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Mainstay Housing is a non-profit agency working with people who live with mental health and addiction issues and who are deeply affected by poverty.  Mainstay provides housing and ongoing support and opportunities to be part of a community.  Mainstay’s rents are geared-to-incomes and are subsidized by the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care.  Tenants live independently in a variety of housing options with flexible support from Mainstay’s supportive housing workers.  Mainstay is the single largest non-profit provider of supportive housing in Ontario with 1100 residents living in 867 households of singles, couples and families in 41 residential locations across Toronto.  In addition, Mainstay has 88 additional apartments in the private rental market.  Professional staff, from caretakers and maintenance workers, to admin and support staff, work together to ensure the properties Mainstay’s tenants call home are safe, quality places to live.

Permanent housing means Mainstay tenants, who are also members of the corporation, have the choice to get involved in the organization by developing and participating in programs such as gardening clubs, art groups, walking groups, community kitchens, or even by running for the board of directors.  With a safe, affordable base from which to grow, and with responsive support, other life changes become possible.  Mainstay partners with over 20 health and social service agencies who provide additional and as-needed services for a better quality of life.

Earlier this year, Mainstay met with tenant members to refocus their organizational vision. They asked three questions, one of which was, “what role does Mainstay play in your journey of recovery?” One member offered the phrase “opportunities live here” and others chimed in that it felt right to them. The phrase has become Mainstay’s new slogan, OpportunitiesLiveHere, and, along with a renewed mission, vision and logo informs Mainstay’s work with its tenant members, its partnerships with agencies and with its funders.

Iler Campbell LLP and Mainstay have worked together for seven years on issues ranging from complex landlord and tenant matters that comply with human rights requirements and Mainstay’s belief in rights and responsibilities, to commercial and residential leasing issues and policy work.   The relationship has grown over the years, each of us learning from the other in our respective areas of expertise.

You can learn more about Mainstay’s work at their website.

Filed in: Client Profiles, Firm News, Housing

Tags: Affordable, Housing, Mental health, Poverty, Supportive housing