Skip to main content

OAHS Management Sucks

Last week I attended Perkins Centre for the COVID-19 vaccine shot when I met up with two tenants from KMHC. I was on a tight schedule but later when all was done I rode downtown with one lady and had the chance to catch up how she'd doing. She's not doing too well, the tenant is being harassed at KMHC and is waiting for OAHS to do something about it.  

Prepandemic - I knew about this for along time but kept it in my bookmark file until now. CBC Marketplace had a interesting episode about seniors home banning family members by issuing a trespassing notice. The similarities between Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services and the seniors home is apparent. I'm posting a link to the CBC Marketplace episode/article. https://tinyurl.com/yuy8d5d2

It's been over 2 years and I've done all I could regarding the trespassing notice by respectful phone calls and email requests to OAHS management which go ignored to this day.  So I made a command decision as long as my name is posted on the public bulletin board or anywhere else at the KMHC building 42 Mary Street Hamilton, Ontario this blog site will continue on with critique and feedback regarding OAHS.  I did have plans to shut it down after I moved out but OAHS management's inaction changed all that.  Like the woman in the CBC article I'm willing to take steps to get a judge ruling on this matter.

After my last blog post one current tenant Bernadeen authorized & reminded me to mention. When I was a tenant at KMHC for years I would wash the unit windows for all tenants living on the basement level four times a year.  No one else did this, not staff or other tenants.  It wasn't easy cleaning the snow, mud and dead bugs yet I was doing my part in helping the native community and it was much appreciated.  

KMHC Building

 



Comments

Unknown said…
Urban Native (Aboriginal, Indigenous) Housing Boards can be such a joke. I do not have faith in nearly any of the Provincial/Territorial ones either. I sat on the board of two Native Housing Boards in Toronto (I was Vice-President on one and President of the other). Both organizations were the brainchild of Charles Catto, a non-Indigenous United Church Minister who was clearly an early proponent of urban and rural Indigenous housing initiatives. During my term on both boards, I uncovered an extreme web of mis-use of funds between the two inter-related non-profit corporations. In the end, the City of Toronto took control of the situation and installed a proper Indigenous Housing Provider Corporation to recover the asset that was almost run into the ground by Catto's operational indiscretions. The lesson here was that unless there are experienced board members serving as directors, non-profit housing providers of any stripe can and will try to get away with anything. I did not resign from either non-profit's board of directors -- I chose not to allow my name to stand again for re-election. Even after complaining loud and clear to the City of Toronto about the improprieties I had uncovered, they preferred to allow Catto to continue control of the organization but at least his power to control the finances was removed.
Tony King said…
Thank you for your comment very much appreciated.

Popular posts from this blog

Poor Working Environment

My unit is located near the KMHC office, along with a friendly wave or hello I see the junior staff going about their business in a cheerful manner with the exception of one employee.   You would think KMHC has a pleasant working environment but that is not the case.   March 2016 is when Urban Native Homes head office was forced to move from their former spacious location to the cramp basement level of KMHC.   There were approx. 8-10 staff members at the time.   Then the Urban Native Homes financial scandal broke out and soon after the current UNH acting director’s illicit past became public knowledge, everyone was worried will they have a job.  Fearful meetings going on in the community room, the rumor mill was in full rotation while I just stood back and observed the panic.   Check your search engine it states this building location is Urban Native Homes head office yet that is not correct.  There is no real head office, the organization has s...

The Passing of Dean King

There's not many original KMHC tenants left that I know, last week I got word tenant Dean King passed away, we were not related and I remember when he moved in the building we got along well, we hung out often and he shared stories about his life and family. Eventually I notice he wasn't the sharpest pencil in the drawer and I started drifting away thus ended our friendship. Dean didn't have the usual addictions most male aboriginals endure he didn't drink or do drugs the problem was his mental state which I believe began after an auto accident years before.  After I moved out of KMHC I'd often see him standing in line at the food bank in Gore Park in downtown Hamilton or hanging out with street friend Galina in Jackson Square food court. He didn't have many friends and other KMHC tenants just tolerated and accepted his strange behavior. He'd walk the streets looking disheveled and lost.  When I received the news Dean died I didn't feel sad I felt surpri...

KMHC Friends

For the first time an immediate family member passing has effected me on so many levels. I now know what KMHC tenant little Debbie went through when she lost her son. And when tenant Bernadeen lost her son 9 yrs ago. No parent should ever outlive their child yet it does happen. 😢 A special thanks to the tenants and friends at the KMHC building for the condolence card.