Toronto Council throws Cabbagetown youth centre a lifeline

Thestar.com
February 24, 2020
David Rider

Jennifer Doiron, a single mom of four boys, was elated Wednesday to hear that Toronto city council has thrown a financial lifeline to the Cabbagetown Youth Centre.

“We’re all thrilled -- I spoke to other parents and they are overjoyed that the (after-school) program is staying open, the boxing centre isn’t closing, and all the other amazing things this centre does for families who can’t necessarily afford other options,” Doiron told the Star.

City council voted 25-0 to give the centre, on Lancaster Ave. near Parliament St. and Wellesley St. E., an emergency $161,000 grant. Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam had lobbied colleagues for aid since the 48-year-old centre, in her ward, warned it would shut without new funding.

The centre runs programs serving hundreds of youths and their families, funded through government grants -- federal, provincial and two small city grants -- plus donations. The end of a four-year provincial grant totalling $1 million, for youth development and leadership skills, tipped the centre into financial crisis when a hoped-for replacement program did not materialize.

Lucy Troisi, executive director of the centre, expressed deep gratitude to Wong-Tam, Mayor John Tory and his staff, and the rest of council for the one-time injection that will stave off a feared March closure. But she said the centre isn’t out of danger without long-term stable funding.

“I’m just hoping other levels of governments would like to speak to me and learn more about the Cabbagetown Youth Centre and how vital it is to continue its operations,” said Troisi, a former city councillor, adding she expects some new federal funding to soon flow.

Doiron has visited the centre with her boys, ranging in age from 6 to 14, for about nine years. Soccer, basketball and the boxing program for boys and girls aged 8 to 17 have been a massive help said Doiron, who now volunteers as an administrator and boxing coach to young kids.

“It’s really helped the kids be active and just stay out of trouble,” she said. “It’s a safe place for families from Regent Park, St. Jamestown, Cabbagetown, lots of different neighbourhoods.”

Troisi said the city bailout means summer camps for about 1,200 kids from low-income neighbourhoods across Toronto can proceed, along with after-school care, while centre officials work on fundraising options. An anonymous donor has kept the centre operating since November, when the Star reported the possible closure, to the tune of about $30,000 per month.

“This is a centre that offers programs to new immigrants and refugees and Indigenous populations -- children and youth that are at risk,” Troisi said. “This is a very important story and it’s touched many hearts.”

Noting the centre originally asked the city for $350,000 in emergency funding, Wong-Tam said $161,000 was the most help she could get based on council input and a city staff report.

“I had to push a boulder up the hill considering where we started,” said Wong-Tam (Ward 13 Toronto Centre), adding the rescue would not have happened without the support of Mayor John Tory.