Homelessness is a growing issue, invisible to many of us, and its solutions seem elusive.
Like so many Leasiders who step up when there is a community need, dedicated volunteer Mary Chong decided to get involved.
“I heeded the call when I saw Ryan Donais (founder of Tiny Tiny Homes), a carpenter, on local news. He’d built tiny shelters in St. James Park to help the homeless. I donated and wrote to him saying I’d love to volunteer. I can build. I use power saws. Shortly thereafter, the City, citing safety concerns, made Donais remove the tiny homes from the park.”
Mary soon got a call from Kate Blais, Tiny Tiny Homes’ executive director. Mary’s been volunteering with the organization ever since.
“I was so happy that somebody was coming up with an innovative solution that really allowed people the dignity of having a roof over their head. I knew there was so much more to be done,” Mary said.
Kate has been working with the unhoused in Toronto for eight years and, like all volunteers working directly with clients, she is certified with Hospice Palliative Care Ontario. Certification involves entering a minimum 30-hour hospice volunteer training program and passing police background checks before being matched with clients.
According to Kate Blais, “Ryan’s tiny houses were moved to the backyard of a private property in Leslieville owned by Lazarus House, which provides short-term housing and support towards independence. The tiny homes are operated by Seeds of Hope Foundation.”
Asked how she met Ryan, Kate answered, “We met serving a common client and had many conversations. The commonalities and the shared network that you have working with this community never fails to astound me. There’s always so many people, either community partners or end users of resources that connect you.”
She added, “He was wishing he was more organized. I mentioned I’d spent two decades as an executive assistant in London, UK, so I said, why don’t you let me help you realize this incredible vision you have? And I’m still trying to do that. It’s easier said than done.”
Kate mentioned that donations are essential as anyone operating at a clinical level, like social workers, doctors, nurses, and PSWs, are all paid, yet these organizations also have a strong, organized body of volunteers who train with them and then work alongside the staff. For example, if someone wanted to pursue a reception role with an organization like Kensington Health, every single person working on the reception at the hospice would be a volunteer.
“It is essential to ensure when moving someone into a transitional unit that it be near the support networks they access regularly,” Kate added. “That’s why populations tend to congregate in areas that are downtown.”
On an optimistic note, the City of Toronto is inviting expressions of interest by Feb 5th seeking proposals from non-profit organizations interested in participating in a two-year pilot to operate a micro-shelter site to address this critical homeless issue.
Learn more:
Tiny Tiny Homes | Solutions For the Homeless
City of Toronto | Micro Shelter Pilot Project
Hospice Palliative Care Ontario | Volunteer
Seeds of Hope
