Community Hubs: Anchors for Strong NeighbourhoodsExploring Shared Services: Co-location and Itinerant Services’ Forum Toronto West Local Immigration Partnership November 19, 2015

Lorraine DuffDirector, Programs

Presentation Overview

1. To provide an overview of Community Hubs

2. To provide proposed components ofco-location, collaboration and integration

3. To provide overview, insights and key learnings from United Way Toronto and York Region’s community hub development journey

What is a Community Hub“Community hubs provide a central access point for a range of needed health and social services, along with cultural, recreational, and green spaces to nourish community life. A community hub can be a school, a neighbourhood centre, an early learning centre, a library, an elderly persons centre, a community health centre, an old government building, a place of worship or another public space….Each hub is as unique as the community it serves and is defined by local needs, services and resources.”

Community Hubs in Ontario: A Strategic Framework & Action Plan, August 2015 For full report go to: Ontario.ca/communityhubs

Community Hubs- Some Examples

“Places where people come together to get services, meet one another and plan together”

Youth CentresFusion Youth Activity and

Technology Centre, Ingersoll

Youth CentresFusion Youth Activity and

Technology Centre, Ingersoll

Multiservice CentresWoodGreen Community

Centre,Toronto

Multiservice CentresWoodGreen Community

Centre,Toronto

Immigration Welcome Centres

York and Durham Regions

Immigration Welcome Centres

York and Durham Regions

CHCs and HubsLangs, CambridgeCHCs and HubsLangs, Cambridge

Child Advocacy Centres7 centres in Ontario

Child Advocacy Centres7 centres in Ontario

Possible Co-location, Collaboration, Integration Components

• Community Hubs

• Tower Neighbourhood Renewal

• Action for Neighbourhood Change (ANC)

• Resident Action Grants

• Increased funding for agencies in the inner suburbs

• Systemic policy change

Building Strong Neighbourhoods Strategy

Community Hubs: Why is social infrastructure needed in inner suburbs? • High rates of poverty

• Physical landscape creates isolation

• The number of community health and social services have not kept up with population growth

• Services may be hard to find or hard to get to

• Transportation barriers

• Few places for residents to gather; some have fees

Community Hubs – United Way ‘model’The Road• A Community Hub is a one stop place to access a range of

relevant community services/programs, and community space; and facilitates the involvement of a broad range of community residents and stakeholders

• 7 operating and 1 in play• Hubs: 1 school reno; 2 new builds on school sites; 5 private

rentals • Agency lead + partner agencies (1 hub - Board of Directors) • Research/engagement identified the needs of residents• Other “hubs” - developed 12 youth spaces through Youth

Challenge Fund (YCF); and UW funds many multiservice organizations across Toronto and York Region

Hub Principles

• Neighbourhood based and locally responsive

• Accessible and engaging of diversity

• Resident involvement in decision- making

• Service coordination and collaboration

• Community space

• Financial sustainability

United Way Priority Neighbourhoods, ANC, TNR and Community Hubs Locations

Non-CHC Hubs Community Health Centre* + Community Hub *Community Health Centers offer primary health care and health promotion.

TNR

Milestones • 50+ partner agencies across all Hubs• 75+ itinerant partners• UWT- total $8.8M; leveraged $30M• UWT operating $153,000/year; all levels

of government (Province 10 ministries/LHINS)-specific program $

• CIC funds 12 organizations in Hubs• 168,000 SF of new multiservice infrastructure including

27,000 SF of community space and approx. 34,000 SF of primary care/health services space

• Hubs services and space used over1.3 million times

Community Hubs – United Way ‘model’• Impacts - coordinated, community

driven services; free space for community residents to support engagement; place to come and “be”; responsiveness-address broader community issues beyond Hub; resident involvement

• Challenges – Operating sustainability; ensuring coordination/collaboration; responding to new community needs; effective resident involvement

Community Hubs- United Way ‘Model’The Development Pot Holes • UW wanted hubs in public

spaces, esp. schools: challenges encountered

• Easier to rent private spaces; cheaper to renovate but higher rents

• Lack of pre-development capacity and resources• Capital finance/acquisition-schools sold at market value-reg

444/98 • $ for school renovations and state of good repair - often

expensive or better to rebuild• Capital approvals process are cumbersome and siloed;

Rexdale CHC satellite in Rexdale Hub announced in 2005 & 2013 yet still in capital process

Community Hubs- United Way ‘Model’

The Development Pot Holes•Barriers such as zoning, development fees and property taxes- handled differently from municipality to municipality•Long term, sustainable funding for both ongoing operating and coordination/engagement costs to maximize hub benefits and community impacts

AccessPoint on Danforth

• Co-locating in schools also challenging – alignment issues, safety, security of long tenure, capital $

• Funding silos

Best Practices/Learnings Why a Hub:• Shared vision, mission, values• Needs Assessment • Collocation/collaboration/

Integration or ?(services, space, back office, shared reception, 1 face?)

• Ownership/Governance Structure• Effective resident engagement and

involvement- a true community building model?

• Finding PartnersBathurst-Finch Hub

Best Practices/Learnings

• Lead agency and anchor partners- committed to the model/work well together

• Develop Agreements/regular check in• Management of space/shared policies • Formal policies and structures • Data collection/evaluation• Capacity building/continuous learning • Resilience and Adaptability

Victoria Park Hub

Best Practices/Learnings

Funding/Financing• Diversified, sufficient, and

sustainable funding for: • Development• Core Operations • Capital • Resident and Partner

engagement • Development time/expertise

Best Practices/Learnings

• Revenue:• Rent• Other (anchor funding)• Productive Enterprises

• Costs• Operating• Repairs/Maintenance/reserves• Shared costs – i.e.. Reception, Manager, back office,

photocopier, computers, WiFi, phones• Supporting the model (i.e. Community Partnership staff)

Best Practices/Learnings

Partner Agency Selection• Be clear what are needs/focus of hub • Clear process to find partners against mission• Who makes decisions • Tenant or Licensee Agreement or other ? • Lease Terms

Key Takeaways – Hubs Work!

Hubs can help meet government policy priorities Space, services, and synergy Flexible - local design allows tailoring Meets increasing demands from a range of stakeholders for

coordinated/integrated service delivery and collective impact

Need overarching mandate & regulatory framework

Thank you

Lorraine Duff

Director, Programs

416 777 1444 ext. 593

lduff@uwgt.org