Neighbourhood Information Post

Did You Know...

• We have been around since 1970
• We handle about 12,000 service requests per year
• The community has used N.I.P. for its information needs since our inception
• We want to help individuals in the community to gain access to community, health and social services

Background
NIP opened in 1970 as a result of a number of concurring factors:
a) recommendation of the Don District Study by the Social Planning Council,
b) co-operation and interest of the Toronto Public Libraries,
c) expressed need of local groups, individual residents and the local inter-agency council
From its earliest beginnings, NIP has had strong support from the residents and other agencies in the community. This has enabled us to provide an integrated approach to meeting the individual's basic needs, such as food and shelter, counselling and safety and income.

Our services include:

• Information and Referral Services
  
• Case Management and Counselling
  
• Advocacy and Mediation
  
• Settlement Services
  
• Interpretation and Translation
  
• Assistance in filling out forms
  
• Mail and Message Services
  
• Housing Support Services
  
• Housing Trusteeship Program
  
• Rent Bank Program
  
• Community Outreach and Education
  
• Free use of computer (including internet) and telephone
  
• Immigrant Women's Support Group
  
• Annual Income Tax Clinic
  

Services Provided in the Following Languages:

English Cantonese Mandarin Urdu

Filipino Bengali Hindi Sinhalese

Spanish Serbian-Croatian Tamil

About the Neighbourhood NIP has been serving the eastern Downtown core of Toronto in the area bounded by Yonge Street, Pape Avenue, Bloor Street East/Danforth Avenue and the lakefront.
The population of this widely diverse area is approximately 87,000 individuals. The area includes a large segments of public housing (Regent Park, Moss Court, Trefan Court, South Carlton), low income housing co-operatives (DACHI, Don West Neighbours), a large rooming house population, many lower income private homes and areas of housing professionals in the Don Valley and South of Carlton areas.
The population includes an interesting mix of Chinese, Vietnamese, Filipinos, Latin Americans, Greeks, East Indians, West Indians, Somalians, Native Canadians, Anglo-Canadians, as well as a number of Francophones from Manitoba, northern Ontario and the Eastern provinces. The area is in an almost constant state of flux.

NIP Board
Since its inception, NIP has been governed by a Board of Directors who are responsible to a Constitution. The Board Members are either residents, workers, or representatives of ethno-racial and other interest groups in the community. The Board of Directors is responsible for areas such as funding and basic policy which affected the internal organization and the role of NIP within the community.

Welcome
NIP has constantly looked at how it can maintain and improve the efficiency and effectiveness with which it is able to provide its core programs and services. Over the years, NIP has undergone a process of re-engineering as a means to cope with the continuing financial pressures due to continuing reductions in funding.
Advances in information technology and the Internet provides us with tools with which we can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of NIP as an information provider. Establishing the NIP web site is a key part of our efforts to strengthen our links with other agencies in our community, and promote the dissemination of information, ideas and inter-agency co-operation. By communicating our knowledge base to the wider community we hope that other organizations may benefit from NIP's skills and expertise as an information provider.
In addition, we hope the web site will become one of our community's focal points on the Internet. It is our goal to provide an electronic forum through which information, assistance and support may be provided to all persons in the Toronto East area in order to improve the quality of their individual/community life.
We believe this web site and other inter-agency collaborative initiatives currently underway within our area is the way forward in providing a coherent concerted approach in addressing the needs of our community. By pooling our strengths and resources within a community network, we will be able to more effectively implement the improvements we all desire.

Contact Information