Harmony Hall - Call-A-Service

Mission Statement

seniors in circle Call-A-Service Inc. / Harmony Hall Centre for Seniors is a multicultural community centre specializing in transportation, recreational and support services for seniors and disabled adults who mainly reside in East York.

The objectives of our organization are:

To enhance the physical, psychological, social and cultural well being of seniors and disabled adults.
To help seniors and disabled adults gain access to appropriate health and social services.
To encourage the meaningful participation of seniors and disabled adults in the community.

History

Call-A-Service Inc. was set up in 1973 as the “brainchild” of three East York women who perceived the need for transportation and other support services for East York’s seniors. The program began operations in a space rented from a local church and was funded by the Federal Government’s Local Initiatives Program. In 1975 it was incorporated as a non-profit organization with a volunteer Board of Directors. Call-A-Service Inc. provided mainly transportation services to elderly persons who were frail and/or handicapped and who would otherwise find it difficult to continue living at home alone and maintain an independent lifestyle.

The Elderly Persons Centre grew out of a centennial project of the East York Barbershoppers and the Borough of East York, through a grant from the provincial government and land donated by the Borough of East York. The stipulation for this grant was that the building be used for or in connection with programs concerning health, education, social and family services, continuous learning, leisure time activities and recreation of elderly citizens of the area. It began operations in 1980 offering a Drop-In Centre and other leisure and health programs and developed a solid membership base capitalizing on the organizational talents of its members in delivering programs.

In 1984 these two seniors’ programs formally merged their operations under one Board of Directors. In 1985 the agency was successful in obtaining a Development Grant from the United Way of Greater Toronto. Membership status in the United Way of Greater Toronto followed in 1987. From 1985 to 1987, the combination of United Way support and expanded funding from both regional and provincial levels of government allowed the agency to develop an administrative core and to undertake significant services expansion. A program for Chinese seniors started in the mid 1990's; the Tamil seniors program was initiated in 2001 along with a significant expansion in services. Our newest program for Bengali seniors started in November 2007.

Over the years the agency has received numerous grants from the Ontario Trillium Foundation to purchase vehicles for the transportation program and to refurbish the kitchen. The New Horizons Program has provided funding to make renovations to the building and to co-ordinate conferences for seniors. Local businesses, such as Kraft Canada, have also donated to the Centre to help sustain the seniors programs.