Constance Hamilton Co-operative
Organization profile published 1982

http://www.connexions.org/Groups/Subscribers/CxG5634.htm
Year Published:  1982
Resource Type:  Organization
Cx Number:  CX2647

Abstract: 
The CONSTANCE HAMILTON CO-OP is a newly-opened housing co-operative for women in Toronto. A key element of the housing complex is the inclusion of communal-style second-stage housing for women in transition. The combination will provide women moving beyong crisis situations with the support of a permanently-established community and the opportunity for contact with other women who are managing their lives and can serve as role models.

Planning forthe 31-unit co-operative began in 1980, in response to the concern of a Toronto alderwoman about how to best provide housing for women once they leave emergency shelters or hostels. The stacked townhouses are built as three sides of a square around a central park area. One corner of complex contains the communal house, which has bedrooms for six women and additional sleeping space in the lounge areas to accommodate visits from children or friends. The units in the co-op were designed using input from prospective residents who wanted "a sense of community and some flexibility built into the layouts so that people could share or co-exist comfortably if they had to", according to the group's architect. One unique feature is the switching of living-rooms and kitchens in the design, so that the latter are near the front door. The women saw this as a way of enabling them to dispose of groceries conveniently.

About 25 percent of the one, two and three bedroom units in the co-op will be subsidized, and there is already a waiting list for those units. Residents of the communal house will pay a shelter allowance, or 25 per cent of their income. The house will be staffed.

Men will be permitted to live in the co-op, but priority will be given to sole-support single women and mothers with children. While second-stage housing for women has been established in other urban centres, the CONSTANCE HAMILTON CO-OP is the first to combine it with a surrounding supportive community. The name of the housing development commemorates the first alderwoman in the City of Toronto, who was first elected in 1919 and served a number of terms.