St. Christopher House

St. Christopher House is a multi-service neighbourhood centre serving west downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada since 1912. The non-profit charitable organization provides a wide range of programs to all age groups in downtown west Toronto. St. Christopher House integrates community development approaches with direct delivery of social services. The community served by St. Christopher House includes the diverse immigrant and mixed income neighbourhoods of Trinity Bellwoods, Niagara, Palmerston/Little Italy, Little Portugal, Dufferin Grove, Parkdale, Liberty Exhibition and Roncesvalles.

History

St. Christopher House was founded on June 12, 1912 by Sir James Woods in Kensington Market in Toronto. St. Christopher House was one of Toronto's original neighbourhood centres and was part of the "settlement house" movement that began with the creation of Toynbee Hall in London, England.

In 2006, St. Christopher House served approximately 10,000 individuals with 200 part-time and full-time staff and 700 volunteers. This same year, St. Christopher House was also involved in social policy development, including the "Task Force for Modernizing Income Security for Working-Age Adults" co-led with the Toronto City Summit Alliance as well as partnering with the Centre for Urban and Community Studies at the University of Toronto for the community research/policy project: "Neighbourhood Change: Building Inclusive Communities".

Mission and guiding principles

St. Christopher House's mission is to enable less-advantaged individuals, families and groups in the community to gain greater control over their lives and within their community.

St. Christopher House will work in partnership with the community to promote personal and social change in order to achieve a safe, healthy and accepting society for all. To this end, we will work with our resources and the strengths of the community to:build bridges within and across communities; promote access to full participation in society by addressing barriers such as illiteracy, inadequate incomes, unaffordable housing, and discrimination of all types; assist people to meet individual and family needs; provide the tools and opportunities for peopleto control their own lives and to take on leadership in the community; and to advocate for changes in social systems that will ensure dignity, quality of life, and equal opportunities for all.

Affiliations

St. Christopher House is part of the Toronto Neighbourhood Centres, Canadian Association of Neighbourhood Services and International Federation of Settlements.

References

*Irving, Allan, Parsons, Harriet, Bellamy, Donald: "Neighbours: Three Social Settlements in Downtown Toronto" Canadian Scholars Press, 1995

*O'Connor, Patricia J.: "The Story of St. Christopher House 1912-1984" Published by the Toronto Association of Neighbourhood Services as part of the series: "Good Neighbours: A History of the Toronto Settlement House Movement", 1985

External links

* [http://www.stchrishouse.org St. Christopher House's website]