St. Paul's L' Amoreaux Centre

St. Paul's L'Amoreaux Centre is home to over 500 seniors in north Scarborough. It was conceived in 1971, when the members of a growing parish decided to rebuild their church with an on-site seniors' housing complex. In 1978, St. Paul's opened the doors of its 248-unit seniors' building, with facilities for social and recreational programs.

From the outset, St. Paul's saw itself as "more than housing." It worked hard to provide programs and services for its tenants. But it didn't stop there. St.Paul's documented the need for seniors' services throughout the neighbourhood, and in 1980 was funded as an Elderly Persons' Centre. The Centre has expanded every year since then.

Today, St. Paul's welcomes over 6,000 seniors every year, both from within the building and the surrounding community, to enjoy 86 different programs and services including:

•  recreation programs, such as fitness, dance, music
• home care and supportive housing. Over 100 St. Paul's residents take advantage of this service.
• a Health and Wellness centre, with family physicians, alternative practitioners, and weekly clinics for arthritis management, hearing loss, and physiotherapy
  arts programs, including art classes, crafts, Chinese brush painting and calligraphy, classes in computers, acupressure massage and Mandarin for beginners
• games, from carpet bowling to Mah Jong
• social programs and day trips
• a restaurant, run by staff and volunteers, offering a dual menu of Chinese and Western-style foods
• adult day services, including programs for Chinese, Greek and Somali seniors and an Alzheimer's program
• a hairdresser, variety store, library and fitness room
• transportation for shopping, medical appointments and banking.

St. Paul's tenants not only get lots of services — they get personalized services. In 2000, they broke new ground by introducing an ISO Quality System, supported by Procura software. The database ensures the right staff have the right information they need. The database records new information, sends automatic emails to alert staff to take the steps they need, and makes trends easy to spot.

One of the keys to St. Paul's success is a flexible staff. "A few years ago, we had a receptionist," says CEO Sharon Snitman. "Now we have a customer service centre, where tenants and program visitors can get information, fill out a work order, or make a suggestion or complaint — and get a response within 24 hours."

Another key to their success is an innovative spirit. In 1996, government funding for new seniors housing had collapsed, but St. Paul's forged ahead, financing and building a 91-unit Life Equity seniors' residence, now connected to the original apartments.

St. Paul's is also quick to jump at opportunities. An on-site nursing home had 50 "D•beds" — beds that no longer met Ministry of Health standards. St. Paul's used funding from the City of Toronto's Let's Build program to convert these into 50 bachelor and one-bedroom apartments. They saved 50 homes for elderly people, and in the same year raised government and corporate funds to add to and renovate their clinic and program space.

So why does St. Paul's L'Amoreaux deserve this year's ONPHA Award for Excellence? Perhaps tenant Amy Lau says it best. "Whenever I think of something I need, the staff have thought of it first. My children don't worry about me anymore. And I am the envy of my friends. They're all on the waiting list now."