The City of Toronto partnered with Toronto Community Housing and Home and Community Care Support Services – Toronto Central (formerly known as the Toronto Central Local Health Integration Network) to develop an Integrated Service Model (ISM) for Toronto Seniors Housing (formerly the Seniors Housing Unit at Toronto Community Housing). The model brings about new ways of supporting senior tenants so they can age in place with dignity and in comfort.
The objectives of the Integrated Service Model are to:
- Build relationships of trust between senior tenants and TSHC staff
- Improve the delivery of housing services, with an increased focus on issues that impact seniors’ housing stability
- Increase access to health and community support services through enhanced integration of community services within the buildings
The Integrated Service Model brings four key innovations to TSHC service delivery:
- An enhanced staffing model focused on increased staff-to-tenant ratios and more tenant support
- Revised seniors-specific policies to better respond to the unique challenges faced by seniors
- Providing access to a range of health, social and wellness services to tenants in their building, where feasible and desired by the tenants.
- Designating care coordinators to each building to help connect tenants to the health and community support services they need
Phased Implementation of the Integrated Service Model
Implementation has occured over three phases and four regions between 2020 and 2022.
- Phase 1, launched December 2020 in 18 buildings in the South East Region.
- Phase 2, launched in September 2021, saw 26 buildings in the North West Region and another eight buildings in the South East Region added to the implementation.
- Phase 3, launched in March and April 2022, brought the remaining 31 buildings within the South West and North East regions into the model.
Annual Program Report
The first Integrated Service Model (ISM) Annual Program Report details the first-year journey of implementing the ISM and shares key outcomes. Read the 2021 ISM Annual Program Report (PDF) for more information and to learn more.