The Sionito Apartment Housing Model Summarized

A full data-based essay is available to support the summary.

First An Aside by the Author
This is not a strategic plan. This is not a research paper. This is a blog. It explains how for one team member Sionito is an expression of meaning as well as an experience-based statement of best practices. A research-based paper providing the data supporting the model is being updated. A book on the role of social entrepreneurship in creating ‘the more civil society’ with a proposal that the non-profit sector of our three-sector society be governed by the Canadian Senate; is being pondered

Bryce A Taylor ^{MSW RSW}
CEO The Sionito Group of Charities

Sionito: Text Without Context is Pretext
The fundamentalist quest for truth and certain knowledge has been replaced by the scientific search for natural evidence in support of knowledge. Within this scientific method, knowledge is an uncertain process. Within the science paradigm it is better described as the search for understanding. It is always open to critical analysis followed by new insights, some deduced by contemplation others induced from observation; some strengthened by evolution, others replaced by revolution. (Karl Popper / Thomas S. Kuhn) The dogmatic authority of truth is now replaced by a dialogue reaching for the tentative consensus of an elite group of science peers. At the more popular levels science is also reviewed within communities ranging from students in lecture halls and citizens in Tim Hortons. At both levels it follows that one must choose their community judiciously to avoid the populist attraction for a truth clothed convincingly in unexamined evidence freely disseminated across our latest invention, social media. The scientific way of understanding can be challenging, especially if one’s life commitments are at stake. Not everyone is willing to give up truth for science. COVID with its anti-vaxxers comes to mind; some of whom gave their life as a result of popularized social media explanations, the supernatural of personal religious beliefs or their distrust of the elites. Knowledge now exists within a dual intellectual world supported by a dichotomized culture where the search for meaning conflicts with the search for understanding. For example, not everyone is willing to accept the indifference of the universe assumed by astro-physics and biological evolution. Life (excuse the reification) certainly does not. Biological life, once ignited, energetically evolved itself by reproduction of what is and the mutations of the new; all the way to us! It’s one of the wonders of existential thought, to ponder all the ‘tweeks’ and providential occurrences all by chance that had to happen to achieve your present existence. In life, it is difficult for the human mind, the ultimate beneficiary of an indifferent evolutionary process, to not respond with some form of thanks; but to what when there is nothing but darkness and chance; and so poets are born. Beyond this, again excusing the reification, life seems to have some sense of the teleological, favouring survival over all else and going to great lengths to overproduce everything from pollen to sperm in order to assure it’s future. In terms of this one thing survival, the evolving system seems to leave little to chance and in doing so establishes the first crack in the teleological door. Life has no room for the supernatural, its focus is natural survival. Having achieved the immortality of the gene, (Dawkins) life now seems to be intent on pressing on in the teleological quest by energizing its pinnacle achievement, human reflective consciousness. This is a whole new order of existence marked by the diminishment of determinism and the ascension of teleology. Whether we Thank God for Evolution (Michael Dowd) or simply acknowledge that by whatever route taken, teleology has arrived, the next stage of evolution by design has already begun. Just ask any medical researcher or farmer.

Sionito takes from these musings on context, with some amusement, that its quest to design a better life for seniors is in line with the activities of the universe! Sionito, the name, can be interpreted in Spanish as “the small perfect community” and as such the name stands for building beyond the ordinary. At the microcosmic level of practice but still within the above context, the Sionito Group of Charities chooses to dwell less on (deductive) mission statements and more on prototypes (inductive) that can be studied, researched and improved upon. Growing a pragmatic base of knowledge and experience is an important component of the Sionito model. Highly appreciative of; but moving beyond the “imagine” of John Lennon’s poetry, Sionito has developed and is researching and designing housing models to inform ‘the more civil society.’

Sionito: The Search for Meaningful Pragmatics
In working in community, Sionito builds on the classical liberal understandings that citizens find it more meaningful to aspire, rather than be required. Liberalism stands wary of authoritarian controls, understanding that authoritarianism, in all of its manifestations, diminishes the human condition. Truth assertations based on authoritarian pronouncements, usually higher in volume than in rationality, no longer survive without critical review. In modernity the opposing cultural force rising against authoritarianism, if properly understood, is entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship is the modern expression of the human spirit emanating out of the Enlightenment, a period of history, not the only one, that touched all areas of understanding, moving them downwards out of the royal realm into the realm of the common people. (Pinker) The release of independent agency, allowing each citizen to pursue their aspirations as individuals or through the entity of incorporation, considered in law as an individual; has dramatically improved the human condition. Interestingly, this is especially true in the marketplace where at its core, improving one’s fortunes can only be achieved when one finds a way of improving the lives of your consumer neighbours. (Mark 12:30). Within this context the Sionito group has developed social entrepreneurship as the basis for energizing its model. It invites all who aspire to build, ‘the more civil society’, to consider social entrepreneurial pursuits. The nature of the task ahead requires more than charity handouts, it requires a societal response including donations by some, but involvement by all.

Up scaling this spirit of entrepreneurship to make a societal impact requires a three-sector cultural partnership consisting of:
1) the mission zeal of independent of private non-profit corporations
2) the entreprise of independent professional management and development corporations
3) a partnering government model that instead of empowering itself, empowers the above independent citizens in solving the challenges of their fellow citizens.
Governments cannot do it all, and if they do the citizenry becomes ‘careless’ or ‘care less’ in their attitudes and their response. (John McKnight) However, a recognition that the classical liberal society has these three sectors, as opposed to the traditional private/public discourse, increases grassroots citizen participation and provides for an inter-sector dialogue of innovativeness capable of achieving ‘the more civil society.’ This all happens as a result of entrepreneurship, the modern expression of the human spirit.

In modernity, there are two ways to respond to life; in the short term to be entertained by it or in the long term be engaged in contributing to it. The social entrepreneurial spirit finds meaning in choosing the latter.

Sionito: Measuring Meaning
It is of interest to ponder the goals of such a spirit or how one would measure its success. The Platonic classical quests for teleological commonalities such as goodness or the more recent concept of ‘well-being’ may be too generalized and perhaps ‘relaxed’ for the unrestrained human spirit of modernity. Modernity seeks to have life and live it more fully, both existentially and through corporate community. (John 10:10). The Sionito model understands impoverishment as a diminishment of life and the ability to live it fully. It responds to the resulting challenge from within the microcosm of an apartment housing culture. In summary, Sionito chooses to respond with both the ‘preferential option for the poor’ (Mathew 25), that can be found in all religious cultures as well as the ‘reasonable accommodation for the marginalized’ that has been mandated by the courts into our more secularized cultures. In the words of Hillel taken out of context, “the rest is commentary.” Sionito using the classical understandings of liberalism translates these ideals into developing life-abilities for an independent lifestyle within an apartment housing culture.

a) The Team
It takes a community of external societal partners and internal governors and staff to operate the present projects and build the coming Sionito initiatives. The Sionito community, when inviting citizens to partner with us in designing a new ‘facilitation of aging in place project’, offers those joining our journey as staff or volunteers, the promise of vocation. It offers a life energized through a sense of calling rather than charitable gifting or payment for time. It offers the experience of social entrepreneurship, an often over-looked modern expression of the human spirit.

However in doing so, it is immediately confronted by the pragmatics of the three existential challenges to life; biological health, societal civility understood as peaceful co-existence and environmental sustainability. Without going into detail, Sionito can support the observation that to solve the challenges in each of these societal areas of concern requires social entrepreneurship, flowing from the research based understandings that housing centric policy and programs are foundational for success against each of these challenges. Housing, properly understood, is a determinant and a resource for health, crime and lowering our carbon footprint. Impoverishment is one exemplar of the observation. Impoverishment is a break-down of civil society. The Homes First programs in Toronto have shown a high retention rate of over 80% as those in shelters or on the street are taken, not to treatment centres, but directly to a private residential setting, accompanied by an intensive social work support network for the first 6 months. This proven ability of stable, suitable housing to solve societal challenges as problematic as homelessness is what gives direction to the entrepreneurial pursuits of the Sionito Group of Charities. Success will be measured simply by how many units of social housing the team produces on a year over year basis and the retention rates of its tenants.

b) The Tenants
In working towards making a measurable difference in the lives of tenants, Sionito again builds on the classical liberal understandings that citizens find it more meaningful to aspire rather than be required. The spirit of citizen independence, a product of the Enlightenment, is possessed by all citizens raised in modernity. In its simplest terms Sionito has designed a model engaged in facilitating the independent life-abilities of seniors aging in place. As outlined in the pages below Sionito will measure its success by measuring how well its program maintains the independent life-abilities of its tenants. It will do the research to show support for the fact that the more independent any citizen is within and from government programs the less cost it will be to those governments. Seemingly trite, in reality where it is in the interests of social work CEOs across the sectors to increase staff and to increase services and to introduce new programs there needs to be a countervailing initiative. The Sionito model can be shown to be a least cost, least staffed, most efficient approach to housing centric programming.

Sionito: Implementation
Sionito, recognizing that text without context is simply pretext, offers the above conceptual rationalization in support of its modeling initiatives. Emerging out of the understandings of the above societal context is the Sionito model. This aspiration for all to have life and live it more fully is contingent on a housing centric understanding of societal realities, both internally through its leadership and governance teams, externally with its funders and community-based partners and perhaps most importantly, this is the Sionito hope for each of its tenants.

A Selfie of a Three Component Model

1) The Sionito Model – The Operations Component
Introducing SMILE
The ambition of Sionito is to provide seniors with the hope of retaining their independence regardless of physical and/or mental health challenges. The process used to reach this goal is facilitation. This is a central concept used purposefully within the Sionito Model. Sionito exists to facilitate. Seniors inherently possess a spirit of independence. Sionito perceives itself not in terms of serving or even helping; rather, it facilitates by releasing seniors from whatever circumstances are suppressing their ‘independent life-abilities’. To achieve this goal requires focusing on the abilities of each senior (rather than their fragilities) and focusing on their independent living skills (rather than supplying interventionalist services). This is referred to as the ‘Sionito Model for an Independent Life-ability Experience’ (SMILE). Instead of care plans, it favours life-ability plans. Instead of long-term care, it favours long-term independence.

Aging in Place: The Two Cultures
Seniors in Canadian society have a choice in terms of aging in place. They can choose a supported living setting or an independent living setting. Each of these settings produce a very different living culture.

A) Supported Cultures
The supported living setting of retirement homes and supportive housing (the model for younger citizens) offers a large number of support services provided by various teams of in-house staff ranging from cleaners through levels of personal care right up to nursing and medical support services. These, along with nursing homes, are commonly referred to as congregate settings and operate within an authoritarian culture of policies and staff hierarchies. In Ontario the Retirement Homes Regulation Act (RHRA) has been legislated in order to offer protection to seniors in these settings who if they do not have strong family supports, on their own they are vulnerable because 1) they cannot easily move out if intolerable conditions arise; 2) are dependent on private market fee changes, and 3) have little ability to challenge operators who may have personal support staff who are controlling and in rare cases abusive. In general, most retirement homes offer a wide listing of services available to ‘those of means’ who are willing to pay for a complete care plan. (See economy component below.) The supported living model produces a culture of care.

B) Independent Cultures
The independent living setting consisting of private homes, owned apartments (condos) or rented apartments offers an independent private living space into which informal family/friendship supports, community-based agency supports or private service supports can be invited on an as needed basis. (Research shows that informal sector services amount to an economic value equal to 50% of the health care costs required for an isolated citizen.) Sionito’s study of the research observing the sheer numbers of senior citizens coming over the horizon brings it to the conclusion that the societal model required will be private citizen based independent living models allowing for aging in place. The independent living model produces a culture of independence. Sionito refers to this as the ‘Sionito Model for an Independent Life-ability Experience’ (SMILE). The purpose of SMILE is to facilitate ageing in place. It has three expressions.

Three Expressions of SMILE
Aging in Place Expression One – Facilitating Independence Already Achieved
Governments will not have the capacity to establish a universal supply of specialized housing spaces (retirement homes) for all of its seniors in the future as they did in the past to meet their educational space requirements with portable classrooms. Senior’s residential is a whole different kind of space requirement. It will only be met societally by facilitating citizen independence. For seniors living in their private homes this will require exempting them from property taxes and subsidizing their utility bills, perhaps providing government reverse mortgages on their houses, allowing them to add as of right apartments in their homes or granny pods on their properties; anything and everything that will allow them to remain independent in their privately paid for space rather than transfer to a space funded by government grants or financing.

Aging in Place Expression Two -Facilitating Downsizing to Retain Independence
This culture of independent privacy is cherished by this group of seniors and is especially supportive of senior couples down-sizing by selling the family home after the children move out. This also prevents the adult children from moving back! This model of independent living is economically beneficial to both the seniors and the government as it frees up home equity built up over a lifetime. It allows seniors to move back to small town Ontario, perhaps to their original area of birth. It allows seniors to move into smaller accommodations such as condos, apartments or detached one story homes that form senior villages. Again, all the benefits of phase one should follow the seniors so they are not forced towards space funded by government grants or financing.

Aging in Place Expression Three – Facilitating Independence in Spite of the Challenges
The most challenging events of aging in place are when seniors become home bound. This occurs
i) when seniors age through the car driving and public transportation phases
ii) when health related fragilities emerge in terms of physical mobility or mental acuity reducing the ability to easily go outside unaccompanied
iii) when a senior’s family moves away physically or emotionally
iv) when a senior is widowed or their spouse loses i or ii above.
Becoming homebound does not mean that aging in place cannot continue. The experience of Sionito is that a senior experiencing the challenges of aging in place outlined above and others, can continue all their independent activities of daily living (ADL) in the comfort of their own home except for one activity; food preparation. Overcoming this home bound barrier is the “plus” that ageing in place requires. SMILE has been developed to create the Aging in Place+ experience.

Shopping for food, bringing it home, preparing nutritional meals and dealing safely with kitchen equipment is the first critical challenge of aging in place. In some cases informal assistance is available from a spouse or family, however one of the realities of aging is spouses who have become widowed and isolation as a result of families who have moved away. Some neighbourhoods have meals on wheels programs that provide a few subsidized meals prepared off site each week. In general, however, a senior in this phase of life can relatively quickly find themselves isolated and dependent on nutritionally draining diets of tea and toast. These seniors are most often identified first by hospital emergency intake centres as these have the data collection systems identifying reoccurring patients.

Aging in Place + Fitting a New Model into Present Government Programs
In response to challenges of independent living Sionito has developed the Sionito Model for an Independent Life-ability Experience (SMILE). The SMILE model has the following attributes that sets apartment buildings that have adopted the model apart from regular family-oriented apartment buildings.

a) SMILE consists of designing a residentially zoned (as opposed to institutionally zoned) least cost apartment building dedicated for seniors that allows the senior to choose to remain independent and in control of their lives.

b) Governments are recognizing that senior dedicated buildings have unique requirements for accommodating this group of citizens.
i) Wheel chair accommodations are required for entrances and elevators.
ii) A portion of units will require bathrooms with turning and transitioning spacing and aids.
iii) Tripping hazards need to be removed including removal of tile to carpet change levels in floors in common areas
iv) Automatic door openers in common areas.
v) Security cameras so hallways can be monitored for falls.

c) Uniquely, SMILE facilitates senior living by partnering with governments for rental subsidies lone. The model requires no further supportive program funding from other government programs. Supportive housing that does require other funding requires co-ordination levels between government Ministries that lengthens the development phase. When mental health or supportive care services are required community-based agencies already funded to provide home care are called in to do assessments and arrange for the care required on an as needed basis.

d) The tenant themselves from their government pensions can afford to pay for the other minimal activities of daily living (ADL) components of the SMILE model.

e) The RHRA legislation recognizes that many more senior dedicated apartments are required to meet the coming market demand. To its credit it allows for one service to be made available to seniors within an apartment setting without licensing or designating the building as a retirement care home. This allows senior’s dedicated buildings to be built in residential zones. Otherwise, they would have to rezone the proposed properties which takes years and increases costs beyond what the market would sustain. It essentially would end the development of new seniors’ dedicated apartments buildings.

f) SMILE acknowledges this positive incentive within the legislation and designs into residentially zoned apartment buildings for seniors one added amenity space, an on-site community kitchen. The RHRA is silent in terms of cleaning services so weekly bedding laundry and light unit housekeeping can be added as needed to the common area cleaning expected in all apartment settings, without effecting zoning. This discerning legislative consideration allows for seniors, facilitated by a least staffed least cost operational model, to exist independently within an apartment culture.

In summary, SMILE facilitates an independent living culture within the apartment setting and allows aging in place to continue long into the future. SMILE’s one adaptation to apartment living, the on-site community kitchen, can change the long-term care model to a long-term independence model and save governments tremendous amounts in terms of housing and health care dollars and it can be readily replicated.

The SMILE Components Summarized

The Housing Operations Component
1) The Model Demonstrates that Senior’s Independent Housing Requires One Distinctive Amenity
The model builds apartments in medium to high density residential zoned neighbourhoods with one added amenity space, a community kitchen with an on-site food program designed for seniors too frail to drive or go grocery shopping or cope with the anxiety of cooking and preparing nutritional meals. Sionito reduces meal anxiety to increase ADL independent life-abilities.

2) The Model Demonstrates a Changing Tenancy Spectrum Needing Community Based Supports
A growing realization in the non-profit housing sector is that more of our tenants, seniors and adults, are requiring social work case management type supports in order to function in our independent living settings. The Housing First program has shown that if community-based service workers are available tenancy retention in independent apartments is at 80%. A tenant with a support worker is the new model.

3) The Model Demonstrates the Viability of a Community-based Home Care System
The health care sector since de-institutionalizing mental health care has funded specialized highly flexible community-based agencies who can provide ongoing case work supports and care services on an as needed basis into the ”home” of their client. This permits the independent housing sector to partner into the health care sector without changing its basic independent housing or funding model. It does not need supportive housing funding. It simply needs to generate service partnerships that match its tenancy composition and welcome them into their housing projects.

4) The Model Demonstrates that Tenancy Is A Health Determinant That Reduces Health Care Costs
Institutional health care costs per day are comparable to the monthly rents of independent housing. The health care system to remain financially viable for an aging population has to be housing centric. It must be designed to retain seniors independent home-based life-styles. The model effectively reduces health care costs by reducing the rotation of seniors through the hospital emergency departments, allows for ALC beds to be emptied and delays pre-mature entry into nursing homes.

5) The Model Demonstrates that Seniors’ Gov’t Pensions are Sufficient To Retain Fee Based Independence.
There are only three ways to cover housing costs; tenants’ income streams, government capital development grants or government rent subsidies. Rents are designed to carry the administration, financing, utility and maintenance costs of operating an apartment building. Offering the independence maintaining amenities of food services, motel laundry and light housekeeping on even an as needed basis requires a housing model that adds fees to rents. The Sionito revenue model indicates that if 30% to 35% of a tenant’s pension income is used for rent, then there is sufficient pension income to pay for these added fees if combined in economic scale with fellow tenants in an apartment setting of seniors. In an isolated single apartment or home the lack of economy of scale makes this model unworkable on an individual basis. However, in an apartment building context these minimalist ADL supports can be covered by fees paid from the tenants’ government pension base. The model does however depend on government pension increases matching inflationary levels.

6) The Model Demonstrates that Strengths of a Mission Focused Non-profit Apartment Sector
The mission owns the project. This changes the apartment investment model with the only contact being off site collection, into an apartment governance, administrative and facilitating team much more involved in the life of the tenant. Their goal is to take in tenants requiring ADL facilitation without requesting Ministry funding. Already funded community-based agencies provide the heavier psychogeriatric therapeutic, pharmaceutical and counselling supports. Citizen boards can be energized by this type of citizen involvement across the country. Apartment superintendents, become apartment administrators, taking on the role of health care navigation in order to facilitate tenants’ ageing in place. In summary, costs for administering ADL services and co-ordinating community-based care supports are fee based and sourced from pensions. Costs for administering building operations, rent collections and tenant retention are sourced from rents.

7) The Model Demonstrates the Strengths of Mission Zeal partnered with Professional Entreprise
A Board of Directors focus is on governance, not on operations. It is their responsibility to establish the mission and ensure it is achieved effectively and efficiently. Sionito as a charity in recognition of this separation of responsibilities has established a long-term management relationship with the Tiomara Management and Development Ltd. They expect the management company they retain along with the employees of that company to have the professional experience and expertise to manage the building operations as well as the program activities that facilitate the life-abilities of the tenants. In this particular instance, they are also expecting Tiomara, as a social housing developer, to achieve new projects replicating the present one. By having all personnel employed by the private management company the Directors of the charity protect themselves from personnel liabilities such as severance and wrongful dismissal suites. Under present laws directors can be sued personally for these type of actions. By delivering the governance for the charity they allow it to have the non-profit status that attracts government tax exemptions (property, HST, etc.) and government secured financing. When all three sectors of the economy (private non-profit, private and government) are brought together with a common purpose ‘the more civil society’ comes closer to becoming a reality. Society needs more Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and their directors.

2) Sionito Model – The Land Development Component
The Sionito Model is focused on locating already zoned residential land, and then moving it quickly through to Site Plan Agreement. This development model requires one of the two following considerations in order to retain its apartment dwelling zoning designation.

a) The Sionito residential apartment model requires that all services, except for one, be provided by community-based agencies. The one service that makes the difference for our mental health mandate is a community food program. If we have only this one service this allows the project to remain designated an apartment building and there are no zoning conflicts. In this scenario the partnering agency providing care services might be best to be located in an adjacent leased space, separate from the building itself, so its not deemed to be a second service being provided by the apartment project itself. The legislation is quite clear on this and we are working with legal counsel to ensure that apartment status is maintained.

b) Sionito as part of a health service agreement with a community-based Ministry health care funded agency is deemed to be in partnership with a Ministry funded agency. The partnership can provide any number of health care services into or be located in the building or provide funds directly to Sionito the charity, to hire staff for services. As long as the funding is from the Ministry of Health there is no retirement home or nursing home licensing required and the zoning can remain residential apartment dwelling. In this scenario the Sionito project simply remains an apartment building with tenants, in partnership with the Ministry of Health which through a partnering agency is providing services and funding to the apartment owner.

Sionito Community Development Corporation is a registered charity with a mandate to produce projects that have high Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) value. This value is no longer a philanthropic based, tax driven part of corporate operating statements. Rather, it is becoming an economic asset, part of the balance sheet, for corporations operating in the economic marketplace, as they attract employees, consumers as well as investors. The Sionito Development Model has been developed to align with and participate in this transition towards the more civil society. We welcome those with similar values to facilitate with us, the development of an exceptional example of environmental and social civic responsibility on their property. (For further information view www.sionito.ca).

Phase One: Locating Patient Land
The non-profit housing developer, at this point usually does not have a land purchasing fund to allow it to establish a land bank. Consequently, it seeks partners with patient land holdings. These can be churches, governments at all levels and private owners etc. who have land that is not immediately listed for sale but is presently underutilized in terms of its redevelopment potential.

Sionito seeks initial meetings with potential partners to determine if there is a fit between the owners sale plans and Sionito’s development phased development model outlined below.

Sionito does not require land to be valued below market levels, however, market levels will have to be professionally appraised. Sionito intends to be a competitive purchaser of land.

The non-profit housing developer and Tiomara Development Management Contract is signed for the new project. It is conditional on the following phases producing positive / affirmative results.

This answers the question whether the owner is willing to entertain the Sionito Development Model.

Phase Two: Sionito’s Due Diligence
After introductions, if there is a potential ability to apply the Sionito Model to the land, Sionito at its own cost will:
a) Have lawyer examine the registered title of the land looking for easements, liens, etc.
b) Have planners examine Official Plan covering the land and then the specific zoning status of the land, examining if there is a former/present Site Plan Agreement in place and have them contacting the municipality planning department to have an introductory meeting and submit with fees a request for the City Planners to respond in writing to the concept being proposed.
c) Based on the zoning and density allowances of the land have the architect develop and introduce to the municipalities planning division a conceptual site plan design of placing a Sionito Apartment building on the site with SMILE requirements:
i) unit count in the range of 80 to 160
ii) unit sizes from 275 to 375 sq.ft.
iii) reduced number of parking spaces
iv) high level of environmental standards.
Determine if a Committee of Adjustment request for variance would allow for the above changes to former site plan or to zoning restriction; including any other changes required to proceed with the site development.
d) Explore a needs assessment for the SMILE model within the community to determine:
i) if community based mental health support groups already exist and indicating a need for units
ii) if community based senior services already exist and are indicating a need for more units
iii) if the municipality or the Region have conducted recent housing studies outlining specific needs for specific areas
e) Request that the Owner produce any in-house information, past environmental studies, Building Condition Studies, surveys, past site plan agreements, etc. that would be helpful in Sionito pursuing the next phases of its development model.
f) Establish a draft budget including soft and hard costs.

This answers the question whether the land area and location will fit the Sionito’s Model’s requirements with a budget that will meet funders and the Sionito’s goals.

Phase Three: Board of Directors Review
The Board at this point will in a meeting review Phase One and Two and have an opportunity to raise concerns or questions so that it clearly understands the status of their CEO’s review of the patient land parcel. Their approval will not be officially required until the Offer of Purchase and Sale is available for review.

This answers the question as to whether the Board of Directors of Sionito is prepared to entertain this particular piece of land.

Phase Four: Sionito’s Funding Partnerships: Municipality
In this phase Sionito partners with the municipality making several significant asks from them:
a) that the Sionito property during development, construction and later during operations be tax exempt
b) that Sionito have development fees, educational fees, park land fees and building permit fee exemptions
c) willingness of key councillors and the professional planners to advocate for the project during community meetings and in council hearings
d) willingness to consider exemption from the property transfer tax owed on purchase of land to the municipality and to the Province
e) commitment to provide grants to reduce the rentals in the building and partner with the Federal grant/financing programs that require municipal contributions.

In this phase the owner of the land will have to provide letters or other assurances to the municipality that they will allow Sionito to represent them to the City.
In this phase the City Councillors and the City Planning Department will provide letters of support.

This answers, is the municipality willing to financially partner with Sionito to produce affordable housing.

2) Sionito Model – The Land Development Component

The Sionito Model is focused on locating already zoned residential land, and then moving it quickly through to Site Plan Agreement. This development model requires one of the two following considerations in order to retain its apartment dwelling zoning designation.

1. a) The Sionito residential apartment model requires that all services, except for one, be provided by community-based agencies. The one service that makes the difference for our mental health mandate is a community food program. If we have only this one service this allows the project to remain designated an apartment building and there are no zoning conflicts. In this scenario the partnering agency providing care services might be best to be located in an adjacent leased space, separate from the building itself, so its not deemed to be a second service being provided by the apartment project itself. The legislation is quite clear on this and we are working with legal counsel to ensure that apartment status is maintained.

1. b) Sionito as part of a health service agreement with a community-based Ministry health care funded agency is deemed to be in partnership with a Ministry funded agency. The partnership can provide any number of health care services into or be located in the building or provide funds directly to Sionito the charity, to hire staff for services. As long as the funding is from the Ministry of Health there is no retirement home or nursing home licensing required and the zoning can remain residential apartment dwelling. In this scenario the Sionito project simply remains an apartment building with tenants, in partnership with the Ministry of Health which through a partnering agency is providing services and funding to the apartment owner.

Sionito Community Development Corporation is a registered charity with a mandate to produce projects that have high Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) value. This value is no longer a philanthropic based, tax driven part of corporate operating statements. Rather, it is becoming an economic asset, part of the balance sheet, for corporations operating in the economic marketplace, as they attract employees, consumers as well as investors. The Sionito Development Model has been developed to align with and participate in this transition towards the more civil society. We welcome those with similar values to facilitate with us, the development of an exceptional example of environmental and social civic responsibility on their property. (For further information view www.sionito.ca).

Phase One: Locating Patient Land

The non-profit housing developer, at this point usually does not have a land purchasing fund to allow it to establish a land bank. Consequently, it seeks partners with patient land holdings. These can be churches, governments at all levels and private owners etc. who have land that is not immediately listed for sale but is presently underutilized in terms of its redevelopment potential.

Sionito seeks initial meetings with potential partners to determine if there is a fit between the owners sale plans and Sionito’s development phased development model outlined below.

Sionito does not require land to be valued below market levels, however, market levels will have to be professionally appraised. Sionito intends to be a competitive purchaser of land.

The non-profit housing developer and Tiomara Development Management Contract is signed for the new project. It is conditional on the following phases producing positive / affirmative results.

This answers the question whether the owner is willing to entertain the Sionito Development Model.

Phase Two: Sionito’s Due Diligence

After introductions, if there is a potential ability to apply the Sionito Model to the land, Sionito at its own cost will:

1. a) Have lawyer examine the registered title of the land looking for easements, liens, etc.
2. b) Have planners examine Official Plan covering the land and then the specific zoning status of the land, examining if there is a former/present Site Plan Agreement in place and have them contacting the municipality planning department to have an introductory meeting and submit with fees a request for the City Planners to respond in writing to the concept being proposed.
3. c) Based on the zoning and density allowances of the land have the architect develop and introduce to the municipalities planning division a conceptual site plan design of placing a Sionito Apartment building on the site with SMILE requirements:
4. i) unit count in the range of 80 to 160 
5. ii) unit sizes from 275 to 375 sq.ft.

iii) reduced number of parking spaces

1. iv) high level of environmental standards.

Determine if a Committee of Adjustment request for variance would allow for the above changes to former site plan or to zoning restriction; including any other changes required to proceed with the site development.

1. d) Explore a needs assessment for the SMILE model within the community to determine:
2. i) if community based mental health support groups already exist and indicating a need for units
3. ii) if community based senior services already exist and are indicating a need for more units

iii) if the municipality or the Region have conducted recent housing studies outlining specific needs for specific areas

1. e) Request that the Owner produce any in-house information, past environmental studies, Building Condition Studies, surveys, past site plan agreements, etc. that would be helpful in Sionito pursuing the next phases of its development model.
2. f) Establish a draft budget including soft and hard costs.

This answers the question whether the land area and location will fit the Sionito’s Model’s requirements with a budget that will meet funders and the Sionito’s goals.

Phase Three: Board of Directors Review

The Board at this point will in a meeting review Phase One and Two and have an opportunity to raise concerns or questions so that it clearly understands the status of their CEO’s review of the patient land parcel. Their approval will not be officially required until the Offer of Purchase and Sale is available for review. 

This answers the question as to whether the Board of Directors of Sionito is prepared to entertain this particular piece of land.

Phase Four: Sionito’s Funding Partnerships: Municipality

In this phase Sionito partners with the municipality making several significant asks from them:

1. a) that the Sionito property during development, construction and later during operations be tax exempt
2. b) that Sionito have development fees, educational fees, park land fees and building permit fee exemptions
3. c) willingness of key councillors and the professional planners to advocate for the project during community meetings and in council hearings
4. d) willingness to consider exemption from the property transfer tax owed on purchase of land to the municipality and to the Province
5. e) commitment to provide grants to reduce the rentals in the building and partner with the Federal grant/financing programs that require municipal contributions.

In this phase the owner of the land will have to provide letters or other assurances to the municipality that they will allow Sionito to represent them to the City.

In this phase the City Councillors and the City Planning Department will provide letters of support. 

This answers, is the municipality willing to financially partner with Sionito to produce affordable housing.

Phase Five: Sionito’s Funding Partnerships: Federal (Next Step)

In this phase Sionito approaches the Federal Gov’t through CMHC to determine if the municipality and the Sionito Model will qualify for any of their affordable housing programs.

If the initial meeting is positive then Sionito will officially make an application to CMHC for what they refer to as Seed Funding. This is funding provided to non-profits and charity housing providers to hire the planning and architectural consultants required to gather and provide, in the proper format, the information that a CMHC funding application requires.

This answers, is the land financially fundable by the Federal Government’s current affordable housing programs.

Phase Six: Letter of Intent with Owner

In this phase Sionito begins to do costly studies, that require a significant outlay of funds by Sionito. These studies will be used in the applications above and in determining the final Sionito purchase price. It will:

1. a) complete a land market appraisal
2. b) complete a building condition assessment if asset improvements are on the land
3. c) complete an Environmental Site Assessment Phase One to determine if there is a history of any usage that would have contaminated the land
4. d) complete a municipal water, waste management and hydro/utilities availability preliminary enquiry 
5. e) complete a market study for the proposed apartment configuration.

If any of these studies have been conducted by the owner, Sionito will review them.

This phase requires a soft Letter of Intent (LOI) in which the Owner conveys that they understand the Sionito Model and that Sionito and its consultants will be conditionally allowed to be its development agents in applications and relationships to all government, development and professional bodies.

LOI Conditions

The Letter of Intent will include a proposed timeline that Sionito can extend appropriately if conditions are in the process of being met but delayed by circumstances beyond its control.

The Letter of Intent will indicate clearly that all studies are paid for and are the property of Sionito.

The Letter of Intent will indicate clearly when the LOI Term is to begin and when it is planned to end (the Term). 

The Letter of Intent will indicate clearly that Sionito by paying for the above studies is committing to the project and that until this phase is complete the Owner intends to convey the land to Sionito, if an agreed price satisfactory to both parties can be achieved within 30 days of the end of the LOI term.

The Letter of Intent will convey that the owner will not list the property for sale or sell the property during the LOI term.

The Letter of Intent will include a clause indicating that during the term of the LOI and the Offer of Purchase and Sale Phase, that Sionito has the right of first refusal to match competing offers within 30 days of being given a copy of such Offers.

The letter of Intent will include a clause that indicates that Bryce Taylor as CEO of the purchasing charity can assign the LOI to another charity or non-profit entity should the Sionito Board of Directors at anytime decide not to support the LOI or the Offer of Purchase and Sale.

This answers the question of whether this is “Patient Land” as defined by the Sionito Development Model and it gives control of the land to Sionito during this period.

Phase Seven: Offer of Purchase and Sale (APS)

The Offer of Purchase and Sale will include the final price of the land and will come with a series of refundable deposits and then a series of non-refundable deposits that will be established to occur in sequence as the following assurances are received by Sionito:

1. a) when zoning applications or Committee of Adjustment applications are approved by Council
2. b) when the Site Plan Agreement is signed with the municipality
3. c) when the affordable housing agreements are signed by the municipality
4. d) when the Seed Funds are received by Sionito from CMHC
5. e) when CMHC issues its LOI to Sionito.

Closing, at least for patient land, will occur when CMHC signs its Agreement and releases its financing. Since this date is not under Sionito’s total control, if it is delayed by unforeseen circumstances Sionito has the right to ask for an extension in the closing date, perhaps balanced by the pre-determined consideration of a price escalation.

Other considerations:

1. a) Vendor Take Back mortgage consideration to help Sionito achieve its equity obligations with CMHC for the first three to five years.

1. b) Vendor charitable donation for furnishing some of the units that will be used by seniors impoverished by mental health challenges, as CMHC requires that citizens in the community provide funds for a portion of the project; the vendors contribution often seeds this community-based fund-raising effort. Room furnishings will have a plaque placed in the foyer or at the end of each hallway indicating names of donors for that area of the building.

1. c) Vendor can negotiate “naming” rights for the dining room, recreation room or in some cases the total building, subject to the inclusion “A Project of the Sionito Group of Charities” occurs on the same signage.

This answers the question as to whether this project can be accepted fully as a Sionito Model and is ready for full funding and permit applications leading to completion of the project in phase eight, nine and ten.

Phase Eight: Project Design Stages

1. a) Design

First set of drawings are prepared for the Site Plan Agreement with the City. These portray the bulk, design and placement of the building. They also include the civil drawings for water and sewer hook-up and demands, access to and from the building, relationship to municipal boundaries, etc.

At this stage CMHC will provide a Letter of Intent indicating that they are prepared to approve the application for potential funding of the project as per the budget submitted by the provider and their consultants.

1. b) Tendering and CMHC Agreement

Set is upgraded by engineers to convey the hoarding, shoring, foundation, structural, mechanical, electrical, finishings of the building in preparation for tendering to sub-trades.

At this stage CMHC will provide a signed Agreement based on a market tested budget.

Soft costs to this point will exceed the Seed Fund and are responsibility of the non-profit housing provider.

1. c) Building Permits

set is upgraded to permit application level and applications are made to the City Buildings Department

At this stage CMHC will provide its first draw down.

1. d) Construction

set is upgraded to reflect City review and detailed for construction purposes.

Phase Nine: Construction

At this stage the Construction Management contract is signed. If the choice is a design build consulting group then they will have been signed into a consulting pre-construction contract earlier on in the process. Often these types of consultants have knowledge of and experience working with the engineers and other professionals that are in the locale of the project. The design part of the contract can be based on hourly rates. The Construction Management contract can be one of two approaches.

1) A Construction Turn-Key approach in which the construction manager provides a construction budget and assumes the risk if the budget has overages.

2) A Construction Management approach in which the owner assumes the risk if the budget has overages. In order to support the budget reliability at this stage a Quantity Surveyor is retained by the owner, often required by the funders, in order to reduce the risk.

Construction takes 18 to. 24 months from breaking ground to occupancy hand over.

Phase Ten: Building Handover with Warranties followed by Occupancy

The Development Components Summarized

The Housing Development Component

1) The Model Demonstrates Social Entrepreneurship

The private sector has failed on their own to establish affordable housing. What is needed now is the social entrepreneurship and mission zeal of the citizen-based non-profits, the resolve of strong government action and the entreprise of the private sector; all working together to maintain seniors’ independence. Entrepreneurship is the modern expression of the human spirit and when partnered with the mission zeal of community-based citizen groups the result will be higher levels of life-ability for all citizens.

2) The Model Demonstrates the Strength of Developments Being Placed in Residentially Zoned Areas

Residential zoning at various density levels is the most common type of zoning. To take advantage of this so that more senior housing can be developed without the long process of going through a rezoning application that entails several neighbourhood meetings and long sessions with municipal planning staff and councillors, Sionito uses a residential apartment dwelling model that can be built as of right within medium and high density zones. In contrast Retirement Homes and Long Term Care Homes are required to go through the municipal re-zoning process that changes the land to an institutionally zoned property. Such residences are deemed to be congregate institutions not suitable for residentially zoned areas.

3) The Model Demonstrates a Mandate into Perpetuity

The non-profit housing sector in order to continually grow in unit numbers needs to establish projects that have a wealth generating social housing mandate into perpetuity. Non-profit projects receiving gov’t grants or cost exemptions during development or during operations become part of the civil society expression within the marketplace and that is where they should remain in perpetuity. Once a project establishes the financing costs emerging from these grants and subsidies, a base market rent should be established that influences the project into perpetuity. Each building would have a different market rent on occupancy.

4) The Model Suggests Adversarial Development Planning Be Replaced By A Consensus Planning Culture

3he model is based on the reality that a tsunami of seniors is coming over the horizon that will overwhelm present government financing models and present apartment development streams. Consequently, units must follow the larger societal trends of living smaller and finding ways to furnish less to conserve spaces. Development time-lines need to be shortened by replicating drawings from site to site, increasing municipality staff capacities, using industrialized building methods and modular assembly strategies. The development and operating models of the future must withstand real time data monitoring of results.

5) The Model Combines Environmental Sustainability with Housing Sustainability in Perpetuity

The model is based on the reality that the non-profit sector is the only sector with the mission zeal to take on the environmental goals required globally to address the human condition. The future is electrified buildings held in perpetuity within the sector rather than quick sells that allow the condo developer to walk away at occupancy.

SMILE is the most efficient, least cost, apartment housing development and operating model available to deal with the tsunami of seniors coming over the horizon. It applauds the new focus of governments on citizen-based non-profit housing models.

In this phase Sionito approaches the Federal Gov’t through CMHC to determine if the municipality and the Sionito Model will qualify for any of their affordable housing programs.

If the initial meeting is positive then Sionito will officially make an application to CMHC for what they refer to as Seed Funding. This is funding provided to non-profits and charity housing providers to hire the planning and architectural consultants required to gather and provide, in the proper format, the information that a CMHC funding application requires.

This answers, is the land financially fundable by the Federal Government’s current affordable housing programs.

Phase Six: Letter of Intent with Owner
In this phase Sionito begins to do costly studies, that require a significant outlay of funds by Sionito. These studies will be used in the applications above and in determining the final Sionito purchase price. It will:
a) complete a land market appraisal
b) complete a building condition assessment if asset improvements are on the land
c) complete an Environmental Site Assessment Phase One to determine if there is a history of any usage that would have contaminated the land
d) complete a municipal water, waste management and hydro/utilities availability preliminary enquiry
e) complete a market study for the proposed apartment configuration.
If any of these studies have been conducted by the owner, Sionito will review them.

This phase requires a soft Letter of Intent (LOI) in which the Owner conveys that they understand the Sionito Model and that Sionito and its consultants will be conditionally allowed to be its development agents in applications and relationships to all government, development and professional bodies.

LOI Conditions
The Letter of Intent will include a proposed timeline that Sionito can extend appropriately if conditions are in the process of being met but delayed by circumstances beyond its control.

The Letter of Intent will indicate clearly that all studies are paid for and are the property of Sionito.

The Letter of Intent will indicate clearly when the LOI Term is to begin and when it is planned to end (the Term).

The Letter of Intent will indicate clearly that Sionito by paying for the above studies is committing to the project and that until this phase is complete the Owner intends to convey the land to Sionito, if an agreed price satisfactory to both parties can be achieved within 30 days of the end of the LOI term.

The Letter of Intent will convey that the owner will not list the property for sale or sell the property during the LOI term.

The Letter of Intent will include a clause indicating that during the term of the LOI and the Offer of Purchase and Sale Phase, that Sionito has the right of first refusal to match competing offers within 30 days of being given a copy of such Offers.

The letter of Intent will include a clause that indicates that Bryce Taylor as CEO of the purchasing charity can assign the LOI to another charity or non-profit entity should the Sionito Board of Directors at anytime decide not to support the LOI or the Offer of Purchase and Sale.

This answers the question of whether this is “Patient Land” as defined by the Sionito Development Model and it gives control of the land to Sionito during this period.

Phase Seven: Offer of Purchase and Sale (APS)
The Offer of Purchase and Sale will include the final price of the land and will come with a series of refundable deposits and then a series of non-refundable deposits that will be established to occur in sequence as the following assurances are received by Sionito:
a) when zoning applications or Committee of Adjustment applications are approved by Council
b) when the Site Plan Agreement is signed with the municipality
c) when the affordable housing agreements are signed by the municipality
d) when the Seed Funds are received by Sionito from CMHC
e) when CMHC issues its LOI to Sionito.

Closing, at least for patient land, will occur when CMHC signs its Agreement and releases its financing. Since this date is not under Sionito’s total control, if it is delayed by unforeseen circumstances Sionito has the right to ask for an extension in the closing date, perhaps balanced by the pre-determined consideration of a price escalation.

Other considerations:
a) Vendor Take Back mortgage consideration to help Sionito achieve its equity obligations with CMHC for the first three to five years.

b) Vendor charitable donation for furnishing some of the units that will be used by seniors impoverished by mental health challenges, as CMHC requires that citizens in the community provide funds for a portion of the project; the vendors contribution often seeds this community-based fund-raising effort. Room furnishings will have a plaque placed in the foyer or at the end of each hallway indicating names of donors for that area of the building.

c) Vendor can negotiate “naming” rights for the dining room, recreation room or in some cases the total building, subject to the inclusion “A Project of the Sionito Group of Charities” occurs on the same signage.

This answers the question as to whether this project can be accepted fully as a Sionito Model and is ready for full funding and permit applications leading to completion of the project in phase eight, nine and ten.

Phase Eight: Project Design Stages
a) Design
First set of drawings are prepared for the Site Plan Agreement with the City. These portray the bulk, design and placement of the building. They also include the civil drawings for water and sewer hook-up and demands, access to and from the building, relationship to municipal boundaries, etc.
At this stage CMHC will provide a Letter of Intent indicating that they are prepared to approve the application for potential funding of the project as per the budget submitted by the provider and their consultants.

b) Tendering and CMHC Agreement
Set is upgraded by engineers to convey the hoarding, shoring, foundation, structural, mechanical, electrical, finishings of the building in preparation for tendering to sub-trades.
At this stage CMHC will provide a signed Agreement based on a market tested budget.

Soft costs to this point will exceed the Seed Fund and are responsibility of the non-profit housing provider.
c) Building Permits
set is upgraded to permit application level and applications are made to the City Buildings Department
At this stage CMHC will provide its first draw down.
d) Construction
set is upgraded to reflect City review and detailed for construction purposes.

Phase Nine: Construction
At this stage the Construction Management contract is signed. If the choice is a design build consulting group then they will have been signed into a consulting pre-construction contract earlier on in the process. Often these types of consultants have knowledge of and experience working with the engineers and other professionals that are in the locale of the project. The design part of the contract can be based on hourly rates. The Construction Management contract can be one of two approaches.
1) A Construction Turn-Key approach in which the construction manager provides a construction budget and assumes the risk if the budget has overages.
2) A Construction Management approach in which the owner assumes the risk if the budget has overages. In order to support the budget reliability at this stage a Quantity Surveyor is retained by the owner, often required by the funders, in order to reduce the risk.

Construction takes 18 to. 24 months from breaking ground to occupancy hand over.

Phase Ten: Building Handover with Warranties followed by Occupancy

The Development Components Summarized

The Housing Development Component
1) The Model Demonstrates Social Entrepreneurship
The private sector has failed on their own to establish affordable housing. What is needed now is the social entrepreneurship and mission zeal of the citizen-based non-profits, the resolve of strong government action and the entreprise of the private sector; all working together to maintain seniors’ independence. Entrepreneurship is the modern expression of the human spirit and when partnered with the mission zeal of community-based citizen groups the result will be higher levels of life-ability for all citizens.

2) The Model Demonstrates the Strength of Developments Being Placed in Residentially Zoned Areas
Residential zoning at various density levels is the most common type of zoning. To take advantage of this so that more senior housing can be developed without the long process of going through a rezoning application that entails several neighbourhood meetings and long sessions with municipal planning staff and councillors, Sionito uses a residential apartment dwelling model that can be built as of right within medium and high density zones. In contrast Retirement Homes and Long Term Care Homes are required to go through the municipal re-zoning process that changes the land to an institutionally zoned property. Such residences are deemed to be congregate institutions not suitable for residentially zoned areas.

3) The Model Demonstrates a Mandate into Perpetuity
The non-profit housing sector in order to continually grow in unit numbers needs to establish projects that have a wealth generating social housing mandate into perpetuity. Non-profit projects receiving gov’t grants or cost exemptions during development or during operations become part of the civil society expression within the marketplace and that is where they should remain in perpetuity. Once a project establishes the financing costs emerging from these grants and subsidies, a base market rent should be established that influences the project into perpetuity. Each building would have a different market rent on occupancy.

4) The Model Suggests Adversarial Development Planning Be Replaced By A Consensus Planning Culture
3he model is based on the reality that a tsunami of seniors is coming over the horizon that will overwhelm present government financing models and present apartment development streams. Consequently, units must follow the larger societal trends of living smaller and finding ways to furnish less to conserve spaces. Development time-lines need to be shortened by replicating drawings from site to site, increasing municipality staff capacities, using industrialized building methods and modular assembly strategies. The development and operating models of the future must withstand real time data monitoring of results.

5) The Model Combines Environmental Sustainability with Housing Sustainability in Perpetuity
The model is based on the reality that the non-profit sector is the only sector with the mission zeal to take on the environmental goals required globally to address the human condition. The future is electrified buildings held in perpetuity within the sector rather than quick sells that allow the condo developer to walk away at occupancy.

SMILE is the most efficient, least cost, apartment housing development and operating model available to deal with the tsunami of seniors coming over the horizon. It applauds the new focus of governments on citizen-based non-profit housing models.

2) Sionito Model – The Economics Component
Construction Financing Prototype
The economics of the model is less complex than the operational and development components, however, it is the most important component. The economics are based on the scale of the model and the market location of the model, both in terms of geography and time related economical cycles. The Development Officer has to develop and maintain current information in respect to the cost of land, cost of construction labor and materials and revenues that can be expected. In the non-profit sector, there is still need to have surplus to build up reserve funds, cover times of vacancy and invest in new projects. In the non-profit sector the mission owns the project. The board of directors govern the mission and government grants and subsidies along with charity donations are provided in order to make the units affordable for the proposed tenants. Table 1 provides a capital economics outline of the model based on actual 2023 project of over 150 units.

Operations Financial Prototype
Once the project is built, non-profit financial operating statements are unique. In the past their goal was to operate at break even after setting aside some of their surplus each year in the reserve funds. Projects who use all of their units for tenants on very low incomes such as ODSP and Senior’s pensions alone, require one of two government sources of funding:
a) rental subsidies so that the tenants can pay 30% of their income on rent and then have 70% of their income left for living expenses.
b) capital reducing grants at the front end of a project so that the rents required to carry the financing and operating costs of the project can be obtained by setting the rents at 60-80% of market rents in the same market area. If the rent rates are reduced then the tenant’s government based pensions will pay for their share of the rent and any fees required to facilitate the tenants life-abilities.

On projects ranging in the 60 to 80 million dollar range the following explains the relationship between the grant received and the rent reduction resulting.
<1 dollar reduction in unit monthly rent requires grant of 32,827> <10 requires 328,273> <100 requires 3,282,733>

Summary
In concluding, the three components of the Sionito Model applied to a three-sector society has the promise of working towards a civil society response to seniors aging in place. It is a least cost, least intrusive model waiting to be replicated. From working through zoning restrictions to facilitating the recovery of chronic mental health challenges the model seeks to fit into the fabric of our present Canadian society and allow our elders to have life and to live it more fully, both existentially and in community. All that is required is an apartment culture with one added amenity, a community kitchen to ensure nutritional health and isolation breaking, community building is realized. It is one step in achieving the hope embedded in ‘the more civil society’.

Appendix A
Present Exemplar: The 150 Dunn Street Project (Toronto Star Article Oct 2023)

A UHN 51 Unit Project to attack homelessness and healthcare at the same time gets research support from At Home/Chez Soi housing study in Canada that is showing that permanent homes improves health outcomes for those facing mental health emergency situations.

Part of a larger agreement to open 500 units around the City over the next 5 years. Healthcare will be supported by UHN – 150 Dunn Street On site health services through the Gattuso Centre for Social Medicine.

This project started in 2019 when the University Health Network (UHN) with CEO Kevin Smith began to study how its emergency services were being used in the City. They found out that “just 230 people accounted for 15,000 visits in one year alone. It’s unlikely that they’re here for true medical, acute needs. It’s because they had no where else to go. At the same time… Dr. Andrew Boozary was considering the non-medical factors that influence health outcomes and recognized housing as a key part of health improvement… The United Way is also investing in a community kitchen that will run inside the supportive housing project. It will serve meals for the residents…” (Toronto Star U3 November 9 2023).

Valesa Faria – City representative states the project received 14 million from federal gov (Rapid Housing), 10.3 million from Open Door and 2.5 million annually from Prov Gov to fund social support services and United Way will fund some of the social support services such as 24-7 mental health, addiction and social work counselling as well as sponsoring the on-site food program, including the cost of furnishing the community kitchen and looking at navigators connecting residents with community-based agencies.

Appendix B
Present Exemplar: The City of Toronto Integrated Service Model (ISM)

Research shows that housing is a social determinant of health. Safe, affordable, and quality housing is a profound determinant of health for seniors who experience increased risk for housing instability, homelessness, and related health and social impacts. (https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2016/hl/bgrd/backgroundfile-97428.pdf )

The City of Toronto detached its 83 seniors-designated buildings from Toronto Community Housing around 2019 and it now operates separately as Toronto Seniors Housing Corporation. It immediately recognized that senior apartment living requires that the housing provider achieves partnerships with the community-based service providers. The analysis conducted by the newly formed corporation found that “Seniors living in social housing are disproportionately affected by poverty, social isolation, mobility issues, and cognitive and health challenges that negatively impact their wellbeing.” (Integrated Service Model 2021 Evaluation Report pg. 72). The result was the creation of the Integrated Service Model for senior’s apartments. One of its objectives paralleling the Sionito Model is stated to ”Increase access to health and community agencies and integration of services directly in TSHC buildings.” They now have a partnership with the Provincial Health Ministry’s Home and Community Care Services as well as community agencies and research partnerships. A central component of the ISM seniors’ housing model is the creation of a staff role called Care Coordinators that is a tenant facing role helping the tenant to find the right community-based service supports for their health conditions.