Community Safety Resources
1. Attached Save The Date – Community Safety Forum, Session 1 Flyer, Session 2 Flyer: The City of Toronto invites you to attend the Community Safety and Wellbeing Unit's 5th Annual Community Safety Forum. This year's theme is: Transformative Healing and Recovery. The Community Safety Forum will look different from previous years, given the COVID-19 pandemic and important physical distancing measures put in place. As such, the Forum will occur virtually and be delivered through a variety of online sessions, panel discussions, and workshops. The goal is to create a safe online space for resident groups, grassroots organizations, and service providers to collaboratively address issues of community safety, impacts of/exposure to violence, and identify ways to collectively heal and recover.
These sessions will occur every Friday from 10:00AM – 11:30AM and cover the following topics:
· Innovative Youth Engagement & Social Media – July 24st, 2020
· Community Healing & Cultural Appropriateness – July 31st, 2020
· Transformative Healing and Recovery: A Collaborative Approach for Grassroots Organizations and Agencies – August 7th, 2020
· City of Toronto Responsiveness – August 14th, 2020
Registration Opens is Open! To attend one of these amazing sessions, please register by accessing the following Eventbrite Link: virtualsafetyforum.eventbrite.ca
2. Please see the link below for the new Toronto Police Services Portal that provides information on the Neighbourhood Officer Program, this lists the division, names and contact information for the Officers, how many neighbourhood have them, how many are assigned etc.
Children and Youth Resources
3. The Ontario Trillium Foundation has launched the Youth Opportunities Fund (YOF) with three grant streams to support projects improving the wellbeing of children, youth, and families facing systemic barriers.
· The Youth Innovations Stream invests in the work of grassroots groups that are youth-led or youth-adult partnerships by funding projects that test an idea or scale a successful project. Expression of Interest deadline is October 14, 2020. Funding ranges from $85,000/year for 1 to 3 years and $125,000/year for 3 to 4 years.
· The Family Innovations Stream invests in the work of grassroots groups led by parents, guardians and/or caregivers to test or scale culturally anchored projects that empower, support, and strengthen families. Expression of Interest deadline is October 14, 2020. Funding ranges from $85,000/year for 1 to 3 years and $125,000/year for 3 to 4 years.
· The System Innovations Stream supports collaboratives that are strengthening the quality and responsiveness of systems so they work better for youth facing systemic barriers. Organization registration deadline is September 16, 2020 and grant application is due October 14, 2020. Funding is $250,000/year for 2 to 6 years.
YOF supports initiatives led by and for:
· Indigenous young leaders and parents, guardians, and caregivers;
· Black young leaders and parents, guardians, and caregivers, and;
· Other young leaders and parents, guardians, and caregivers facing systemic barriers to wellbeing.
To learn more about the YOF and our granting opportunities, visit www.otf.ca/yof or connect with YOF Staff at yof@otf.ca
4. Free online story time and programs for younger and school-aged kids is available on the Toronto Public Library YouTube page. Please follow the link for to access this resource: https://www.youtube.com/user/torontopubliclibrary/playlists?view=50&sort=dd&shelf_id=11
5. Free Dial-A-Story is available for younger children and kids up to the age of 12 in 16 different languages through the Toronto Public Library. To access this service call 416-395-5400. More information is available on the TPL website: https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/services/dial-a-story.jsp
Health Care, Sanitation Resources & Heat Relief
6. Drug Alert: See the attachment for opioid overdose-related concerns and supports.
7. Attached Community Cooling Rooms FAQ - New materials and guidance available for community agencies to provide cool rooms during heat alerts from the City of Toronto. This year’s heat season (May 15 to September 30) is more challenging due to the COVID-19 pandemic and related State of Emergency declarations by the Province of Ontario and Toronto Mayor John Tory. Many locations that would normally provide a cool space to people in Toronto during the heat season are closed or operating at reduced capacity. To provide heat relief to vulnerable people, the City has been operating Emergency Cooling Centres during Heat Warnings issued by Environment and Climate Change Canada. Locations of these centres can be found on our Cool Spaces Near You map.
We've seen interest from community organisations such as yours to open and operate Cooling Rooms in order to provide further heat relief to vulnerable people. As such, Toronto Public Health has developed guidelines for community-run Cooling Rooms https://www.toronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/958d-COVID-19_Fact-Sheet_Cooling-Rooms.pdf. Additionally, the City has developed a FAQ sheet (attach), made up of questions we've heard some of our partner community organisations ask us, to help further guide organisations on how to open and operate Cooling Rooms.
If you are interested in opening a community-run Cooling Room, please reach out to us at CoolingCentres@toronto.ca. We'd be happy to provide you with more information and/or share your intended hours of operation on our website.
8. Covid-19 Resources for Congregate Living Settings from Public Health Ontario:
· COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions for Congregate Living Settings provides answers to approximately half of the questions received from the May 2020 webinars entitled Foundations of COVID-19 Prevention and Control for Congregate Living Settings. Responses will be updated as new information and resources become available.
· How to Cohort During an Outbreak of COVID-19 in a Congregate Living Setting can be used by administrators and staff members in a range of congregate living settings to cohort (group) residents based on risk of COVID-19 or positive test results during an outbreak in the facility.
· COVID-19: Cohorting in Outbreaks in Congregate Living Settings is a more detailed document on cohorting intended for public health units to use when assisting congregate living settings in establishing and working in cohorts during a COVID-19 outbreak.
· COVID-19: Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and Non-Medical Masks in Congregate Living Settings is a document for congregate living setting staff and administrators on how to choose appropriate PPE and masks for staff and residents of congregate living settings, how to safely put on and take off PPE, and how to clean reusable PPE.
· A Congregate Living Setting Resource Toolkit summarizes the available resources. Current and future resources, including recordings of educational webinars for congregate living settings, can be found in one place on the PHO COVID-19 Resources for Congregate Living Settings page.
Housing and Shelter Resources
9. TCHC Seniors Housing Unit – Tenancy Renewal Process During Covid-19 Outbreak: Tenants can continue to submit their annual income verification documents. They can either mail them in or provide them to the superintendent in the building who will forward them to the Tenant Service Coordinator for processing. The Tenant Service Coordinator will follow up with tenants as needed if necessary.
As a reminder, the City's webpage is updated daily with the latest health advice and information about City services, social supports and economic recovery measures. Additionally, information on the Community Coordination Plan and other social supports to COVID-19 can be found on this dedicated webpage.