Thursday (June 27) was a highly anticipated day for Lindsay Rice and the other players in Project Tiny Hope.
Construction began on the first tiny home to populate 21 Kains Street where, eventually, 40 such homes and other amenities will provide safe, affordable housing in a downtown neighbourhood community.
A community of more than just housing, it’s a new beginning.
The Project Tiny Hope partnership includes the YWCA St. Thomas-Elgin, Doug Tarry Homes and Sanctuary Homes.
The community will be a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom rental units to accommodate adults, youth and families.
Each tiny home will have a full kitchen, bathroom, laundry, private bedrooms and living room providing dignity and comfort.
We spoke with Lindsay Rice, YWCA executive director the day before shovels hit the ground.
“It certainly has been a combination of many efforts. Many individuals and groups have been keen to be part of this solution.
“I am really excited to see the first tiny house go up and to have that kind of proof of concept, a house that people can touch and see and walk through and really feel it come to life.
“It’s a good day.”
As for the completion date of this one-bedroom accessible home, Rice suggests it will be ready for showcasing this September.
“We’re going to use it as a demonstration house. To showcase it to our donors, our community and our neighbours.
“The first tiny home built will showcase the quality of Doug Tarry Homes, how our residents will successfully transition from communal to independent living and how important each and every dollar donated is for a project of this scale.
“Our goal is to continue acquiring revenue to finalize the overall cost of the project.”
Final details still have to be ironed out with upper-tier governments, while the city has contributed $3 million toward the project.
The total cost of the undertaking is projected at just under $15 million.
Once all the funding is secured, Rice is looking at about a 24-month construction schedule.
As for a name for the community, Rice admitted that is yet to be determined.
“It will come soon because we have plans for some really great signage on the front of the property.”
It will be operated by the YWCA and 20 units will be for women or women-led families, 10 for youth ages 16-24, four units are for Community Living Elgin and four are for Indigenous People.
Rice explained they all will be affordable rents “and that is one of the things I keep a close eye on.
“The provincial ministry and CMHC both do an analysis annually around affordability and so we are keeping an eye on that.
“The cost in our community keeps changing. These tiny houses are going to be affordable, but not at those social housing rates. They will be a little more closer to the $700 mark.”
“I believe that access to safe, healthy, affordable housing is a basic human right.”
The homes will be built to Net Zero-ready standards and case management and support services will be on-site.
There will be a naturalized playground and gardens included on the property.
“We are just so excited to be moving forward with this,” enthused Rice, “and building more affordable housing with supports because we know it is needed.
“There are just so many great things happening in St. Thomas to support folks right now and we’re just glad to be part of that overall community mission.
“We’re one of the first YWCA’s to be doing this tiny house initiative.”
In a media release, Doug Tarry stressed, “I believe that access to safe, healthy, affordable housing is a basic human right.
“This is the culmination of years of work by a committed group of volunteers and represents a great step forward in sustainable, high-performance housing that is also affordable.”
You can learn more about Project Tiny Hope here.
Related posts:
Project Tiny Hope: ‘More than just housing, it’s a new beginning’
A FLEXIBLE APPROACH TO SOCIAL MEDIA COMMENTARY
Another example of the toxicity of social media presented itself yesterday (June 28) when the St. Thomas Police Service announced it would limit and disable comments on some of their social media accounts.
A decision that will, no doubt, generate additional vitriol via comments on other platforms.
In a release to the media it was noted, “Social media is an extremely valuable tool to engage with the community, to get our messaging out and to control an operational narrative.
“It increases the visibility and understanding of issues affecting our community. We have become a leading police service with our style of daily media releases, videos and public awareness bulletins.”
However, as is the case with many organizations, social media accounts cannot be monitored 24/7.
“It has always been our intention and policy to preserve a respectful and healthy space to inform our community on matters of public safety. STPS social media sites will not be used as a platform for toxicity.”
The release continues, “We have noticed an increase in comments that target victims of crime, accused individuals, other social media users and STPS members.
“We will not contribute to an unpleasant toxic online environment.
“We have seen a number of inappropriate comments that violate basic ethical standards, and that are purely posted with malicious intentions to harass and victimize. We have seen spamming, hate comments and unfounded or unsubstantiated commentary.
“It has always been our intention and policy to preserve a respectful and healthy space to inform our community on matters of public safety. STPS social media sites will not be used as a platform for toxicity.”
As an example, many years ago on the St. Thomas Times-Journal website, dozens of comments appeared one morning related to an incident that had occurred at a city high school.
Accusatory comments reflecting both sides of the debate became increasingly more heated.
“The STPS believes that every interaction is an opportunity to improve trust and confidence in the services that we provide. The willingness of the community to trust the police is based on the belief that our actions reflect your values.”
We were approached by the police service about removing the comments as they were revealing names and evidence which ultimately could jeopardize any legal case.
It was an unusual request that some would argue was a case of police attempting to censor the media.
Instead, we complied with the request to avoid tainting the judicial waters.
More recently at myFM, we received a call from a member of the police service who was frustrated by the demeanour on their Facebook page.
My advice to her – although easier said than done – was to not personalize the spiteful comments.
And the best way to do that is to give the comment section a wide berth as you would an extensive patch of poison ivy.
Because the comments of those keyboard warriors were nothing short of poisonous.
Not that long ago, myFM called a timeout on comments for the very same reasons noted by the police service.
Friday’s media release continues, “Some comments include hate, abuse, threats, harassment and misogyny. As your police service, our vision is that every person in St. Thomas is safe and feels safe.”
What is the alternative being offered by the service?
“We will continue to offer meaningful and robust ways for the community to connect with us, including through our STPS website general email platform, our face-to-face community engagement events, surveys, and other dedicated interactions throughout the year.
“The STPS believes that every interaction is an opportunity to improve trust and confidence in the services that we provide.
“The willingness of the community to trust the police is based on the belief that our actions reflect your values.”
Anyone with concerns about police conduct or professionalism is encouraged to call 519-631-1224 and ask to speak to a supervisor.
Public complaints about police conduct can also be made independently to the Law Enforcement Complaints Agency (LECA) at https://leca.ca/
As always, If you have an emergency, call 911. If you have a non-emergent matter for police response, call 519-631-1224 or use their online reporting tool at
https://stps.on.ca/services/services-online-reporting/.
For anonymous reports, you can contact St. Thomas-Elgin Crime Stoppers by calling 1-800-222-TIPS or online at https://stthomascrimestoppers.ca/
As I have mentioned to the police chief and mayor on more than one occasion, why do you hire consultants when we have thousands upon thousands of experts right here in the city who are well-versed on every subject under the sun?
And, they are more than willing to offer advice whether wanted or not.
That is the basis for the cartoon at the top of this item.
HERE’S ONE WELL WORTH BOOKING
Here’s how you can book your way into a reading program for St. Thomas youngsters.
Originally launched by the Investing in Children organization, Golden K Kiwanis members are now managing and growing the Blue Boxes for Books program in St. Thomas, explains chair Jack McBride.
“They were looking for someone to take over that and it was just coincidental we were thinking of asking them about the same things.
“So, we had a meeting with the executive director (Sarah Finch) of Investing in Children and after that meeting, bought in 100 per cent.”
McBride adds the program is already up and running in 10 daycare centres in the city.
“The daycares love it because we give them the books and then they read the books to the kids and if the kids want to take them home and have their parents read it, they can do that.
“They can bring it back and get another book or they can keep the book. If they really like the book, they can keep the book at home, it’s theirs.
“And that’s the same with all the books we have decided to distribute. If the kids want to keep those books at home, they are theirs. They own it.
“We find that some of our kids who come in will actually keep a book and they create their own library. They can go back into their library and pick out a book they like and re-read it.
“It’s a very attractive program because it is very cost-effective and it’s using an asset that is out there that no one really cares about and no one does anything about.”
Getting kids into the habit of reading at an early age opens up a world of possibilities for them. Especially for youngsters from lower-income families where books may be considered a luxury.
And you can participate by dropping off new or gently used books, advises McBride.
“We have six locations in St. Thomas: Fire Station 1 on Wellington Street, Fire Station 2 on Burwell Road, the Joe Thornton Community Centre, The Elgin Centre, Shopper’s Drug Mart on Elm Street and Shopper’s Drug Mart on Edward Street. Those six locations have boxes there.”
McBride says the aim is to expand the program this year.
“We’re looking at putting out another 15 boxes in St. Thomas during the year and people will be advised then where these locations are.
“Right now, all the locations are in daycares and that takes kids from two years old up to five years old.”
McBride adds they prefer children keep the books to set up their libraries and re-read their favourite books.
THE ECHO CHAMBER
In response to our item on the Sandymount Development Area, Gramps Trudel posted the following comment on City Scope’s new Facebook page.
“Looks like nice residential. Too bad the types of housing, mostly singles, does not relate to the type of employment that is being bragged about increasing in St Thomas. No wonder we have to keep updating our transportation plan to accommodate all the increase in commuting.”
Questions and comments may be emailed to City Scope
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And a reminder, I can be heard weekday afternoons as news anchor and reporter on 94.1 myFM in St. Thomas. As always, your comments and input are appreciated.
