PROFILE: Toronto Community Housing – Mabelle

Located in Etobicoke, Toronto Community Housing – Mabelle is run by Toronto Community Housing, the largest social housing provider in the country. Toronto Community Housing offers an array of services and programs for people of all ages throughout the GTA.

One of these initiatives is being seen through their Mabelle placement. Running from 9am-4pm, TCH Mabelle runs accessible summer camps for children living in and around their apartments, bringing camp to them.

Along with running camps, Toronto Community Housing also collaborates with Focus On Youth to bring students in to assist with placements. There are two Focus On Youth counselors at TCH Mabelle, Adonay Baraki and Paula Adefolaju. At their placement, both Paula and Adonay spend their day deeply committed to ensuring a safe and nurturing atmosphere for the campers. They aim to form close connections with the children, making sure all individual needs are provided for while also making sure the camp runs smoothly as a whole.

A typical day for Adonay and Paula starts a little before opening, where they arrive early to prepare the placement site for the kids yet to arrive. The fun begins at 9am, when the camp opens and kids start arriving, full of energy. They start with some small warn-up games to start the day off, then move on to bigger activities (ex. Experiments, paint and sips). Here, Paula and Adonay fully engage in the activities being held, while also intently supervising the children.

This leads us to their lunch period, where both the kids and the counsellors alike can take a minute to recoup their energy, and provide themselves a little boost to get themselves through the rest of the day. The afternoon is met with even more fun, usually consisting of one game and one activity. As the day comes to a close, snacks are handed out and the last of the children’s energy seems to dwindle. By 4pm, the children are gone, but not Adonay and Paula, as they make sure to clean up, causing them to leave shortly after.

On the day we made our visit, Visions Science also paid a visit at the TCH Mabelle visit. Arriving at around 10:45am, Visions Science organized an amazing experiment for the children at camp. The campers had the opportunity to turn milk into ice cream with only three ingredients: milk, ice, and salt (and a little sugar for those with a sweet tooth). This experiment taught the kids a lot about physical chemistry, specifically how salt changes the freezing point of milk.

With the help of Adonay, Paula, and all the other counselors and coordinators, Toronto Community Housing- Mabelle is able to provide a safe space for all the children who need it. Acting as a pillar stone of the community, and enriching the lives of both local children and their families.