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Arts hub helps refugees get hired
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Affordable housing slated for Lansdowne vacant lot Lisa RainfoRd lrainford@insidetoronto.com
Lisa RainfoRd lrainford@insidetoronto.com Inspired by a Canada Council initiative offering Syrian refugees free access to arts programming, the Theatre Centre, together with CultureLink, has launched a crowdfunding campaign to hire newcomers to work in its cafe bar. Franco Boni, executive director of the Theatre Centre, an arts hub specializing in experimental theatre and multimedia performances situated at Queen West and Dufferin streets, wondered if Syrian refugees new to Toronto would want to see one of its shows. “One thing theatre is so good at is being a community and creating a sense of belonging,” Boni told The Villager. “We have a cafe in our building. It plays an important part in connecting the community with our artists. I thought, ‘What about creating an opportunity for someone to have access to this community, to the people who live here?’” Especially, he added, if that someone is a Syrian newcomer >>>cafe, page 13
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Monique Schwarz, left, Avery Schwarz and Sophie Chase practice a variety of teaching games they will use during Swansea Town Hall’s homework club. The homework club is set to begin for another school year on Oct. 20.
Swansea club helps students face after-school assignments Lisa RainfoRd lrainford@insidetoronto.com
J
ill Peters raves about the Swansea Town Hall’s homework club, which her youngest son took part in last year and has enrolled in again this school term. Peters’ son had just turned 11 and was in Grade 6 when she came across a flyer about the club at his school. She didn’t hesitate to sign him up, in part because it was free. Her son had been diagnosed with
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Dyslexia, a condition that can cause difficulties in reading, spelling, writing and pronouncing words, and Peters and her husband had spent a lot of money on tutoring and extra help for their son. To entice him to try the Swansea Town Hall Homework Club, Peters said she paid him an allowance. “He came out after the first day and said, ‘You don’t have to pay me, Mom,’” Peters recalled. >>>value, page 3
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For almost two decades, Bloordale Village residents have been curious to know just what would happen with the vacant lot at Lansdowne Avenue and Paton Road, deemed surplus by the city in 1997. Residents need wonder no more; Davenport Councillor Ana Bailão, Toronto City Council’s Housing Advocate, with help from Mayor John Tory, announced Tuesday that the former TTC property at 640 Lansdowne Ave. would become a site for affordable housing. It is one of 15 parcels of city-owned land that as part of Toronto’s Open Door Program, which has committed to dedicating $225 million in city incentives over the next five years, will become affordable housing sites. “I’d like to have a Request for Proposal (RFP) out by the end of the year, beginning of next year,” Bailão said during a press conference Tuesday morning at the site, in advance o f t h e n a t i o n a l To r o n t o Housing Summit that takes place tomorrow. >>>bloordale, page 6