This is a picture of the Flemingdon Health Centre.  The health centre is a main part of our community.  The main floor has a clinic that is very useful.  In addition to adults and families, many teenagers go to the clinic for check-ups, medical/physical treatments, blood tests, and information on healthy living.

Upstairs in the centre, there are social recreational programs available to different age groups.
Some programs include health promotion and education, youth programs, parents support, seniors program etc.  The Flemingdon Health Centre does many things that help the community.

By Nadema (Step Up March Break program participant)

As you walk down Gateway or Grenoble, you might not notice as many good things as there are in the community than you think.  Today, we acknowledged many great things such as schools, libraries, construction workers, and other things which are making Flemingdon better. With improvement everyday and multiculturalism building up, this is making Flemo a better community.  We saw people using their bikes, yet do they know that they are being environmentally friendly?  Paved roads and strong new buildings provide happiness to the people living in Flemo.  With everyone helping each other, Flemingdon is becoming a better bigger society.  There are community centres and help for people who are new in Canada.  Flemingdon Park is a great society getting better for what we have seen today.

By Irfan (Step Up March Break program participant)

Completing the six month program has been such a great accomplishment for me. Giving back to the community, making new friends, and learning more about me are some of the many things that I have gained from Serve. Throughout the whole six months it has truly been a roller coaster ride. I am thankful for the Assertive workshop especially because it helped me to gain a lot of the confidence that I have today. The most memorable moment in the program would be the week long retreat that the team went on. This was a week filled with fun and laughter that I will always remember. All in all I can take great memories from the serve program.

Blog entry by Matthew C. (Experience This! program)

Wow, It’s been 6 months! Coming into this program I didn’t know what to expect, I didn’t know anyone, and coming in at 9:30 am everyday from an hour and a half commute, I didn’t know how long I would last. Luckily this program passed my expectations. I’ve met some of the coolest people I’d ever meet, and I learned so much from the activities and trips we had. I’ve learned things that will carry me on throughout life and also help me with my future career. Completing this program has allowed me to get accepted into George Brown College and Humber College in September and I can’t wait to live the college life. My goal at the beginning of the program was to make it passed the 6 months and graduate with flying colors. 6 months is here, graduation is next week, and I feel I accomplished my goal.

Blog entry by Georgia Francis (Experience This! program)

Hello my name is Zak, one of the nine youth in Serve! One of the major projects we are doing is Don’t Just Sit There, Stand Up Together which is tackling homophobia in Toronto. We are creating a Zine for youth, service providers and anyone in Toronto who wants to change the situation. One of the parts that I have had the privilege of doing is research on is the issue to find out the statistics on hate crime and what homophobia looks like.

The results of the research have been very interesting and shocking to me.  It surprised me how extensive homophobia is and how much violence queer people they face. They are discriminated even in major institutions such as school, health care and the police. These are institutions that queer youth do not feel comfortable in and are at risk--especially schools. In order for them to get a proper education they need to feel safe. The other institutions also have a history of homophobia towards queer youth who come in contact with them. However they are all trying to change the situation by putting in policies and programs.

The statistics on hate crime were also stunning. Most stunning was how under reported these crimes are and the violent nature of them. For example, 53% of reports to the 519 Community Centre were not forwarded to police. Also most crimes police deal with do not go convicted. The statistics by far underestimate the extent of hate crimes targeting the queer community.  Also they face more violence than most other groups. Most of the crimes they deal with are assaults. This means that their identity puts them at physical at risk. This project has provided me the opportunity to learn about these issues. Without this project I would have never learned about these issues that are very relevant in Toronto. Look out for the Zine.