Community Knowledge Centre - Toronto Community Foundation

About this organization

Mission

To help build a civic society, we will capitalize on the considerable capacities of our staff, our board, our members, our volunteers, and our community partners, both locally and city-wide. Social Planning Toronto (SPT; formerly the Community Social Planning Council of Toronto) is committed to independent social planning at the local and city-wide levels in order to improve the quality of life for all people in Toronto. It is committed to diversity, social and economic justice, and active citizen participation in all aspects of community life.

History of Organization

Established in 1937, the Toronto Welfare Council was the earliest incarnation of Social Planning Toronto. The Council focused on research, identifying for the first time Toronto’s strengths and weaknesses in health and welfare services, and the changing needs and demographics of its communities. In the late 1960s there were calls for more representation of grassroots community groups and for people living in poverty. This challenge came to a head in the early 1970’s when grassroots movements formed a coalition and organized to change the direction of the Council to make it more responsive to the community. This broader interpretation of social planning manifested itself effectively as landmark reports were released that challenged decision-makers and promoted a real dialogue on the changing nature of the city, while identifying critical service gaps. The values of social development and empowerment continue to inform the work of the SPT today as it strives to “build a Civic Society: one in which diversity, equity, social and economic justice, interdependence and active citizen participation are central to all aspects of our lives.”

Accolades and Accomplishments

SPT has produced a number of key publications over the years ranging from the 1980’s reports Metro’s "Suburbs in Transition and Neighbourhoods under Stress" (which drew attention to the critical need for investment in community infrastructure, particularly in the inner suburban neighbourhoods undergoing dramatic change) to 2010’s "Policy without Practices Barriers to Enrollment for Non-Status Immigrant Students in Toronto’s Catholic Schools" (the release of the report promoted a swift change in practice on the part of the Board). These reports are read by thousands of people across the city each year. Our community planners continue to play a direct role in supporting Toronto neighbourhoods. SPT has a long history of working with community groups to establish new organizations such as the Volunteer Bureau in the 1960s, and working on coalitions to create movements for change such as the 25 in 5 Campaign for Poverty Reduction in 2008. Staff (such as John Campey, winner of the City of Toronto Access, Equity and Human Rights Pride award) continues to be recognized for their dedication and hard work. SPT is also the recent winner of a 2011 Vital Idea award.

Programs

>Lost in the Shuffle: Translating Research to Action

Through its many diverse local relationships created over the past 70 years SPT has developed a citywide agenda and priorities and is able to mobilize community organizations around specific local issues and community concerns. Under its mandate to create a liveable, affordable city SPT addresses four priority areas through communications outreach, community engagement, policy analysis, and research activities:

1) labour markets and income security,

2) education and human development,

3) housing and community infrastructure, and

4) public finance and resource allocation.

SPT also endeavours to serve the community by acting as a centre for leadership in the arenas of disseminating community-based research and data-sharing; providing leadership or support of local, city-wide, and provincial/national initiatives such as the Save the Census campaign; and in communications and knowledge translation through our support of other organizations. Building staff, student, and volunteer capacity is also a critical component of SPT’s activities. Though our resources are limited, through our work with students from a variety of university and colleges across the city we are able to share knowledge and help create a new generation of change agents that will imbue Toronto’s future leaders in the community services sector with an understanding of the importance of creating sound policy, grounded in solid research, to strengthen civil society.

Lost in the Shuffle: Translating Research to Action

There are approximately 4,000 homeless children living in Toronto at any one time. "Lost in the Shuffle", our 2007 report, found that “58% of children in shelters had attended three or more schools” and school-related problems are a common result of homelessness.

Due to the duration of stay in shelters children experience disruptions in their education. Children face stress associated with residential instability and upheaval in their family and school life. They change schools, depriving them of friendships and support networks. School performance and self esteem suffer. Children’s mental health is affected as they are stigmatized for being in a shelter. Due to the high incidence of witnessed violence among homeless children, many suffer emotional impacts and may act out in class where a teacher has not been trained to deal with these effects.

We will translate our research into action by creating an educational resource for educators and shelter workers that captures the impact of homelessness on children’s school success, shares best practices and builds communication between silos to improve children's educational experience.

Funding and Program Partners

If funded this project will provide SPT with the opportunity to work with a number of agencies, though our main collaboration will be with Aisling Discoveries Child and Family Centre. Aislinghas a 15 year history of successful practice and a network of connections and expertise in the sphere of children’s mental health, making it an ideal partner for this project. Partnerships also will be renewed and extended with schools and shelters that participated in the 2007 research project. This opportunitywill also allow for the formation of new relationships, not only with and between schools and shelters, but with other relevant organizations such as Children’s Mental Health ON, the TorontoDistrict School Board (TDSB), Faculties of Education, Friendship Centres, and newcomer organizations.

We have an established advisory committee comprised of two former TDSB principals, the ExecutiveDirector of Women’s Habitat, and Woodgreen Community Services’ Manager of Planning and Research. Each of these advisors supports our idea and brings valuable insight and direct service capacity/knowledge to assist in the dissemination of the work.

Program Impact

"Lost in the Shuffle” captured best practices identified by schools and shelters; 20 presentations have been made, including one requested by TDSB superintendents; over 500 reports have been disseminated. There have been over 2,000 hits on the report and it has been posted on The Homeless Hub website. The value of the report is widely recognized but its recommendations must be translated into action to alleviate the serious impact of homelessness on the educational success of these students.

With this grant SPT and Aisling will create an accessible training resource to address this need and provide solutions.

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

“3,269 children stayed in Toronto’s shelters in 2009, 550 more than the year before (a 20% increase). The numbers of children accompanying their parents into shelters has been growing since 2005. Because refugee claimants
arrive in Canada with few resources, and no federal funding exists to assist
with shelter, many are forced to turn to the city’s shelters. 72% of the
estimated growth between 2006 and 2008 of families in shelters, was attributed
to an increase in numbers of refugee households in the city.” (Toronto's Vital Signs® 2010)

Participant Vignette

The 2007 research report "Lost in the Shuffle: The impact of homelessness on children’s education in Toronto" captured shelter and school best practices and the voices of the parents and children struggling with the realities of homelessness. This vignette was collated from research interviews conducted at a Toronto school and shelter in 2006 and highlights the importance of having a school liaison worker.

One liaison worker stated: “We have kids that witnessed family violence. Emotional issues can be everything. I see a lot of kids that are really scared. They need a lot of emotional support. In my office I do a lot of activities around feelings, being able to identify feelings and what do you do with feelings and what do they mean.” A child living within a homeless shelter stated that “there is this guy who is a liaison worker who has really helped me out a lot since I have been living in the shelter.” A shelter staff member reported: “They, the school liaison workers, are doing that front line work in schools and the work they do is phenomenal, we are so lucky to have them.”