On Thursday November 4, I had the pleasure of attending the Co-operative Housing Federation of Toronto’s (CHFT) annual awards evening at St. Lawrence Hall. This was the 14th year CHFT recognized and celebrated the many accomplishments of its member co-ops.

Among the co-op members waiting to receive their awards were a number of local politicians, including Rosario Marchese (MPP, Trinity Spadina), Adam Vaughan (Toronto City Councillor), Peter Tabuns (MPP, Toronto-Danforth) and Glen Murray (MPP, Toronto Centre).

Co-operatives were honoured for a range of accomplishments. Gardening efforts, for example, were recognized with awards such as the Gardens of Distinction, Outdoor Garden, Vegetable Garden, Rooftop Garden, Hall of Fame Garden and the Combined Garden. There were also awards for newsletters, websites, youth involvement, living in diversity and the achievement of the year, to name a few.

HSC sponsored the Hall of Fame Garden Award and I was delighted to attend the event as HSC’s representative and the presenter of the Gardens of Distinction Award. Although I attended the event in an official capacity, I truly enjoy these events on a personal level. I have a long history of involvement with the Co-operative Housing sector, having served on the Ontario Council for almost 8 years, many of those as its President. One of the reasons that I feel so passionately about co-operative housing is because of its focus on its members – the people who make up its community.

Sometimes we in the social housing sector tend to focus on the physical assets (the $40 billion housing stock asset in Ontario) or on property management. It is my belief, however, that while these areas are very important and must continue to be nurtured, we must never lose sight of the people that reside in this housing. Housing is not just “units”, it is people’s homes. If you had the opportunity to view all of the slides showing the numerous gardens I mentioned above, you would undoubtedly see the pride that these co-op members have in their homes and the efforts they are willing to contribute to make their homes and communities better places to live and call home.

To close out this blog, I’d like to note the CHFT staff who marked their 20th anniversary with the organization. They were also recognized at the event. Congratulations to both Angela Calderone and Judith Collins who both have made “people” their focus over the past 20 years.

I am already looking forward to attending next year’s event where CHFT will be introducing a new “Green Award”. To all the members of the co-operatives highlighted last Thursday evening, I salute and commend you for your achievements!