What's New > Annual Report 2010/2011
2010-11: Year in Review
By Sharon Oosthoek
Introduction
Family Service Toronto has a long and distinguished history of helping people face a wide variety of life challenges. For almost 100 years, we have helped families and individuals through counselling, community development, advocacy and public education programs.
More than 62,000 lives were touched in those 12 months and that commitment to problem resolution, community building, prevention and social justice took many forms. Over the last year, we continued to respond to emerging needs and to advocate for positive social change to benefit families and communities across the city. And we launched several new initiatives, which reinforced our critical role in Toronto’s social services sector.
They included If I Had Only Known – a groundbreaking project which deepened our expertise in the area of abuse and violence in relationships and expanded our work with newcomer communities. Our ongoing efforts to build inclusive communities were reflected in our work to help young people find a new voice in the Taylor Massey community.
Our Social Reform unit led several initiatives to raise awareness of poverty and inequality and offer practical solutions for ending those conditions. And FSEAP, our employee assistance program which provides services to a client base of 200,000 people across Canada, launched a 24/7 call-in service with Family Service Moncton for a branch of the New Brunswick provincial government.
Of course, all of the activities, events and accomplishments of the last year would not be possible without our dedicated staff, the generous support of United Way Toronto and other funders, our supportive donors and the more than 300 volunteers who give of their time and talents to help FST make a difference in the lives of so many. Thank you for sharing the vision.
Executive Director’s Office
How we define ourselves is fundamental to achieving our mission and living our values. So it is significant that 2010-11saw some important steps toward defining the non-profit sector as an essential part of civil society and democracy.
In fact, the Ontario government acknowledged that with its reference to our work in its annual Speech from the Throne:
“Your government is grateful for the work of Ontario’s 46,000 not-for-profit organizations that are the unsung heroes of Ontario’s economy. Nearly five million Ontarians volunteer their services in their communities. Some are helping your government reach its goal of reducing poverty rates by 25 per cent in five years.”
The fiscal year ended in March 2011 with even positive news- the province adopted recommendations to improve its relations with the non-profit sector, including the appointment of a Minister responsible for the sector. This action is a direct result of a province-wide consultation to strengthen the relationship between government and not-for-profit organizations.
The Ontario Nonprofit Network was a key part of that consultation, and FST has played a lead role in the network, which works to strengthen communication and co-ordination among non-profit organizations working for public benefit.
On the municipal front, FST watched with interest as change swept Toronto City Hall, where a centre-right shift in priorities emerged with the October 2010 election of Mayor Rob Ford. Soon after, we met with downtown councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam (Toronto Centre – Rosedale) and expressed our interest in working with her throughout her term which ends in 2014.
FST continued to explore the most effective way to use our assets to deliver innovative programs, services, social reform and administration. Last year, we made great progress on that front with plans to redevelop our property at 355 Church Street, and as the fiscal year ended, we were close to an agreement with a leading builder. With space for our base operations and community activities on the lower floors and condominiums above, the project will give us not only a beautiful and efficient new working environment, but contribute to our financial sustainability.
Our fall of 2010 internal United Way campaign was the most successful ever, garnering us a nomination for a United Way Spirit Award.
Several new staff joined the organization. Marketing and Communications welcomed a new director and our new grant writer helped shift the organization’s fundraising focus away from individual donors to foundations and corporate donors. With this strategy, we are building on our solid financial platform of annual core funding from United Way Toronto and government funding to support our programs and services.
And finally, we said goodbye in March 2011 to Hedy Leslie who retired after a remarkable 42 years as an FST counsellor. Hedy specialized in working with women and couples, helping them deal with a wide range of family and relationship issues.
Social Reform
Our Social Reform team led several initiatives over 2010-11 to raise awareness of poverty and inequality and to propose practical solutions to these challenges.
In our role as the co-ordinator of Campaign 2000, we organized a Winnipeg roundtable with the Social Planning Council of Winnipeg, on the eve of the annual meeting of the premiers. The roundtable brought participants from low-income communities, labour, business, women’s groups, people with disabilities, Aboriginal communities, faith communities, recent immigrants and lone parents.
The group drew the premiers’ attention to the key issue of poverty reduction. In fact, for the first time since Campaign 2000 launched its annual communication with the premiers in 1997, the communiqué from the premiers made explicit mention of poverty.
In November, along with our partners, the team released national and provincial report cards on child and family poverty, attracting much media coverage and public discussion. The reports revealed that, in 2008, 14.2 per cent of Canadian children lived in families that were struggling below Statistics Canada low-income cut-off before tax. In Ontario, the figure was higher at 14.7 per cent.
The national report was released at the Parliament Hill Press Gallery, followed by an MP breakfast on the Hill the next morning, with about 40 MPs and Senators attending. The release attracted a Globe and Mail front-page article on seniors’ poverty and a CBC Cross Country Checkup program devoted to the issue, during which interviews were conducted with FST staff from Social Reform/Campaign 2000 and the Changing Lives director who oversees seniors’ programs.
Shortly before the 2011federal election call, the team convened a Town Hall Forum on Poverty with representatives from all four federal political parties who responded to questions about how they would make poverty a thing in the past in Canada. Co-sponsored with Make Poverty History and the Community Development Council of Durham, and with support from Calgary-based Leadwell Foundation, the forum was broadcast live online and a webinar was created, allowing a broader range of people from across the country to take part.
Changing Lives and Family Violence
In many of Toronto's underserved suburban neighbourhoods, the challenges of social isolation and poverty are compounded by a lack of adequate services and community space. In partnership with the province, private funders, and key agency partners, United Way Toronto is seeding development of eight Community Hubs in priority neighbourhoods. The hubs are designed to bring people in communities together, connect them to the services they need, foster the development of resident organizations and grassroots groups, and grow volunteer leadership.
In December 2010, FST celebrated the opening of the Victoria Park Hub in the city’s east end. Seven community organizations operate out of this hub, including FST, which provides programs such as support for seniors and a Tamil-speaking counsellor in our Violence Against Women program. Staff from FST’s Options program, who work with people with intellectual challenges, are also located at this hub. In addition, we are a partner in future hubs planned for the Rexdale and Bathurst-Finch communities.
The fiscal year also saw FST’s Violence Against Women program develop its If Only I Had Known project which focused on preventing abuse and violence in relationships. The project is designed to help newcomers learn about Canadian laws and their rights and responsibilities.
With funding from Citizenship and Immigration Canada, the project culminated in March 2011 with the publication of 18 educational brochures in Farsi, Dari, Pashto, Tamil, Somali and Punjabi and feature culturally-situated information for each community. The brochures are being distributed nationally.
In the next year, the second phase of the project- Healthy Families, Healthy Communities- will support peer leaders working with newcomers on family violence issues.
Last year, our first full-time intern joined David Kelley Services, which includes our Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered and Queer (LGBTQ) counselling program and our HIV/AIDs counselling program. Megan Green spent a year with the unit as a counsellor, gaining clinical training and skills for working with LGBTQ communities. As an outcome of the partnership agreement with FST, she joined the staff of Family Service Ottawa as a counsellor and community worker in January.
Research, Evaluation and Planning
FST was pleased with the results of its 2010 survey of 359 clients of the Changing Lives and Family Violence programs. Clients rated staff communication extremely highly and overwhelmingly felt valued for who they are at FST. Further, 90 per cent of clients felt that FST staff members give them information they can use to improve their lives. And most crucially, the vast majority agreed their lives are better because of FST services.
FST is also using the Outcome Rating Scale (ORS) and Session Rating Scale (SRS) to measure whether clients our Changing Lives and Family Violence programs are producing good outcomes for clients. In October, we analysed the ORS scores for 1,413 clients and found that FST’s had exceeded the benchmark compared to 30,000 clients in other organizations.
Building Inclusive Communities
FST provides two distinct programs in partnership with individuals with developmental disabilities, their families, friends and communities: the Options program, which provides tools for individuals to empower themselves and to create innovative solutions to achieve their potential through person-directed planning, service co-ordination, circles of support, self-advocacy and mutual support groups; and the Passport initiative, which provides opportunities for individuals who have developmental disabilities and have left school to find more ways to participate in their communities.
In March 2011, the Options program completed an initiative in partnership with seven developmental agencies, to provide person-directed planning services to 180 clients. FST co-ordinated staff training sessions for 37 developmental service agencies and information sessions for families. FST also helped create the Partners in Planning Network that will continue as a community forum for person-directed planning in Toronto.
In addition, FST was the lead agency for the Person Directed Planning Innovation Fund initiative. This project built on the goals of the PDP-LMI project by expanding it to provide outreach and training in the secondary school system. It also included the development of a Facilitator's Guide to Person-Directed Planning.
FST’s work building inclusive communities also involves targeted community and neighbourhood development initiatives. One of these projects, Be That Role Model, included helping Crescent Town youth launch a neighbourhood website featuring local news, a mentoring a skills initiative and a theatre group that dramatized the findings of a report on neighbourhood youth issues and needs. The project was funded by the City of Toronto and the Ontario Trillium Foundation and can be seen at www.yellinks.ca.
Our Community and Neighbourhood Development team was part of the revitalization process that is underway to bring together organizations to help residents in the Lawrence Heights neighbourhood participate in their community’s redevelopment. And finally, the team helped develop two new community housing projects, containing 210 units, through a partnership with St. Clare’s Multifaith Housing Society. FST will provide tenant support and coordination at the new Sudbury Street and Ossington Avenue buildings.
Family Services Employee Assistance Programs (FSEAP)
FSEAP is Canada’s largest national non-profit provider of employee and family assistance programs, serving 5,000 organizations and providing services to 200,000 people across Canada. Last year, we successfully launched our new national brand to reflect our vision and values. The tagline “Now we’re talking” expresses our belief in helping people and organizations improve their lives and workplaces. It reflects our commitment to approachable, high-quality and caring counselling and consultations.
We also launched two new services: Family Mediation, a call-in service provided in collaboration with Family Service Moncton for the New Brunswick Department of Justice and Consumer Affairs; and Problem Gambling Help Line, a call-in service in partnership with McKesson Canada for the Nova Scotia Department of Health Promotion and Protection.
FSEAP National received reaccreditation from the Council on Accreditation which involved a detailed review and analysis of our organization’s administrative operation and our service delivery practices. Reaccreditation and the delivery of specialized services will strengthen FSEAP’s ability to compete in an increasingly competitive marketplace. On a promising note, our FSEAP closed the year with a profit and hope that new opportunities are ahead.
