North Durham residents invited to give feedback on needed local support services

Whitby, Ontario – Durham Region is asking for input from Brock Township residents via a public information session and online survey, as it plans to bring additional support services to north Durham. The Region virtual public information session will be held on Thursday, October 29 to gather more input on needed services for residents.

These services will be connected to the new housing project planned in Beaverton. They will serve both the broader community and residents of the development. The services will range from medical care, mental health counselling, financial assistance, rental support, seniors support and more.  

For the virtual session, Regional staff will provide an overview of the Beaverton Housing project, and residents of north Durham can register for a time to speak to a panel of Regional staff that includes:

• Elaine Baxter-Trahair, Chief Administrative Officer
• Stella Danos-Papaconstantinou, Commissioner of Social Services
• Alan Robins, Director of Housing
• Jenni Demanuele, Director of Business Services

The session will be live streamed, and each person who has registered to speak will be given three minutes to address the panel. Representatives of groups will be allotted five minutes to speak. Your feedback will be shared with the community and help inform service delivery decisions.  

The online survey is available now until October 30 at durham.ca/YourVoice. The virtual session will take place at 6:30 p.m. on October 29.

To register to speak at the live session, please email SocialServices@durham.ca or call 905-668-7711 ext. 2473.

To learn more about the supportive housing project in north Durham, please visit durham.ca/SupportiveHousing.

Quotes

“Durham Region is a caring community—a place where everyone deserves dignity and feels that they belong. Through our strategic plan public consultations last year, we heard loud and clear that north Durham residents are looking for more services related to housing, addiction, homelessness and health. We need community input to outline priorities and help us fill the gaps they have identified.”

-       John Henry, Regional Chair and CEO, Durham Region

“We want to open the door to hear from as many residents as possible. We don’t want anyone to fall through the cracks, and we want to get the right services in the community to help as many people as possible in their own community.”

-       Stella Danos-Papaconstantinou, Commissioner of Social Services

Quick Facts

• More than 100 people from north Durham have reached out to Durham’s homelessness support system for homelessness and housing support this year.
• The Region of Durham is working with community partners to provide a drop-in support hub in Cannington for residents in need, which opened this week.
• To help residents in need in Durham Region, this project was proposed as part of the Expedited Supportive Housing Report, and approved by Regional Council for expedited development on July 29, 2020.
• This project supports At Home In Durham, a comprehensive plan to end homelessness across Durham Region through the creation of at least 1,000 new affordable housing units, supportive housing developments and the revitalization of social housing.

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For more information, please contact Corporate Communications.