential services to over 1000 women seeking help. We provide support, information about community resources and advice on how to be safe, over the phone or in person. On the website we have a free on-line quiz – Early Warning Signs - for anyone wishing to assess the quality of their relationship.

In addition to one-on-one counselling, many women attend support groups, wellness retreats and educational workshops. We also have one-on-one and group counselling for children who have witnessed abuse.  Our services are available in a variety of languages, to women of diverse backgrounds, or with special needs, living or working in Toronto.

Through our program women will learn:

• that they are not alone and that there are options available to them 
• what abuse is and why it happens 
• to build on personal strengths and increase self-esteem 
• to plan for the future and learn new coping skills 
• to be safe 
• to restore a sense of control and hope in their life

Funding and Program Partners

Ministry of Community and Social Services and United Way Toronto

Program Impact

• Increased safety of women
• Increased self esteem
• Increased control over one’s life

Toronto's Vital Signs® indicator(s) addressed by Program

"A sense of security and safety affects the quality of life in Toronto."

(Toronto’s Vital Signs®, 2009)