In 2015, The Social Planning and Research Council of Hamilton (SPRC) partnered with three social housing providers, Hamilton East Kiwanis Non-Profit Homes Inc., Victoria Park Community Homes Inc. and McGivney Community Homes Inc., to explore the potential of a resident engagement initiative in Hamilton’s South Mountain neighbourhood. As a result of the partnership, the SPRC received a two year grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation to create a resident engagement project that would have a benefit to the local community and broader positive impact to the individual residents in the neighbourhood.
South Mountain Community Engagement Evaluation Highlights
Funded by: Ontario Trillium Foundation
The South Mountain community engagement initiative reaches out to seven social housing complexes operated by Kiwanis Homes Inc., Victoria Park Community Homes Inc. and McGivney Homes Inc.. The initiative, funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation, is a two year project which employs a Community Developer who supports the newly established resident-led South Mountain planning team. The purpose of the baseline survey was to gain a sense of the community’s strengths and improvement areas prior to the initiative in order to measure the influence of the initiative. Survey results revealed that there was a general consensus of neighbourhood assets, problem areas, and resolutions. Overall, survey participants were satisfied with access to transportation and amenities in their neighbourhood, and were concerned about safety.
Funded by: Ontario Trillium Foundation
The Hamilton Neighbourhood Action Strategy, the Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction, and the Hamilton Public Library, partnered to administer voter ID clinics during the 2015 federal election. The purpose of the clinics was to increase voter participation by breaking down barriers to voting, including acquainting voters with ID requirements and new changes to ID requirements, and helping people find their poll locations.
This report includes an overview of the clinics and the challenges associated with voter identification requirements, as well as recommendations for future clinics.
Community Partners: Hamilton Neighbourhood Action Strategy, Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction, Hamilton Public Library
This report documents findings of the 2014 Service Provider Survey for the Hamilton Immigration Partnership Council (HIPC). The main objective of the 2014 Service Provider Survey is to document levels of awareness of services available to newcomers among service providers as well as service provider confidence in making referrals to these services. This report also aims to offer comparisons between this year’s findings and earlier findings as possible.
Funded by: Hamilton Immigration Partnership Council, Citizenship and Immigration Canada
The purpose of this review is to determine what resources and structure Grocer Ease requires to ensure that it meets the needs of the community, the mandate of its funders, and supports the mission of Banyan Community Services. The review showed that participants are extremely satisfied with the program. Challenges around communication, documentation, emergency procedures, program accreditation, and funder requirements, among several others, are explored, and recommendations are offered to address these issues.
Funded by: Banyan Community Services
The Hamilton Immigration Partnership Council (HIPC) again enlisted the Social Planning and Research Council of Hamilton (SPRC) to conduct an evaluation of the impacts of the HIPC’s work in the community and to quantify its members’ contributions to its work in 2014. This follows SPRC’s evaluation of HIPC contributions and impacts in 2012 and 2013.
Funded by: Hamilton Immigration Partnership Council, Citizenship and Immigration Canada
This report summarizes the evaluation of the YWCA Hamilton’s Financial Literacy Program, which aimed to reach 80 disadvantaged women in the course of developing a model for financial literacy and training that could be incorporated into existing programs. The evaluation examined program effectiveness, adaptability/viability, and partnerships.
Funded by: YWCA Hamilton, TD Financial Literacy Grant
The goals of this evaluation of the YWCA Hamilton’s Bridging Internationally Trained Individuals Program are to explore and offer recommendations for strengthening several elements of the program, including the effectiveness of recruitment and marketing strategies, partnerships, participant commitment, differences in employment between streams, relative merits of a community agency delivering the program, and eligibility requirements. The YWCA Hamilton’s Bridging Internationally Trained Individuals Program aimed to provide training and support for Internationally Educated Persons (IEPs) to bridge soft skills, communications, and cultural awareness issues as well as identify and access opportunities for technical upgrading to improve employability in the environmental and information and communications technology (ICT) sectors.
This report conducts an evaluative review of client satisfaction, an evaluation of program results and an overview of best practices for the services of the St. Leonard’s Society of Hamilton.
Funded by: St. Leonard’s Society of Hamilton
This report provides an evaluation of the Building Better Futures program run through the Neighbour 2 Neighbour Centre. The purpose of this evaluation has been to illuminate project outcomes, key findings and lessons learned, opportunities for improvement, and implications for the project’s future.
Funded by: Status of Women Canada
Community Partners: Neighbour 2 Neighbour Centre
This purposes of this evaluation of the Hamilton Community Action Program for Children (CAPC) program are to 1) assess the long-term impacts of CAPC in east Hamilton since 1993; and 2) offer recommendations for program improvement. A mix of quantitative and qualitative methods were used to build this assessment. Findings suggest that the program has contributed to generally improving outcomes for young children in east Hamilton, and that community organizations collaborate with one another more because of CAPC’s work.
Funded by: Public Health Agency of CanadaThe purposes of this research are to: determine the value of short-term employment related workshops accessed by dislocated workers at HJAC; explore options for maximizing these benefits to laid off workers and to the wider unemployed/underemployed population; and explore the best venues for providing this type of training.
Funded by: Ministry of Training, Colleges, Universities Community Partner: United Way of Burlington & Greater HamiltonThe purpose of this evaluation is to explore the nature of issues related to housing and student nutrition programs as they relate to child development and well-being in East Hamilton. This evaluation integrates an independent evaluation of the Hamilton Partners in Nutrition program in the Community Action Program for Children (CAPC) area into a broader evaluation focusing on housing issues. The research supports recommendations for improving housing conditions in the CAPC catchment area, and improving Partners in Nutrition and CAPC programs more generally to enhance healthy child development.
Funded by: Public Health Agency of CanadaThe Hamilton Community Foundation engaged the SPRC to prepare this report to give an overview of the history of Student Nutrition Programs in Hamilton, how they operate as well as their strengths and the challenges they face. This report will be an aid for developing new strategies for addressing student hunger and a universal student nutrition program.
Funded by: Hamilton Community FoundationThe Hamilton Community Action Program for Children (CAPC) is a national project with each province developing its own set of priorities and guidelines. In Ontario, there are ninety-two CAPC programs currently operating. This report is an evaluation of the Hamilton CAPC project for the April 2008 to March 2010 time period.
Funded by: Public Health Agency of CanadaThis report describes the process and findings of a study undertaken to conduct a community needs assessment of the trends, issues and unmet needs of people using the current array of community based corrections services providing support to clients in Hamilton. The impetus for this study comes from the expressed concern of a number of those agencies providing support to clients in their transition from incarceration to reintegration into the Hamilton community.
Funded by: Ontario Trillium Foundation Community Partner: Corrections Consortium of HamiltonThe purpose of this research was to develop a better understanding of local child care needs from the perspectives of key stakeholders, and to identify innovative strategies that complement the existing child care system and meet current needs.
Funded by: Ontario Trillium Foundation Community Partner: Today’s Family Early Learning and Child CareThis report is an evaluation of the three year project led by the Street Youth Planning Collaborative and based on the 27 recommendations in the 2005 Addressing the Needs of Street Involved and Homeless Youth in Hamilton report. It reflects the project’s status as of June 30, 2009 when the community research was completed.
Funded by: Government of CanadaThe report provides an overview of the methodology used in the study, the evolution and operation of the Under the Willows program, and findings from consultations with key stakeholders. A set of conclusions are also included, based on a synthesis of findings.
Funded by: Ontario Trillium FoundationThe SPRC was contracted by Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion (HCCI) to do a broad stroke review of the successes and challenges experienced throughout the Enabling Institutional Change Through Community Partnership and Civic Participation project. The information for this evaluation came through a review of written evaluations by participants of numerous training activities that took place by HCCI as well as conversations with staff members and a review of training materials produced by HCCI through this funding. Training evaluation reports generated by HCCI staff were also scanned for feedback and the evaluator attended HCCI’s Report to the Community in March, 2009.
Funded by: Department of Canadian Heritage Community Partner: Hamilton Centre for Civic InclusionThe Stoney Creek United Church Wraparound project engaged the services of the Social Planning and Research Council of Hamilton in June 2008 to conduct an evaluation of the project in accordance with the terms noted in a proposal for funding to the Hamilton Community Foundation.
Commissioned by: The Stoney Creek United Church Wraparound Funded by: Hamilton Community FoundationThe Youth Anti-Abuse Project Phase 2: Strengthening Supports and Expanding Diversity (YAAP) is evaluated in this report. This project was a partnership fostered by the Sexual Assault Centre of Hamilton and Wesley Urban Ministries. This project spanned 15 months (January 2007 – March 2008).
Commissioned by: The Youth Anti-Abuse Project Community Partner: Sexual Assault Centre of Hamilton, Wesley Urban MinistriesThe needs assessment is to determine the service needs, (informational, supportive, medical) of people living with hepatitis C in Hamilton in order to help the network prioritize future actions and activities accordingly. The purpose of this report is to make those findings available to: Hamilton Hepatitis C Network members, community services providers who work with HCV target populations, and to everyone interested in HCV prevention and education.
Funded by: Public Health Agency of CanadaThe purpose of this report is:
To assist in the homelessness planning activities of the Hamilton Aboriginal community;
To research the need for a Homeless Aboriginal Men’s Residence; and
To facilitate the process for a Homeless Aboriginal Men’s Residence.
Funded by: Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (National Homelessness Initiative – Urban Aboriginal Homelessness) Community Partners: Hamilton Executive Directors’ Aboriginal Coalition, Hamilton Regional Indian CentreThe City of Hamilton increase in diversity necessitates a review of the operation and design of the sectors which seek to serve the public to ensure that all needs are being met. In response to this message, in September 2005, a working group and steering committee, led by Sport Hamilton, sought to better understand the issues of access to recreation for children and youth from cultural and ethno-racial groups in our community. The SPRC was commissioned to consult the community to further localize and understand the barriers faced by diverse ethno-racial children and youth.
Funded by: Heritage Canada
