Spring 2016 - Fred Victor Centre

We call our newsletter
three P’s. It stands for
Place Purpose Progress.
Please read on and find out
more about Fred Victor
and our three P’s.
SPRING 2016
Mental Health and Criminal Justice
Sammy’s Yatim’s tragic death in July 2013
is well-known in Toronto. He is one
person among a handful in recent years in
which there was an encounter between
mental health and policing. These stories
point to a social issue of great importance.
The 2015 John Howard Society report
titled, Unlocking Change: Decriminalizing
Mental Health Issues in Ontario cryptically
summarized the matter, “In short, when
the healthcare system fails to treat mental
illness, the criminal justice system
punishes the symptom.”
So, in this fragile place, where mental
health and the criminal justice system
meet, it is heartening to know that some
things are working pretty well. Count Fred
Victor’s mental health court support
services programs as two of them. One
program runs out of Old City Hall and is
housed within the only designated Mental
Health Court (court diversion program) in
the province. The other program is at the
College Park Court. According to Fred
Victor Manager Natasha Bartlett, the
diversion court “is a model they’re talking
of copying in England”.
The Mental Health Courts are getting
some attention at the moment. On
February 21, 2016, The Toronto Star’s
Joe Fiorito ran a piece about the Old City
Hall program. He notes, “...this approach
saves lives, makes communities safer,
slashes petty crime and eases the
pressure on policing. It is one of the best
In this Issue
things we do.“ Also this winter, the annual
Flip Your Wig for Justice Magazine
published an article on the same
programs. Wig profiles people, programs,
and firms that make a contribution to
broadening access to justice in Ontario.
The goal of the mental health court
support worker is to help divert people
away from the legal system back to the
public mental health system where they
will be more appropriately served. Anyone
can refer an individual with a mental
health concern who is charged with a
low-risk criminal offence (obviously not
murder, not sexual assault and many other
violent crimes) to the program. Individuals
meet with one of the workers who then
assess the person’s needs and situation.
The Crown Attorney decides whether the
person is eligible for mental health
diversion based on two factors: does the
person have a mental health diagnosis
and is it related to the offence the
individual is charged with? Once the
person charged and their support service
worker develop a diversion plan, the
Crown Attorney can withdraw or stay the
charges – if good progress toward
recovery is being made.
Fred Victor’s Jorge Zelaya is a liaison
between CAMH, the Court and Fred
Victor. He negotiates for clients to be
released from custody. Jorge says, “I have
to come up with a plan and solutions
immediately in order to remove them from
custody.” A plan might include temporary
housing if the person is homeless, medical
and psychiatric care and other support
services sufficient to stabilize the person
as quickly as possible.
Another worker, Rhona Zitney, says,
“When I first meet up with a new client,
I say, ‘Your mental health has led to you
being vulnerable to the attention of the
police.’” Some of us might think that is a
round-about way of saying something
else. But, people experiencing a mental
illness may not realize their thoughts,
sensations and feelings have led them to
disconnect and act in ways that put them
afoul of the law.
Worker Paul Grady gives this example.
“If there’s psychosis, it can take a couple
of months to build trust if they’ve been in
the justice system. I went to meet with a
guy, he was housed, but he was in very
bad shape, really rough shape. I said to
him, ‘If we could work on one goal, just
one thing together, could it be for you to
have your medication and take it
regularly?’ The man sat and stared at the
ceiling while Paul tried to talk with him and
finally the man said: “Yeah, you can paint
my ceiling.”
Fred Victor’s sensitive, skilled workers
are the backbone of the ongoing court
support work. And you can’t help but think
of the otherwise “average” Sammy Yatim.
What would have happened if he hadn’t
died that night? Maybe with proper mental
health intervention he would have followed
his pediatrician mother into a medical field
and become a health services manager
– just like he wanted to be.
Mental Health and Criminal Justice ..1
The Heartwood Circle ...................2
Coming soon… a new video
by Bitter Melon Productions...........2
Learning and Giving ......................3
Get Your Move On ........................3
Transgendered and Proud .............3
Help Fred Fill a Home with Leon’s...4
Some of Fred Victor Mental Health Court
Support Workers: Natasha Bartlett,
Rhona Zitney, Judy Virgo and Paul Grady
1
Mark’s Message
Fred Victor is pleased
to have been part
of two significant
announcements this
winter.
On February 22nd,
I attended the showing
of a powerful
documentary film
called Lowdown Tracks which
chronicles the stories of people
experiencing homelessness who
are musicians. The film launched
the Toronto Alliance to End
Homelessness’s campaign, part
of a larger national campaign,
to find homes for 2,000 people
experiencing longer term
homelessness – people who live
on the streets or in emergency
shelters each night in Toronto.
Fred Victor’s part is a pilot project
that will find permanent,
affordable, appropriate housing
for 200 people in the next year.
And on March 14th, Fred Victor
hosted the announcement by the
Province of an updated affordable
housing strategy. Ted McMeekin,
Minister of Municipal Affairs and
Housing, said: “It is bold. And it is
transformative!”
The core of the announcement
signals a shift in the story of
homelessness in Ontario. As well
as financial commitments, the
Ministry will propose legislation
that would enable municipalities to
mandate developers to incorporate
one per cent of new developments
as affordable housing. If Toronto
had done this five years ago, we’d
now have 12,000 more units of
affordable housing here.
Minister McMeekin and an expert
panel heard recommendations
for the strategy from Fred Victor
and through our networks such
as the Ontario Non-Profit Housing
Association. Your donor support
has kept Fred Victor strong and
has made it possible for us to be
on the front lines offering ideas
for change and strategies that
will help prevent homelessness
in the future.
Roads through poverty and
homelessness that have been
closed since the mid-90s are
beginning to open. Thank you for
your ongoing support. It matters.
Mark Aston,
Executive Director, Fred Victor
Director, Capital
Fundraising &
Communications
Jane Truemner
Writing
Carol Watson
Graphics & Layout
GravityInc.ca
Printing
Imperial Graphics
2
Charitable
Registration
#118931377RR
59 Adelaide Street
East, 6th fl oor
Toronto, Ontario
M5C 1K6
T 416-364-8228
F 416-364-4728
www.fredvictor.org
Coming soon… a new video
by Bitter Melon Productions
You will want to see the Open House
Drop-in’s new video about their Memorial
Project. Keep your eye on our website
www.fredvictor.org.
The death rate among people who
have no money and no home is about
10 times that of people in the general
population. That’s why, several years ago,
Fred Victor community members asked
our Drop-in staff to help them find a way
to work through loss and sadness. The
result was The Memorial Project, a
creative, reflective and loving approach to
marking and remembering the lives of
people who have passed on. The video
documents the people who have been
touched by this Project.
Here is Mohammed, one of the
community members in the video: “I would
like to say how important it is for Fred
Victor to have the memorial. I have
a friend who died. … I am impressed
by how you remembered him, put his
picture all over the walls so everyone
knew he was gone. … Not only do
you care for us when we are alive,
but when we die, you remember us.
Thank you very, very much.”
Starving Artists
Just before Christmas this past
year, some of Fred Victor’s
community artists attended the first
ever Starving Artists’ Holiday Gala.
It was hosted by the Starving Artist
Collective and the event featured
the visual art of people with lived
experience of homelessness.
All proceeds from the sale of the
art went back to the artists.
Roberta at the Starving
Artists’ gala event
The Heartwood Circle
Bill Barnett is just one of a number of
generous people who are members of
Fred Victor’s the Heartwood Circle.
He, along with other members of the
Heartwood Circle, board members,
staff and two residents from our
Women’s Transition to Housing
program attended Heartwood’s first
ever Fred Talks – Ending
Homelessness Together on
March 2, 2016.
The celebration thanked
Heartwood members who said, YES,
when, a year ago we asked them to
make a leadership gift of $1,000 or
more to Fred Victor. When we started
the Heartwood Circle in February
2015, we told new members that
within one year, Fred Victor would find
homes for 350 people who were
Heartwood Circle member
Bill Barnett and Fred Victor’s
Jane Truemner
previously living in poverty and
homeless. At the Fred Talks event,
Director Gautam Mukherjee reported
that we had done even a little better
than that, and could count 375
people now living stably as a result of
their own courage and strength, and
Fred Victor’s supportive intervention.
To find out more about
the Heartwood Circle, please
contact Dagmar Schroeder at
[email protected]
or (416) 364-8228 ext. 1384.
Learning and Giving
Can you imagine all the boxes and bags
you would need to fill if you donated 4,362
items? The first year students in George
Brown College’s Assaulted Women and
Children Counsellor/Advocate Program
came through for the women who use Fred
Victor’s Women’s 24 Hour Drop-in just
before Christmas. Boxes and bags
brimming with essential hygiene products
for women were donated. They made a
cheque donation as well. So kind!
Home Depot
did it again!
Look at the beautiful children’s play
room they created at Fred Victor
Dawes Road Housing.
George Brown student donations
Get Your Move On
Every October, Fred Victor friends and
family, staff and volunteers “get their
move on” to raise money for Fred Victor.
This year, on October 16, 2016,
there are TWO ways to Get
Your Move On.
OPTION TWO: Got another move in
mind? Dance, swim, cycle, kick a ball,
Zumba, box, spin…. That works too!
Gather pledges and register with
Fred Victor’s own Get Your Move On
on-line campaign.
OPTION ONE: Participate in
the Scotiabank Toronto
Waterfront Marathon (STWM).
Walk or run 5 km, or do a half
or full marathon. We can get
you registered!
Want to Volunteer? Help organize the
October 16th Get Your Move On. We
need energetic hearts and hands to
make great events. Join Us! For more
information, please email Marie
MacCormack mmaccormack@
fredvictor.org or call 416-364-8228
ext. 1388. Or check our website
www.fredvictor.org/events.
Bethlehem United Shelter’s
Christine Markham getting
her move on
Transgendered and Proud
Fred Victor includes the needs of
Transgendered people in our programs
and services.
In 2003, Fred Victor pioneered the best
ways for emergency shelters to approach
and house shelter residents who are
transgendered. The Trans Access Project
researched and published best practices
that were subsequently made available to
other City shelters.
Today our Employment and Training
Centre hosts a weekly support group
for Trans people called THRIVE. Here’s
William Hines (left), the Fred Victor
program facilitator, with one of the
members of THRIVE at a seasonal
festivity this past December. THRIVE
is connected to other non-profit
organizations that support Transgendered
people in the City.
Transgen Seasonal party
Please join in our efforts to provide emergency shelter, food and counselling for people when it’s needed most.
Support from people like you will ensure our programs and services are kept effective, innovative and respond
to the real needs of the community.
Yes! I will help people live with dignity.
Enclosed is my tax-deductible gift of:
$25.00
OR
Card No.:
Signature:
$50.00
VISA
$75.00
Mastercard
$100.00
I’d like to give:
Expiry Date:
Telephone:
Thank you for your support! To donate over the phone, please call Dagmar at 416 364-8228 ext. 1384
or visit on-line, www.fredvictor.org Fred Victor, 59 Adelaide Street East, 6th Floor, Toronto, ON M5C 1K6
3
Help Fred Fill a
Home with Leon’s
Monthly
Giving
Fred Victor’s Pan
Am Housing in the
new neighbourhood
called the Canary
District is a perfect
example of a dream
come true – and it’s opening VERY soon!
Many skilled people, housing partners and
YOU have worked together to house
350 people who need affordable homes.
We’ve raised the money to repurpose
the building to create affordable housing,
and now we’re filling the apartments
with appliances, furniture and homey
necessities. Please help us meet our
home-filling goals. Buy a table for a
veteran, beds for a refugee family, a fridge
for someone who uses a wheelchair. Do
it on-line. It’s super fun and affordable for
you too! www.helpfredfillahome.ca
We’re so grateful to
the growing number of
individuals who support
Fred Victor through
monthly donations.
Here’s what motivated
Holly Leclair.
“I began making a monthly donation
after I heard philanthropist and former
service user Frank O’Dea speak at a
Fred Victor event in 2014. I was moved
by his account of his recovery from
alcoholism and his belief that with help
and acceptance, we can find strength
to overcome challenges – addiction,
unemployment, illness or family crisis.
“I feel glad to be contributing, even
in a small way, to helping people find
employment, training, housing, or
whatever they need to participate more
fully in society.”
Thank You!
COMPANIES / CORPORATIONS
CIBC
Crestview Investment Corporation
Dr. A. Evoy Medicine Professional
Corporation
Grace’s Places Inc.
Great West Life Assurance
Company
Health Shield Pharmacy
Ingredion Canada Incorporated
J.S. Cheng & Partners Inc.
Kearns Mancini Architects
RLS Charitable Giving Fund
Royal Canadian Legion Ladies
Auxiliary to Leslie S Company
SAS Institute (Canada) Inc.
Scotiabank
Skelton Truck Lines Ltd.
A shout out to UCW
mug donors!
Last fall, Cora Brodie, from
Markham United Church Women
facilitated a whole bunch of
clothing and mug donations to Fred
Victor programs. She even swung
by in her SUV to our Caledonia
Road shelter with a healthy load.
What a stellar woman! And what
stellar UCW women all round!
For all your planned giving needs,
please contact Dagmar
at [email protected] or
(416) 364-8228 ext. 1384.
The following organizations donated 500 or more to Fred Victor between
November 1, 2015 and March 15, 2016.
TD Bank Group
The Toronto Star
GROUPS
St. Michael’s Trauma Neurosurgery
Intensive Care Unit
CSU Ontario Solidarity Fund
Toronto Theosophical Society
FOUNDATIONS
The A & A King Family Foundation
The Bruce Blackadar Last Call Fund
through the Toronto Foundation
The Caring Foundation
The Catherine and Maxwell Meighen
Foundation
Connor, Clark & Lunn Foundation
CP24 CHUM Christmas Wish Fund
Elizabeth Fry Toronto
59 Adelaide Street East, 6th Floor
Toronto, Ontario M5C 1K6
www.fredvictor.org
The Gandy Charitable
Foundation
The Jackman Foundation
The John & Marian Taylor
Family Fund through the
Toronto Foundation
The K.M. Hunter Charitable
Foundation
The Kensington Foundation
The McLean Foundation
Realtors Care Foundation
The Sherry & Sean
Bourne Family Charitable
Foundation
BEQUESTS / ESTATES
Estate of Janet Allison
Cleland
Estate of Shirley Wigmore
CHURCHES/UCW’S
Fairlawn Avenue United Church
Humbercrest United Church
Kingsway-Lambton United
Church Women
Presbyteries of Toronto
Conference Corporation
(United Church)
Rosedale United Church
Women
Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto
St. Matthews United Church
Women (Richmond Hill)
Timothy Eaton Memorial
Church
Toronto Conference, The
United Church of Canada
(Mission Support)