Throughout fiscal 2021-22, Cota successfully navigated our way through a variety of challenges and opportunities which included (but certainly were not limited to!) contending with multiple waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, active participation in continued health system transformation and the continued stabilization of a number of recently added service offerings.
It was an exhausting year, but one filled with many successes. These successes were the result of the incredible spirit of collaboration exhibited by our frontline staff, our leadership team, our funders and many of our colleague organizations.
We witnessed teams come together to support one another through difficult times. Our leadership stepped up more than ever, assisting each other to ensure service continuance and enhancement. We experienced growth and embraced change– getting new programs off the ground while expanding existing ones. We shifted some of our office spaces and moved into new program facilities. We sought opportunity to connect, learn and network… and most importantly, we introduced ourselves and our services to new clients– supporting their health, personal growth and wellbeing.
All of our staff have demonstrated remarkable resiliency throughout the past two years of the pandemic. Time after time, they have pivoted and adapted their means of service delivery to ensure our clients received the support they need in the safest way possible.
On behalf of the Board of Directors we would like to extend our sincerest gratitude to our frontline service providers, students, volunteers, management, funders and partners for your ongoing dedication and support to Cota and the people we serve.
We hope you enjoy these highlights from the past year (April 1 2021 – March 31st 2022), recounting the many ways in which collaboration made these times navigable and rewarding!
– Paul Bruce (CEO) & Lily Yang (Board President)
Fiscal year 2021-22 was a dizzying time of the pandemic, with several waves of infections resulting in a strained healthcare system, the emergence of multiple variants and evolving public health directives, there was much to juggle, monitor and respond to. As a silver lining, it was also when vaccines became widely available to the public and health authorities mobilized to distribute and facilitate vaccinations across the country. During this time, many received their first and subsequent vaccines for Covid-19, which proved vital in curbing severe outcomes for those who became infected.
With supporting vulnerable populations, often with complex health conditions and living in congregate settings, comes the responsibility to offer accessible and convenient options for folks to protect their health. Cota is incredibly grateful to have been supported by Unity Health and Parkdale Queen West Community Health Centre in providing on-site vaccines at several of our supportive housing sites as well as our Boarding Home Program.
Unity Health provided vaccine support to Adam’s House and Collegeview. Dolly, Manager Community Health Services, recalls their visits to Adam’s House in Spring/Summer 2021 for first and second doses. “Unity Health came in April for the first vaccination and July for the second”. They brought their supplies in a vehicle, set up their equipment and prepared the vaccines in the office. “It was all very organized and professional. Vaccines were administered in the common area and chairs were set up in the hallways for 15-minute observations afterwards. It went really smoothly… we have 26 clients in the house and 25 of them got vaccinated!” To prepare for the day, staff informed tenants ahead of time, hung posters and had conversations regarding any questions.
Dolly adds, “I actually got vaccinated that day myself. There were some surplus vials at the end of the clinic and was counselled around some health concerns I had. At the time it was difficult to access certain vaccines and I was a little nervous. In the end I felt really comfortable and at ease after the first dose. I was happy to set a positive example for others and I had a few clients tell me that seeing me get it made them feel more relaxed about it too”. Cota would also like to extend our thanks to Toronto Public Health, who came to Adams House and Collegeview to administer third and fourth doses for all those who wanted additional protection.
In addition to this, Unity Health, Parkdale Queen West Health Centre, Village Family Health Team and Humber River Hospital all played a part in of setting up mobile/in-home vaccination clinics at nearly 30 boarding homes. These homes house hundreds of tenants that Cota provides support to through our Boarding Home Program, which is a partnership between Cota, Habitat Services and landlords across the city.
“Hosting vaccine clinics within each boarding home made a such a positive impact for the tenants. Our aim was to reduce barriers, increase accessibility, optimize health and safety, and foster a sense of community – and this is exactly what we were able to achieve. We are so grateful for the partnerships that allowed this happen.”
Ultimately, this collaborative effort resulted in over 500 tenants throughout 26 Boarding Homes being successfully vaccinated with a responsiveness rate of 78%!
During the 2021-22 fiscal year, Cota deepened our existing relationship with The Acorn Arts Project by entering a time-limited contact supporting an expansion of their services to clients and tenants (at Adam’s House, Bailey House, Collegeview, Beaty and our Health Home and Community program) in order to combat isolation and provide supportive recreation and personal expression through art-creation.
The Acorn Arts Project is a registered non-profit community outreach art organization that runs accessible art studio educational spaces, which offer inclusive studio art sessions for individuals living in marginalized communities in Toronto.
What this looked like in the beginning, was outdoor programming, later transitioning to indoors with social distancing and face protection protocols. Engagement was slow at first, but residents were happy to reconnect and enjoy community activities once more. At the new sites, Acorn built a small following of participants, eager to be around people once more.
Covid strains (Delta and Omicron) interrupted in-person delivery and Acorn pivoted to delivering art supplies in the form of kits, along with printed prompts and project possibilities with those given materials across the housing sites. The kits were developed to contain cumulative skill-building exercises at different levels of ability and interest, giving recipients choice and freedom to follow their interests- be it pen and ink drawing, pencil drawing, using elements of design such as line, shape, form and colour etc. Some participants even created artwork with the kits while on Zoom with the Acorn Arts facilitators!
Once Covid protocols eased, longer visits from the facilitators to our supportive housing sites began, allowing for in-person facilitation/instruction- which had an incredibly positive impact on those who joined in! With each visit, folks had the opportunity to begin a new project for the day such as painting or mixed media, or continue working on something from a previous session… all while engaging with the facilitators (Naomi and Bruce) and socializing with their co-participants.
“Community arts engagement is such a powerful way to connect with people on a personal level and to nourish the human need for contact and interaction. With community art, participants are reminded that they matter, and that what they can accomplish matters! ”
Cota is thrilled to have played a significant role in the City’s first ever Modular Housing Initiative, which resulted in a total of 100 new affordable housing options for people experiencing chronic homelessness being created across two sites (11 Macey Ave. and 321 Dovercourt Rd.).
This initiative, which was implemented in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, was a very complex undertaking. It was made possible through the innovative efforts of the City to rapidly develop affordable housing on municipal land using modular construction methods. It also required the leadership of the local Councillors, the collaborative efforts of The Neighbourhood Group (TNG) as the building operator, Cota as on-site support provider and the support service funding contributions of Ontario Health Central, Ontario Health Toronto and the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services in order for it to become a reality.
Both sites opened their doors in early 2021 and began welcoming people to their new homes over the following months. Helping 100 people exit homelessness, transition to their new homes, become familiar with their new neighbours/community and gain trust in the on-site supports available to them, all during a global pandemic, was a monumental achievement that required constant navigation of Public Health directives aimed at keeping staff and tenants safe and extensive collaboration between Cota, TNG and others.
In speaking with Robin, Manager Community Health Services at 321 Dovercourt, he expressed admiration for the programs staff, “They’ve demonstrated an incredible dedication to supporting the residents in being successful. An example that comes to mind is a gentleman who was accepted into the program after being chronically homeless. Prior to moving in, he was presenting himself to the local ER regularly […] since moving into 321 Dovercourt there have been no visits to the ER. This is largely due to the stability that supportive, permanent housing offers.”
In spite of the pandemic, staff at the modular housing sites have been able to establish some onsite social/recreation groups to promote wellbeing while following Cota’s Covid-19 health and safety protocols. 321 Dovercourt has also established a partnership with Parkdale Queen West Community Health Centre’s Health Bus, which has been instrumental in creating a positive and low-barrier way for residents to receive healthcare. The Health Bus visits the property each Tuesday afternoon, offering primary care from a Nurse Practitioner along with harm reduction support.
“I’m really proud of all the collaboration we’ve seen this past year at Dovercourt! Even though we have been up against a lot while navigating a pandemic, the team has been very consistent in the support offered to the residents. ”
Another milestone this fiscal year was the opening Cota’s very first owned property, a rooming house in Parkdale. This site provides deeply affordable housing for nine (9) tenants who have experienced chronic homelessness and are living with mental health challenges. The acquisition and renovation of the site was made possible through generous capital fund contributions from Ontario Priorities Housing Initiative (OPHI, administered by the City of Toronto, and a Board of Directors approved Strategic Initiatives Fund contribution from Cota’s own reserves.
Once the site was purchased, we spent several months planning and coordinating renovations ton the building to prepare it for occupancy. While this was occurring, we worked very closely with representatives from the City’s Shelter Support and Housing Administration and Coordinated Access team to develop an approach to identifying candidates for tenancy. Our aim was to offer tenancy to nine (9) men who had experienced homelessness, were living with mental health challenges and who had the and who were assessed as being at a point in their recovery process where they could manage their daily lives and tenant responsibilities with only a mild level of supports from Cota.
Throughout the renovation and opening phases of the project, Cota engaged the local community through meetings and informal conversations, as there was much curiosity about this new and ambitious project in the Parkdale neighborhood! We completed the renovations of the rooming house in May, 2021 and tenants moved in during June, 2021 with a warm welcome from the community- even receiving gifts from neighbors and community members.
“ Looking back on the past year we have seen a lot of growth at the site. Our residents have integrated into the community and have become familiar with the other home owners on the street. I have seen our clients overcome many life challenges over the past year. The residents have become a family of their own and support each other often.”
Upon opening, Cota provided quite a bit of on-site support to the tenants to ensure that they were successful in their transition to their new home, for the first 6 months. Following this initial phase, on-site support shifted, with Cota staff now currently on-site during the afternoon on weekdays. We have also contracted overnight security for the site to ensure the safety of the building and tenants. Moving forward we hope to reduce and eventually eliminate the need for this overnight security presence.
While one or two of the initial group of men have struggled in becoming successful tenants, moving to the site has been a very positive experience for the vast majority of the men who now call it their home. For some it has been life saving.
“ Many life skills were learned and families were reconnected. Often, I would hear our residents say ‘this place saved my life’ … with housing no longer an issue, residents are more focused and many are accomplishing goals they’ve had for a long time. As the manager of the Program, I have experienced first-hand what stable housing can do for mental health and overall wellness of our clients.”
As you can imagine, coordinating the renovations, tenant identification/selection processes, community engagement, furniture/appliance ordering delivery, tenant move-ins and on-site staffing supports throughout successive waves of the COVID-19 pandemic was a huge undertaking and required the collaborative efforts of many including but not limited to, City staff, our architectural and contraction teams, local residents, our tenants and Cota’s Board of Directors, support staff and leadership. Thank you for assisting us to navigate our way through it all and for making this project possible.
The Mobile Crisis Intervention Teams or “MCITs”, are collaborative partnerships between participating Toronto area hospitals and the Toronto Police Service. MCIT pairs a mental health nurse and a specially trained police officer to respond to situations involving individuals experiencing a mental health crisis.
In many instances, after MCIT provides their immediate intervention, individuals may consent to receiving short-term follow-up supports to assist in personal recovery and, where needed, referrals to longer-term community supports. This second stage of service is MCIT Follow-Up support.
The MCIT Follow-Up Case Managers receive referrals for individuals identified through the initial MCIT intervention who have consented to receiving further short-term follow-up support in the community. MCIT Follow-Up Case Managers provide short-term supports to assess immediate risk factors, assist individuals to create personal safety plans, establish priority goals, and, where required/desired, facilitate referrals to other community-based services for longer-term support.
This service was originally developed in October of 2019 with partnerships between Cota, Toronto Police Service, North York General Hospital and Humber River Hospital. In July 2021, Cota was pleased to receive additional funding to achieve the expansion to Scarborough Health Network, effectively increasing our geographical reach with this program. To accommodate this expansion, an additional full-time Case Manager was hired.
Contending with the ongoing reality and impact of COVID-19 over the past two years has required all of our staff and leadership to go over an above, in order to adapt to our new realities and continue to deliver high quality services. While the experience has admittedly been exhausting, it will not deter us from forging ahead in pursuit of our mission and in finding new ways to make positive impact in the lives of people in need within our community.
While fiscal 2022-23 will hopefully see the presence of COVID-19 diminish and provide us with an opportunity to take a breath and recover from its impact, we are also looking forward to some launching exciting new programs and initiatives in the coming months. These include, but are not necessarily limited to:
The Creation of More Affordable and Supportive Housing
A New Adult Protective Services Worker program for people living with Developmental Disabilities.
A 12-Month Pilot Initiative at Toronto Community Housing’s 250 Davenport Site
The Opening of Our New ABI - Adult Day Program Space in Scarborough
Preparing to Launch a new Mental Health & Justice Safe Bed Program in East York. We recently secured a site for this service and will be renovating it throughout fiscal 2022-23 in order to ready it for opening in early fiscal 2023-24.
If you would like to hear more about these and other exciting developments, as they happen, we would encourage you to following us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram and by subscribing to our semi-annual newsletter CotaConnected by scrolling to the very bottom of this website!
Board of Directors
President
Lily Yang
Vice-President
Leah Dunbar
Treasurer
Melanie Towell
The Directors
Aaron Campbell
Martin Chicilo
Arielle Di Iulio
Aine O’Connor
Julia Renaud
Wayne Seifried
Daniela Sota, MA, RP
Ruby Tatla
Marko Trivun
Community Participant
Dr. Paul Benassi
Cota Executive Leadership
Chief Executive Officer
Paul Bruce
Senior Director, Clinical Operations & Quality Improvement
Sylvia Starosta
Director, Finance & Administration
Ben Flores
Director, People + Culture
Lola Obomighie / Rachel Stanford
