Black Creek Fair Economies project
Thanks to new two-year funding from Metcalf Foundation for our Black Creek Fair Economies project, we started to operationalize the draft demands in our Jane-Finch Community Benefits Framework for reducing precarious work and securing local job opportunities through the operations of major public agencies and institutions in the Jane-Finch area. We primarily focused on strengthening our alliances and collaborations with York University, the Finch West Maintenance and Storage Facility (MSF), and Humber Meadows Long-Term Care Home. Last November, we hosted three consultation sessions with 12 Jane-Finch community leaders and YorkU staff to share recommendations from our 2021 “Our Collective Wellbeing” report and get feedback on our draft local hiring strategy. In March 2023, we co-hosted a pop-up information session with Humber Meadows staff to share information about the facility and job opportunities and raise awareness about our local hiring initiatives. We reached over 50 people, who were mostly local PSW workers, through this event at the Jane Finch Mall.

Equity-driven community engagement processes with the City of Toronto
Through Phase 2 of the Jane Finch Initiative (JFI), we continued to collaborate with residents and City staff to develop a land use plan and Community Development Plan (CDP) for Jane-Finch. Approximately 375 people viewed the boards, shared feedback, or spoke with staff facilitators at our In-Person and Virtual Open Houses in March 2023. We were contracted by the City of Toronto to coordinate an equity-driven community engagement process with local residents and stakeholders as part of Phase 2 of the Update Downsview Study. Phase 2 focused on identifying and confirming the Downsview community's vision and priorities for an updated Secondary Plan and new CDP. Our team and private architecture, engineering, and planning firm IBI Group also worked together on an in-service safety review (ISSR) and equity-driven community engagement process over the past year to better understand historic and current road safety issues on Jane Street between Eglinton Avenue West and Steeles Avenue West. Community input collected will influence the City’s and TTC’s plans for improving transit and road safety in the study area. Over 203 people participated in in-person walking tours and virtual community meetings.

Corner Commons
Our community-led initiative, Corner Commons, returned for a second successful season in 2022, transforming the Jane Finch Mall’s parking lot into a safe, welcoming, and joyful outdoor public space. Twenty-one volunteers helped design, build, and maintain Corner Commons, contributing over 438 hours. The space was open 24/7 to the public from June 24th to October 1st, 2022, and hosted over 20 community events with 18 community partners. Over 500 attended our Community Wellness Fair and Black Creek Pop-Up Market on October 1, 2023 with the North Western Toronto Ontario Health Team and Black Creek Community Farm Thanks to funding through the City of Toronto’s Main Street Innovation Fund, we were able to create more opportunities for local BIPOC-owned entrepreneurs/vendors to promote themselves through partnerships on a storytelling installation with the Department of Imaginary Affairs and small business markets with Flaunt It Movement & Collection and Black Creek Community Farm. Over $2,500 in revenue was generated in 3 hours from all of the vendors at our Flaunt It x Corner Commons Small Business Market Through our “We Are Lost & Found” installation with the Department of Imaginary Affairs, we collected stories from 17 BIPOC-owned businesses and hired five local artists of colour Our four Black Creek Pop-Up Markets with BCCF last year hosted 13 Black-led food, farm, and craft vendors and saw roughly 850 visitors Include info on Jane Finch Mall redevelopment and inclusion of plans for new public plaza.

Civic engagement
We organized a number of activities related to the 2022 provincial and municipal elections. We created fact sheets and pamphlets to present issues and support advocacy, conducted an in-person community survey throughout the summer, and provided four workshops for parents, new immigrants, and citizens about the three levels of government and the importance of civic engagement. We also organized two virtual town halls with provincial and municipal candidates where residents co-facilitated with their questions and reflections on some critical community issues. In total, we engaged 65 community members through our civic engagement workshops and 115 people through our election town halls.  This civic engagement work helped to ensure that elected officials and other decision-makers are more responsive to the diverse needs of our Jane-Finch community.

2023-2024
Supporting early governance structures for community management, stewardship, programming, and accountability remains central to our focus. We've been assisting the Hub Organizing Committee in researching governance models for the future Jane-Finch Community Hub and Centre for the Arts. We're also exploring the concept of a Community Partnership Circle during Phase 3 of the Jane Finch Initiative.

Additionally, we're actively planning the next phase of Corner Commons, aligning it with the redevelopment of Jane Finch Mall, including a future outdoor plaza space. These endeavors are vital in ensuring Corner Commons' continued presence and impact on-site.

Furthermore, our commitment extends to advancing discussions on local hiring and inclusive economic development, achieved through strategic partnerships with key entities like York University and Humber Meadows Long-Term Care Home.

Lastly, we are dedicated to supporting community organizing efforts, including supporting the Jane Finch Housing Coalition in addressing affordable housing issues and neighbourhood developments.