Housing Help
Our housing help program works with youth, families, newcomers and seniors who are homeless, under-housed and/or at risk of losing their housing.

Here are some of the services our housing counsellors offer:

• Determine your housing needs
  
• Assist with TCHC housing applications and access to private market housing
  
• Work with you to resolve arrears for your utilities
  
• Advocate on your behalf and mediate when issues arise with your housing
  
• Connect you to other services in your community
  
• Follow up contact on a monthly basis
  
• Facilitate workshops about the Housing Help program in the community
  
• Outreach to landlords to increase pool of available housing
  
• Please note that meetings are primarily by appointment only
  

Drop-In
Our housing counsellors host a drop-in program each Tuesday morning from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. This is an opportunity for clients to come in and fill out housing applications with staff and book follow-up appointments. Bringing government-issued identification will help us to serve you better.

Rent Bank
Our rent bank program works with households that are at risk of losing their housing due to rental arrears. We send all applications to Neighbourhood Information Post for processing.

Our rent bank worker will:

• Interview and assess clients looking for rent bank support
  
• Process client applications for loans from the Central Administration Office at the City of Toronto
  
• Provide information on tenants rights and responsibilities and mediate when landlord and tenants issues arise
  
• Maintain contact with clients regarding their rent bank loans and repayment schedules
  
• Facilitate financial literacy training
  
• Promote the program to landlords to encourage referrals of clients
  
  

Streets to Homes
Our Streets to Homes program works with clients that were previously living outside and have more recently been housed in the Scarborough community.

Our workers provide the following services:

• Follow-up support through telephone contact and home visits to help people to stay housed
  
• Case management via goal setting and identification of issues that affect housing, including social isolation, mental health, substance use and others
  
• Connect clients to other community services
  
• Mediate issues between clients and housing providers
  
• Outreach to landlords, support workers and other community agencies
  
• Monthly check-ins with landlords to ensure that no rental arrears exist

Hidden Homelessness Among Newcomers Project
This newly funded program represents our initial footing in York Region. It offers services to newcomers that are at high-risk due to living in overcrowded, substandard housing in Markham and Scarborough.

Our project coordinator:

• Facilitates workshops to housing providers, counsellors and newcomers to build knowledge capacity
  
• Conducts outreach to landlords to find suitable units
  
• Offers services in English, Tamil and Mandarin
  
• Refers clients to our housing help counsellors to discuss housing needs
  
• Will create a permanent resource on hidden homelessness that
  will be added to our agency’s website
  
  

Community Outreach
This program provides information dissemination about our services and how to apply for subsidized housing for single adults, families, and seniors. This service is offered in Mandarin, Tamil and English.

Our outreach workers offer the following services:

• Current rental information
  
• Provide client information packages that describe community services, i.e. education, employment, food, substance use, etc.
  
• Facilitate workshops for Mandarin and English-speaking clients and seniors in both Scarborough and Markham
  
• Liaise with community members in Scarborough’s high priority
  neighbourhoods

Winter Warmth
The Toronto Winter Warmth Fund provides grants to low-income households that have accrued arrears with Toronto Hydro Electric System and Enbridge Gas Distribution.

Our agency is the Local Access Centre in Scarborough for this program. Our housing counsellors meet with clients to determine their eligibility for grants and submit completed applications to the Central Administration Office for approval.

For more information about eligibility criteria or general information about this program, please contact our office.

Hot Breakfast
This program serves clients at risk of homelessness and operates on a weekly basis during the winter season. Those attending the program are provided a nutritious breakfast and are offered information about other services we offer.

Come and enjoy a hot breakfast along a good social time!

Housing Database for the York Region
This partnership initiative, featuring SHHC, COSTI Immigrant Services and Citizenship for Affordable Housing, will offer housing help services for newcomers living in Markham, Richmond Hill and Vaughan.

A housing help database will be established and extensive outreach to private landlords will be the initial focus of this project. Ultimately, we will be helping newcomers to connect with affordable, market-rent housing opportunities.

Anyone interested in becoming a landlord or has units they wish to rent is invited to contact our office for more information.