Kiwanis Homes Inc.
281 Queenston Rd. L8K 1G9 Hamilton, ON, Canada

Looking forward to attending the CHRA 2021 Virtual Conference over the next three days to learn, explore, share & discuss innovative solutions to housing & homelessness in our community.

We have a second floor on the new Jack MacDonald Apartments in Ward 3. Only 6 more to go.

A view out the window this morning in Hamilton Ont. A wonderful springtime morning. Time to break out the toque & mitts.

Link below to the Hamilton Community Foundation Legacy Newsletter outlining the affordable home ownership partnership commencing later this year. We want to say THANKS to both the Hamilton Community Foundation & our partners with the City of Hamilton for their innovative assistance, guidance and support with this project. https://www.hamiltoncommunityfoundation.ca//HCF-LEGACY-SPR

It's International Moment of Laughter Day Laughter comes right after breathing as just about the healthiest thing you can do. https://www.youtube.com/watch

"Ramadan Mubarak" to our residents, stakeholders & friends observing Ramadan

Out of the ground and working on the 2nd floor of our new 8 story, 60 unit affordable housing building in Ward 3. Project name is "The Jack MacDonald Apartments". Thanks to our partners ... - City of Hamilton - CMHC - Housing Ontario

On this World Health Day it is important to understand the impact of safe, accessible & affordable housing on the social determinants of health. In a country of abundance, housing should not be a considered a privilege. It is a RIGHT. ... https://m.huffingtonpost.ca//canada-housing-crisis_b_12337

Video Link to the recent Hoppy Easter at Home Event in Ward 3. Thanks so much to the community volunteers who organized this event. We are so proud to have been asked to co-sponsor. ... https://youtube.com/watch

IMPORTANT REMINDER: The first Community Consultation on our 1540 Upper Wentworth St. Affordable Housing Regeneration in Ward 7 is scheduled for Tuesday, April 6, 2021 at 7:00 PM. Follow the link below to register: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_OiTziTGoRdSjocDk0kGKqQ... Visit our Project Website: https://tjohnsconsulting.com/.../1540-upper-wentworth.../

Great work by all those young people who participated in the South Mountain Planning Team's Spring Colouring Contest in Ward 7.

Notice to Residents: Starting in May 2021 we will be hosting a number of Virtual Community Consultation & Feedback Sessions for our residents living in Ward 3, Ward 7 & The City of Brantford. Topics will include:... 1. Community Safety Concerns & Solutions 2. Regeneration Plans 3. Playground Revitalization 4. Affordable Home Ownership Initiative Feedback opportunities will include: - Virtual Meetings Via ZOOM - Written Surveys - Online Survey Completion Details on how you can participate will follow in the next few weeks. Thanks and we look forward to hearing from you. The Kiwanis Homes Team

REMINDER: The first Community Consultation on our 1540 Upper Wentworth St. Affordable Housing Regeneration in Ward 7 is scheduled for April 6, 2021 at 7:00 PM. Follow the link below to register: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_OiTziTGoRdSjocDk0kGKqQ... Visit our Project Website: https://tjohnsconsulting.com//1540-upper-wentworth-regene/

Please check out the two Hamilton focused housing & homelessness reports prepared by The Social Planning & Research Council and the Homeless Hub HAMILTON’S RENTAL LANDSCAPE http://sprc.hamilton.on.ca/rentallandscape/... Fostering Indigenous Best Practices Towards a Wholistic Systems Approach to Homelessness https://homelesshub.ca/resou/revisioning-coordinated-access

Great job by the South Mountain Planning Team during their Easter Bunny Walk yesterday at our complexes in the South Mountain. Thanks Loads

IMPORTANT NOTICE: There will be a planned power outage for testing purposes overnight at our properties at King Street East & Sanford Ave. North. Kiwanis Homes staff and security personnel will be available onsite all night in case of emergency. Electricity should be restored by early morning.... Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.

ATTENTION: All Residents & Stakeholders As you are likely aware the Province announced on Friday afternoon that the Hamilton area will be bumped up two stages in the colour-coded COVID restrictions tiers effective Monday, November 16, 2020. As a precautionary measure to ensure the maximum safety of our staff team and residents, and to ensure compliance with municipal and provincial guidelines, the Kiwanis Homes’ main and satellite offices will be closed to the public effectiv...e immediately. We apologize for any inconvenience this action may cause.

New in 2021: Most residential tenants will not see a rent increase in 2021. Learn more: https://ontario.ca/page/rent-increase-guideline

Huge SHOUT OUT to the students & instructors from Mohawk College for their great work renovating our affordable housing units in Ward 9. Thanks for your efforts they are appreciated! ... This is a great collaboration.

Looking forward to start of the partnership with Mohawk College Marshall School of Skilled Trades & Apprenticeship next week. They will be on our affordable housing complex in Ward 9 commencing work on the restoration of some of our vacant units. We believe that this will be a great opportunity & learning experience for our staff team, residents & students.

Today is World Kindness Day take some time to appreciate all the First Responders Essential Workers & caregivers who continue to keep us safe. A simple act of kindness can have positive effects on its recipient, but also on its giver. Choose Kindness

We are accepting applications for the 2020 Karen Davis Scholarships. These awards are 100% funded by donations from our wonderful staff team. See link for details: https://kiwanishomes.ca/scholarship.html

As you maybe aware, over the past 4 years Kiwanis Homes has been involved in planning for the construction of a new 60 unit mid-rise apartment building to be located at 6 Acorn St. in Hamilton. This building is located in the King St. East and Sanford Ave. N. area. Yesterday the final tenders closed for the selection of a builder for this $23 million project. All indications are that the quoted amount is within the allocated budget for this project. Further, almost all condi...tions have been satisfied with the City of Hamilton in relation to the obtaining of a building permit. All external obstacles now seem to be addressed in relation to the proposed commencement date for construction of late October. I want to congratulate all the members of project team for their work on this project over the past 3 years; the Board of Directors for their vision, support and oversight of the project and our partners with the City of Hamilton for their unwavering support and expertise in assisting to help this project come to fruition. Looks like we are going to start building!

Article in today's Spectator announcing new By Law passed by City Council requiring apartment residents to wear face coverings in common areas. Please cooperate with this direction and help us keep our residents and staff team safe. Let us know if you require information on how or where to obtain face coverings. ... https://www.thespec.com//hamilton-apartment-dwellers-must-

Shana Tovah to all our residents, stakeholders & friends celebrating Rosh Hashanah We wish you a good year.

On this 911 anniversary as I remember the tragic events of that day, as a proud Newfoundlander, I recognize that sometimes, even in tragedy people can still come together in support and compassion.

Kiwanis Homes is proud partner & supporter of the Mayors’ Housing Partnerships Task Force in City of Brantford and County of Brant. Follow the link below for information on this important affordable housing initiative. https://www.brantford.ca//mayors-housing-partnerships-task

We are really looking forward to collaboration with the Mohawk College Construction & Building Systems, Electrical and Green Technology Program, whose students will be working & learning at our affordable housing units in Ward 9 this fall. We believe this will be a huge benefit to both our residents and the participating Mohawk College students involved.

Huge Shout out to the South Mountain Planning Team volunteers for coordinating the Back To School 2020 BackPack Giveaway in Ward 7. You guys ROCK. Thanks for the "Wear A Mask" message.

Kiwanis Homes is proud to be a partner of the "Hamilton Is Home" collective. A group of Hamilton area not-for-profit housing providers whose goal is to create 3,000 units of affordable housing in the region. Kiwanis Homes' plan includes the following: - Ward 3 - 150 units of affordable home ownership & 100 units of affordable housing - Ward 7 - 400 units of affordable housing ... - Ward 8 - 250 units of affordable housing We have already acquired the necessary land to accomplish our goal. Let's get building. https://www.thespec.com//hamilton-coalition-aims-to-built-

Our partners at the South Mountain Planning Team are coordinating a children's backpack giveaway for families in Ward 7 later this month. Please contact them at the email address provided if you require one for your child. Kiwanis Homes is proud to have been a financial sponsor of the South Mountain Planning Team for the past 5 years. We currently operate approximately 300 units of affordable housing in the south mountain area. We appreciate the work you do to ensure that our residents live in a safer and more vibrant neighbourhood.

Thanks to Ward 3 Councillor Nrinder Nann and the Hamilton Police Services for their response and support in listening to the safety issues of our families living in Ward 3. While we empathize for those persons experiencing the twin tragedies of addiction and homelessness, our priority must always be the safety of those families who choose to live in our buildings. https://www.thespec.com//the-trouble-with-the-budget-inn-w

20 Years ago I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to work with a great team to develop the Greenbyte Hamilton Program. This was a social enterprise that also provided training and employment assistance for hard to serve clients. Over the years the program evolved to address issues of poverty and the Digital Divide for children in our community through distributing 10's of thousands of recycled computers. The program also became an environmental icon by diverting 10...0's of thousands of tons of electronic waste from our landfills. The program was one of the first Microsoft Certified Refurbishers in Canada receiving millions of dollars of software support from them. Numerous organizations supported the success of this program through their donations of used computer equipment. While their closing is bittersweet, it is also a truly inspirational story to have seen a project grow through an entire life cycle to a point where it may no longer be needed, as they accomplished their initial vision. Great job to Ryan Johnson, Mike Marchand, Guy, John T. Clinton and all the others at St. Leonard's Hamilton for their efforts in creating such a huge impact on our community. Good luck in the future.

Huge thanks to our friends at the South Mountain Planning Team for organizing a neighbourhood cleanup and beautification event at our complexes in the South Mountain neighbourhood over the August long weekend. Here are a few pictures. Thanks to everyone who participated.

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." - Ferris Bueller We wish all our residents, partners, friends & supporters a great Holiday Monday. We will be open for business as usual on August 4.

Sanford Place Community Safety Update: In late February 2020 we conducted a community safety meeting to identify safety related issues at our Sanford Place apartments. Concerns were expressed about the number of unauthorized persons who were accessing the buildings and were creating an environment where our families were feeling unsafe. The feedback of this meeting and our planned interventions were reported back to the community in early March 2020.... We had committed to conduct another public meeting with our residents in late March 2020 to report back on our plan, however this meeting was postponed due to COVID related limitations on public gatherings. This posting will serve as our report to the community to update our residents on our activities to date. Inventory of activities and costs: Activities: - We reached out to our Councillor to discuss our challenges. She was very receptive and supportive of our efforts. - Reached out to the HPS. They commenced random walkthroughs of stairwells. - Have hired contractors to walkthrough stairwells each day in morning and evening at both buildings. - Have contracted with a Security Consulting firm to prepare a full security strategy for our buildings. Interventions: - Signage has been updated. - Mailboxes have been secured - Slab exit only door installed at south end of 21 Sanford. - Removal of trees at 71 Sanford for better sight lines. - Installation of fence and gate around Group Home courtyard to prevent access. - Replacement of stolen air conditioners at Group Home. - Upgrade parking lot lighting. - Installation of security gate at southside of 21 Sanford across from motel. - Replace all locks of exterior doors with security locks and keys. - Installation of new lock at main entrance of 21 Sanford. - Replace locks to reduce door closing times of automatic door openers. - Biohazard removal at 21 Sanford - Biohazard removal at 71 Sanford. - Biohazard removal at Acorn X 2. - Biohazard removal and clean-up in playground. - Restoration services to deep clean stairwells at both 21/71 Sanford. - Repair due to fires in stairwells as a result of drug use by intruders. - Painting over graffiti. The total cost this year to date to address these issues is: $97,299 excluding HST. We will continue to work to address issues, including upgrades to cameras, entrance security, etc. A public safety meeting will be conducted once COVID related restrictions are lifted.

Huge Shoutout to our friends & partners at the South Mountain Planning Team for coordinating the neighbourhood clean-up at our complexes in Ward 7 all long weekend. Activities include: - Sidewalk stencil painting, - bins at all complexes all weekend, - beautification contest with prizes. ... Thanks for your efforts

Team Up to Clean Up Starts July 31. In partnership with the South Mountain Planning Team we are participating in a beautification contest at all our complexes in the South Mountain neighbourhoods. Disposal bins will be onsite at all Kiwanis Homes properties in that area during the event.... Prizes and Gift cards will be awarded to participants.

Happy Canada Day 2020 On behalf of the Board of Directors and staff team of Kiwanis Homes we wish all our friends a happy and safe Canada Day.

Today is Multi-Culturalism Day in Canada. We at Kiwanis Homes recognize & celebrate the diversity & contributions of all Canadians from all backgrounds.

"It takes no compromise to give people their rights...it takes no money to respect the individual. It takes no political deal to give people freedom. It takes no survey to remove repression."--Harvey Milk Pride 2020

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Effective Monday June 8, 2020 Kiwanis Homes has partnered with TenantPay to provide a secure option for our residents to conveniently pay their rent online. Rents can be paid directly from your home via your bank or credit card.... This option arose from feedback and requests received from our residents. We hope that this provides a safer, more secure and more convenient alternative to our residents. Please feel free to call our office should you require more information or instruction how to use the service. Thank-you for your suggestion.