The merger of two community housing sites in Peterborough will ultimately mean more housing and support for people who have disabilities, high-risk seniors, and others.

That’s the goal of a recent initiative that encompassed Kawartha Participation Projects (KPP) officially changing its name to Thrive Housing and Support (Thrive). The decision to rebrand coincides with the amalgamation of KPP and Hilliard Park Homes at 800 Hilliard St. into a single organization.

Thrive manages community housing, and provides outreach and 24/7 support to people with physical disabilities, cognitive impairments, acquired brain injuries and seniors who are considered to be at high risk. Along with Hilliard Park Homes, housing includes 18 units at Towerhill Village (17 Towerhill Road) and 30 units at St. Peters (443 Reid St.).

Sandy Woodhouse, Thrive’s CEO, said there are key projected benefits of the merger.

“I would say the most exciting part of the partnership is that two great community housing sites have officially come together to form Thrive Housing and Support, an agency whose mission is to deliver exceptional housing and support services that positively impact people in our community,” Woodhouse told kawarthaNOW.

“The biggest impact on the people as a result of the merger is that Hilliard Park Homes now has the designation as a special needs provider — the same as Towerhill Village — so we are able to house and support more clients with physical disabilities, high-risk seniors, and people with acquired brain injuries.”

The KPP board, after much contemplation, “seized the perfect timing” for the name change, Thrive noted. As part of the transformation, Thrive has released a video explaining the rationale behind the choice of the new name. The video can be viewed at www.thrivehs.ca/thrive-video.

“The rebranding not only reflects the organization’s commitment to growth, but also introduces a new mission statement — creating communities where people can thrive,” Thrive said in a media release.

The organization’s newly launched website at www.thrivehs.ca contains the new vision and values statements, along with other features, including photos and stories about real tenants, clients, and the staff members who work at Thrive.

“In terms of services, Thrive Housing and Support will continue its unwavering commitment to providing community housing and personal support to people with physical disabilities, high risk seniors and people with acquired brain injuries in order for them to live independently and thrive in a way that is meaningful to them,” the organization said. “Clients and tenants can expect the same, if not enhanced, level of service that has become synonymous with the organization.”

Thrive has also announced the addition of 10 new supportive housing units at 191 Rink St., also known as the Sawmill. These units will provide new opportunities for people to live independently.

Out of the 10 new units, five have been specifically designated to Thrive clients, with a priority given to those at risk of homelessness or patients in the hospital who need a home more suitable to their needs.

The Brain Injury Association Peterborough Region has partnered with Thrive, employing a dedicated case manager to provide wrap-around supports to residents in five additional units, to complement the services provided by personal support workers through Thrive.

“This initiative has been made possible through the combined efforts of numerous partners,” Thrive added. “Ashburnham Realty, who constructed and owns the Sawmill, played a pivotal role in working collaboratively with Thrive and providing both units and office space. The City of Peterborough has also demonstrated its commitment to the well-being of the community and prevention of homelessness by generously providing rent supplements, ensuring that living costs remain affordable for clients of the program.”

Thrive dates back to 1978 when it was established under the KPP name. Today, Thrive supports approximately 120 clients with physical disabilities, acquired brain injuries, and those considered to be high-risk seniors. The organization employs about 100 front-line and administrative staff who support the group of clients. Thrive also extends property management services to its community housing partners.

A charitable organization is striving to keep Haliburton County residents toasty in their homes amidst plummeting temperatures and rising heating costs this winter.

Over the past year, the demand for services from Heat Bank Haliburton County, a program of the Central Food Network (CFN), has grown, as the cost of living continues to increase or people incur extra costs such as for medical expenses, noted Tina Jackson, CFN’s executive director.

The mission of Heat Bank Haliburton County is to keep residents’ homes heated and to create opportunities to help those living in poverty. According to CFN, Haliburton County has one of the highest rates of energy poverty in Canada.

“For some, the added cost of filling up the oil or propane tanks or stocking the woodshed is a minor inconvenience — for others, it means heartbreaking sacrifices and juggling whether to heat or eat,” CFN noted. “Many homes in our community will not have enough money for both and will have to cut on their grocery or medication costs in order to keep their homes at minimal temperatures.”

Heat Bank Haliburton County began in 2013 as a community initiative with a mission to increase the supply of, and ease of access to, emergency firewood and heat for vulnerable residents of Haliburton County.

The bank formed when several community groups, agencies and community members recognized the need for a united front to provide support.

Jackson was one of the founders, along with A Place Called Home, Heather Reid and Abbey Gardens, Judy MacDuff and David Ogilvie and 4C’s of Haliburton, Ken Mott and Wilberforce Food Bank, Robert Spurrier and Cardiff Community Food Bank, John Teljeur and JT’s Food Crusade, and Terry Goodwin and Men of Integrity.

“We decided if we all just collectively work together …. we could build up bigger supplies,” Jackson said.

Heat Bank Haliburton County is now a registered charity operating in the Municipality of Highlands East in the Haliburton Highlands.

The reception from the community about having heat resources available, is one of “appreciation,” the executive director said.

“We do so much more than just offer fuel grants,” Jackson explained. “We will also look at people’s household income and what their circumstances are and try to figure out if there are any other services and supports available to also help them.”

For example, the heat bank received a call recently from someone whose propane tanks were getting low, and they didn’t have the cash available for a minimum fill. As Jackson spoke with them about income, hydro bills, and other matters, she was able to tell them they were eligible for a credit.

“So, in addition to a $600 fuel grant, we’re also going to help them with the paperwork to get a hydro credit. Now they’re going to be saving $45 a month off their hydro (bill), which could help them put a little bit of food in the cupboards or help them keep up with the heating costs in the future.”

The heat bank, originally an initiative of A Place Called Home, was taken on by CFN in 2016. Like a food bank, the heat bank runs solely on donations, Jackson noted.

There are firewood depots situated across Haliburton County, which allows for wood donations to be directed to an area close to its source, CFN noted.

“It also means that we are really neighbours helping neighbours, especially given the number of community members who come together to help cut and split wood and the team of volunteers who deliver it, even on the worst of winter days.”

The heat bank provides emergency firewood — small amounts of free, seasoned firewood to households that are struggling with the cost of heating their homes or find themselves in a heating emergency.

As Jackson noted, the intake process helps determine residents’ eligibility to benefit from other programs or supports.

The heat bank’s ‘Home to Home Firewood Program’ connects lower-income households who heat with wood to households that have extra hardwood. This program runs from spring through to early fall.

When it comes to oil and propane, the heat bank provides grants for emergency fuel, information, referral, and advocacy support for access to services and programs, and assistance to “identify longer-term or alternative strategies to promote the household’s autonomy.” It also provides information for low-income hydro customers and staff will advocate and negotiate directly with Hydro One.

The Heat Bank is an authorized intake agency for the Ontario Energy Board’s LEAP – Low-income Energy Assistance Program hydro arrears program and Ontario Electricity Support Program hydro credit program.

For more information about Heat Bank Haliburton County, or to make a donation, visit the website at www.heatbankhc.ca or call or send a text to 705-306-0565.

Renfrew County warden Peter Emon and Peterborough County warden Bonnie Clark will again be leading the Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus (EOWC) in 2024.

During EOWC’s inaugural meeting on January 11 and 12 hosted by Lennox and Addington County, Emon was re-elected as chair and Clark was acclaimed as vice-chair.

EOWC is an incorporated non-profit organization comprised of the head of councils of 13 municipalities in eastern Ontario, including 11 upper-tier counties and two single-tier municipalities, and supports and advocates on behalf of its 90 local municipalities and 800,000 residents across the region.

“I am honoured my colleagues in eastern Ontario have shown their faith in me once again,” Emon said in a media release. “We will work together to address the issues and champion solutions that impact residents of rural eastern Ontario. I look forward to the year ahead and being around many decision-making tables.”

“In my second year as vice-chair, I will continue to bring key issues forward on behalf of rural eastern Ontario municipalities and their residents,” Clark added. “I look forward to working together with chair Emon, our caucus colleagues and staff, and identifying new priorities for the remainder of 2024.”

Clark was first acclaimed as EOWC vice-chair in 2023. She was elected Peterborough County warden in 2022, after a 20-year career in public service that began as a councillor for the former Otonabee Township. She later served as deputy mayor of the amalgamated Otonabee-South Monaghan Township and was a member of Peterborough County council since 2018.

Until a priority-setting meeting to be held in March, EOWC will continue with its 2023 priorities which include affordable and attainable housing, the 7 in 7+ Regional Housing Plan, long-term care, and modernizing the construction approval process to support economic development. EOWC will also be sending a delegation to the 2024 Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA) Conference being held from January 21 to 23 in Toronto.

“Members of the EOWC are looking forward to attending the upcoming ROMA 2024 Conference later this month to build strong relationships with municipal colleagues and the provincial government,” reads the media release.

The City of Peterborough has announced the members of the Mayor’s Task Force for Housing Creation — a group of builders and housing development professionals that will assist the city as it works to meet its provincially assigned target of 4,700 new housing units by 2031.

The task force members are Paul Bennett of Ashburnham Realty, Chelsea Combot of Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services, Brian Fenton of Peterborough Homes, Hans Jain of Atria Development Corporation, Hope Lee of Peterborough Housing Corporation, Rebecca Schillemat of Peterborough and the Kawarthas Home Builders Association, Brad Smith of AON Inc., and Susan Zambonin of Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region.

In October 2023, Peterborough Mayor Jeff Leal announced the creation of the task force, originally to be called the Mayor’s Task Force on Housing & Future Growth. At the time, the city said it had streamlined its development application processes with the support of provincial funding, including by launching a dedicated customer service centre called Plan-Build Peterborough in April 2023 to assist with planning and building services inquiries.

“We need further input from the development community on any other opportunities for municipal support and to consider barriers to accelerating housing starts that may be outside of municipal control,” Mayor Leal said at the time.

In the media release from the city on Friday (January 12) announcing the task force members, the city also announced it had exceeded its provincially assigned housing target of 345 housing starts last year, having issued permits to Peterborough homebuilders to start construction on 435 housing units in 2023.

“Exceeding the provincial housing target demonstrates the city’s commitment to doing everything in its power to ensure the local building industry will achieve the provincial housing targets,” Mayor Leal said in the release.

According to the release, Mayor Leal will work closely with development industry professionals on ways the city can promote the construction of new housing units while the development sector deals with various pressures affecting housing construction, which include high interest rates for financing development projects, inflationary price increases for construction materials, and challenges in the labour market.

“Thank you to each of the members of the Mayor’s Task Force for Housing Creation for sharing their time and expertise on this critical issue for our community,” Mayor Leal said in the release. “The members of this task force have considerable experience building housing and are in the field each and every day — they are well placed to make helpful recommendations.

The city noted the task force is expected to present a final report to Mayor Leal in mid-2024. The report will include recommended actions the city could take to facilitate the construction of 4,700 new housing units by 2031.

A North Kawartha man is facing an assault charge after a dispute about snow shovelling on Saturday afternoon (January 13).

At around 12:45 p.m., officers with Peterborough County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) received a call regarding a dispute between two neighbours.

The complainant reported they had heard snow being thrown against the window of their house. The complainant went outside to see two people shovelling snow in a manner that was hitting the house.

The complainant and the accused man got into a verbal dispute, which escalated to the point where one person was allegedly assaulted.

Police attended the scene and arrested and charged Jesse Parent, 35, of North Kawartha Township, with assault.

The accused man is scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Peterborough on February 13.

The City of Peterborough’s account on X, formerly called Twitter, was hacked on Sunday (January 14).

According to a media release from the city, the account was taken over by a hacker and renamed @JupiterExhanqe.

“No personal information was shared by the City of Peterborough through its X social media account,” reads the media release.

The hacked account describes itself as “Full stack ecosystem play focused on advancing decentralized trading, solana & the meta.”

While the city has reacquired the original @CityPtbo account name, all content originally posted by the city (over 18,000 tweets) as well as the city’s 16,097 followers remain on the hacked account. The city is advising those followers that any tweets they see from the @JupiterExhanqe account are not from the city.

The hacked account also still includes the grey checkmark that X uses to indicate an account representing a government organization.

The city has contacted X to request that followers of the renamed account be restored to the @CityPtbo account.

Social media accounts, especially government accounts and those with a large number of followers, are a frequent target for hackers. They may try to hack the accounts for bragging rights or to use them for cybercrime or to distribute spam.

It is not known how hackers gained access to the city’s X account, but they can do so using different methods, including social engineering, phishing scams, week or reused passwords, malware, and “man-in-the-middle” attacks. To keep an account secure, X recommends using a strong and unique password, enabling two-factor authentication, and requiring an email and phone number to request a reset password link or code.