Congratulations to our 2019 ONPHA Award winners!

We recently had the honour of celebrating our 2019 ONPHA Award winners at the Annual Conference in Toronto. Our members’ work transforms lives and helps build strong communities, and the ONPHA Awards program helps to recognize that amazing work taking place in our sector.

Award for Excellence winner – LOFT Community Services: Bradford House

LOFT Community Services’ Bradford House provides housing and support services to 54 at-risk seniors living with mental health and addictions as well as multiple physical health concerns. Strong partnerships and social events help residents establish connections and supports in the community.

Bradford House’s specialized case managers work with residents to create individually-tailored support service plans that can include everything from escorts to appointments and medication support to assistance in learning or relearning basic life skills. These supports help some of society’s most vulnerable members live happier, healthier and more independent lives.

Thank you to LOFT for going above and beyond to improve the lives of their residents. Watch the video to learn more about Bradford House.

ONPHA Innovation Award winner – Waterloo Region Housing for YouthForce

Facing a large number of unit inspections and a tight deadline to complete them, Waterloo Region Housing and its community partners envisioned a program that would meet this demand while enriching the lives of youth in their communities and in 2016, YouthForce was born.

YouthForce is a unit inspection social enterprise and a youth development program employing youth aged 15-29 living in and around affordable housing communities. YouthForce members gain professional development skills, social networks and pride in their communities as they help to improve the condition and safety of community housing properties.

YouthForce is also growing. Grant funding, secured through community agency partnerships, will allow the program to become a completely independent social enterprise offering year-round services.

Watch the video to learn more about this inspiring program.

Sybil Frenette Outstanding Leadership Award winner – Steve Garrison

Steve Garrison is General Manager at Housing Cambridge and has worked in a variety of roles in community housing providers across the province in his over 30 years in the sector. Steve’s compassion and his vision of affordable housing and healthy communities for all Ontarians is an inspiration to those he has worked with over the years.

Whether overhauling or assisting projects in difficulty, developing new housing units or listening to the concerns and needs of tenants, Steve never loses sight of the human element of his work. He engages with community partners to ensure community development helps to serve vulnerable populations and is dedicated to advancing the cause of community housing in Waterloo Region.

We are honoured to celebrate a true leader in Steve Garrison. Watch the video to learn more about Steve’s impact on the sector.

We also honoured:

Blaine Dunlop for the Tenant Achievement Award. Blaine’s work mentoring high needs tenants in their recovery from addiction is an inspiration to his fellow tenants and LOFT staff. Congratulations to Blaine!

Our Lifetime of Service Award recipients who are retiring after 20 or more years of experience in the community housing sector:

Deborah Filice Haldimand Norfolk Housing Corporation Janice Peters Services and Housing In the Province (SHIP) Victor Govan William Mercer Wilson Centre (London) Inc. Paul Mustin Victoria Park Community Homes and Kitchener Alliance Community Homes Kenneth Thomson Owen Sound Municipal Non-Profit Housing Corporation