BY Pepper Parr
July 12th, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
Community Development Halton (CDH) has been struggling with budget issues, as has every not for profit organization in the Region.
They parted ways with their Executive Director and some staff and are now looking for other not for profits to share the space they have on the South Service Road.
Their intention is to turn the space into something bigger than a CDH office – they want to create a community hub where organizations with similar interests can share space, share resources and more importantly share ideas and look for some intellectual pollination
It has been a turbulent couple of years for CDH – the pandemic didn’t help and the disruption that took place when Joey Edwardh resigned made it difficult to get a firm grip on what the organization was going to become given the gaps at the leadership level.
It is currently an organization with not much in the way of leadership or anyone with experience in the complex subject of community development.
There have been significant shifts in the make up of the Board – it is a complex job that calls for an understanding of just what the purpose of the organization is and then getting buy-in from the larger community and then being able to leverage that community acceptance into some funding.
While the job description of the Executive Directors includes fund raising none of them managed to raise as much as a dime.
Ted Hildebrand spent 20 years plus with Community Development Halton but was not seen as a future Executive Director – it took time and considerable effort to resolve that parting of ways.
One of the services CDH has been able to continue delivering is the “Community Lens” – reports that take a closer look at issues significant and relevant to the work CDH struggles to do.
Jan Mowbray served as the President of the Board for two terms and struggled to re-build a board that had in the past been unable to meet the governance need.
Ann Lawlor,, Chair of Community Development Halton Board
Mowbray ended the number of terms she was permitted to serve as a Director and Board Chair and was replaced by Ann Lawlor, who is a member of the Halton Hills Town Council.
Having elected people serve on the Boards of not for profits has never been a particularly good idea. Mowbray served as a Councillor in Milton for two terms after which she turned her attention to CDH. She now serves as an adviser to Law while she gets a grip on just what the organization does and figures out how they can begin to once again serve the community
The Community Lens reports are good, exceptionally good on occasion, that alone id not enough to justify the amount of public money they receive.
Board members are not remunerated.
Median age and average age are commonly used to describe the age of a population.
Both metrics enable historical comparison of a population or comparison between populations. When a population is divided into various age groups, the age distribution pattern is a useful tool for government, non-profit organizations and businesses to plan, develop and deliver their age-related goods and services.
For example, the size and rate of change of the children’s age group provides vital information for the planning and delivery of children’s education. A non-profit agency serving seniors is interested in the growth of the various age groups over 65 years old. Businesses can better target their products and services to clients in various age groups
Age distribution can be presented in a population pyramid. Each horizontal bar represents an age group (e.g., 0-4 years old) and the proportion (percentage) of the total population. The pyramid is divided into two halves, one for male and the other for female. A pyramid with a wide base and narrow top indicates a young and possibly growing population. On the other hand, an inverted pyramid with a narrow base and wide top, points to an ageing and potentially shrinking population.
The pyramids displayed above show the age distribution of the population in Halton’s local municipalities. They capture a decade of change between 2011 and 2021. The 2021 pyramid (in red outline) is superimposed on top of the 2011 pyramid (in grey).
City of Burlington
Its median age was 44.4 years in 2021, the highest among the four municipalities. The top portion of the pyramid continued to widen. The senior age groups experienced faster growth than the other age groups. They accounted for 21% of the total population in 2021. Over one in five residents was a senior. Among the 6,100 seniors over the age of 85, over two-thirds were women. There were no significant changes in the other age groups.
Town of Oakville
Its median age was 41.6 years in 2021. The top portion of the pyramid was also widening. There was a noticeably narrow mid portion indicating a shrinkage of the 35 to 59 age groups. The share of the child population under 9 years of age decreased by about 2%.
Town of Milton
It was the youngest municipality in Halton. Its median age was 36 years in 2021. However, the base of the pyramid has contracted. The share of the 0-9 years age group old has decreased from 18% to 16%. Although the share of its senior population has increased, especially in the 65 to 79 age groups, the pyramid still has a relatively narrow top in comparison with the bottom.
Milton also has a much more diverse population.
Town of Halton Hills
Its median age was 42 years in 2021. To some extent, the shape of the pyramid resembles that of Oakville. All the above 55 years age groups had increased their shares of the total population.
The challenge now is for each community to take this data and lay it into a bigger data set that includes the number of new residents who will arrive in 2031, then 2041 and then 2051 – time frames that the Region does its planning around.
How many seniors will there be and what will they need in the way of services. Parks and Recreation, cultural activities that fit into the mindset of that demographic.
What the public doesn’t see is – just how does CDH work? Has consideration been given to making their Board meetings public and perhaps some of the committee level work as well.
Room for growth – because the population they are serving is certainly going to grow.
The biggest challenge CDH has is improving its relevance. Losing much of the financial support from United Way was not a good sign.
I find this article lacking in clarity and facts.
Elected people serve frequently on boards and to say that isn’t a good idea is an insult to those who have worked so very hard in service of their communities by serving on boards.
I don’t “serve” as adviser. I am the immediate past chair and as such am frequently providing input, especially on historical issues, given my tenure on the board.
The article is quite right in that it has been a monumental struggle throughout the pandemic. CDH qualified for very few government COVID grants. For instance, on rent help – the owner of our office building wouldn’t cooperate so that we could access the rent assistance program. Rent is a huge cost.
Despite the tenor of your article, CDH has never stopped serving the community. Community Development Halton continues to serve, as ever, under three pillars:
Social planning – this includes the provision of social demographics – important, for instance, when planning community services, starting a new business, or expanding one – it needs to be accessible to those they wish to serve. The Community Lens is one of the products of social planning and to suggest that isn’t enough to justify the amount of public monies received – read on. CDH is multifaceted.
Age Friendly – This important work never stopped. While much had to be delivered virtually during the worst of the pandemic, the work continued relentlessly on many fronts.
Volunteerism – member organizations can put out requests for volunteers and volunteers can learn about volunteer opportunities. Many work shops have been and continue to be provided to the community. They are very well subscribed and an invaluable tool.
With the changing times, with the impact of COVID, with declining funding, organizations have had to meet change head on. Change is a natural evolution – no organization can stand still.
If you would like to contribute to help CDH continue to do its work, to learn more about the various programs, or to volunteer, please visit: https://cdhalton.ca/ Don’t let this article be the last thing you read about CDH – visit that link and learn for yourself.
CDH is an important service to Halton, with Volunteer Halton and also incorporated into it is the Burlington Age Friendly Council, which has been an immense benefit to the seniors in the area. Their Director of Age Friendly Initiatives, Heather Thompson has her finger on everything senior, be it federally, provincially or locally. Their Senior Connector & Tech program, Connections Among Generations, involvement in Senior Isolation Action Table and their many Empowering Seniors Events are imperative to maintaining the overall well being of our seniors. All their events are extremely well attended, vilifying the need for them. Grants and sponsorships have been obtained in order to somewhat help continue this much needed part of CDH.
I have never understood why there’s not financial support from the Regional and Municipal Councils for the invaluable data, programs and services CDH provides, which all the local governments use for their own purposes, like the above data. Other municipalities do!