How Can I Access Habitat Housing?
Eligibility
Applicants to the program must be at least 16 years of age, be on social assistance or have low income, have a history of mental health issues and be willing to live in a boarding home or a rooming house.
Referrals and Placement
Applying through Coordinated Access to Supportive Housing (C.A.S.H) The Network Office
All referrals must be made through the Coordinated Access to Supportive Housing office. Applicants for Habitat funded housing must fulfill its eligibility criteria. However, it should be noted that in addition to the above criteria, C.A.S.H. also accepts applications from individuals that may also be challenged with substance abuse issues and/or intellectual disabilities in addition to mental health issues. The Network office receives referrals from over 100 sources including hospitals, community mental health agencies and shelters. Self-referrals are also accepted.
The questions on the form ask what kind of housing you want, as well as other questions about you that are related to supportive housing, such as your support needs. The funders for this project require us to also collect basic data but this information will be provided in a manner that does not identify you. The questions that are funder requirements are identified with an (*).
The 29 housing providers have different eligibility criteria, so it is important to fill out the application form completely and accurately. Also, please PRINT clearly with black or blue ink, so our computer system can read your application form. The application form is designed to assist us in finding housing that closely matches the information you provide, and the more accurately you fill out the application form, the better match this will be.
Before filling out this application form, we encourage you to visit our website. Our website lists information on all of the supportive housing providers, and will help you make an informed decision about your housing options www.TOsupportivehousing.ca
If you need assistance, or have any questions about the application form, please call the Housing Registry Worker at 416-97-1994, ext.231 or 416-979-1994 ext.264
After you complete the application form, please send it to Toronto Mental Health & Addictions Supportive Housing Network, 205 Richmond St. West, Suite 301, Toronto, ON, M5V 1V3, or fax it to 416-916-1689.
You will be contacted within five (5) business days of receiving your application to confirm receipt, verify your eligibility for supportive housing based on the criteria above, and to discuss any available vacancies.
Habitat Services Intake
Once a C.A.S.H. application has been completed and you have listed Habitat as one of your choices or the Network Office forwards your application to us via courier based on eligibility, an Intake Worker reviews the information on the application and matches the applicant to an available vacancy. The applicant's preferences, to live in a particular house or location for example, are taken into consideration as much as possible. The Intake Worker then telephones the home, provided there is a vacancy, and informs the operator that an application will be forwarded to him/her. If the operator wishes to meet the applicant for an interview after reviewing the application, the operator must phone intake and intake will then inform the applicant or their worker to make the necessary arrangements. The applicant will then have the opportunity to view the home after arranging an agreed upon date and time. During the tour of the home he or she may also meet the staff and tenants.
The home operator will decide if the applicant may become a tenant of the home. Tenants who move into Habitat funded housing sign a tenancy agreement and pay monthly rental charges. If an applicant is not accepted, or chooses not to move into the home, the Intake Worker will try to match them to another vacancy.
Tenants who are housed in a Habitat funded home may also request a transfer to another home by contacting Intake. However, please note that if your housing application is older than one year, you will be required to resubmit a new housing application through C.A.S.H. Tenants are also reminded that they have agreed (in signing the Tenancy Agreement) to give one month's notice to the operator before moving.
Location
A large number of homes are located in the Parkdale area of Toronto. There are also homes in the area of St. Clair Avenue West, the Annex, the downtown core east of Yonge Street, and the east end of the old City of Toronto. There is one home in Etobicoke and two in North York.
The majority of the boarding homes are close to T.T.C. stops. Most are convenient to shops, libraries, medical centers, places of worship, and other services. Some are near parks and recreation centers.
Rental Charges
The rental charges paid by a tenant depend on his or her income source. Tenants who receive benefits from the Ontario Disability Support Plan or Ontario Works pay set amounts. Tenants who receive other kinds of income are required to complete an application for subsidy form. If the tenant is eligible, his or her rent will be calculated as a percentage of income. Habitat will then determine the appropriate amount the tenant should be paying. If a tenant is not eligible for a Habitat subsidy, he or she may still move into a home, but will pay a rent negotiated with the home owner.
