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Toronto Community Safety Unit partners with Durham College and the University of Guelph-Humber

Apr. 7, 2022, Toronto, Ont. – The Community Safety Unit (a team of peace officers who patrol communities, enforce laws and bylaws as well as engaging in a lot of community programs with tenants), in partnership with Durham College and the University of Guelph–Humber, have collaborated to provide students with a co-operative learning opportunity, which introduces students to a service-learning approach while being attached to an organization related to their chosen profession. The goal of this opportunity is to build the knowledge, skills and abilities required in Field Placement while offering a different perspective through experiences gained, all while working at an organization related to their chosen profession.

Although students come to their field placement with a range of skills, their placement is intended to provide them with on-the-job training in a supportive learning environment. By the time students have completed the program, they will have accumulated 100+ hours of unpaid, on-the-job training.

Students may be scheduled to work throughout the week, including weekends and evenings, as required and agreed upon by the student and Community Safety Unit. Students arrive for their field placement ready, willing and eager and to put a year of schooling and practical training in emergency and non-emergency incidents that they’ve already received in class to good use.

This allows the Toronto Community Housing and the Community Safety Unit to safely expose the students to a vast array of situations which members of the corporation face, as well as the vast types of tenants which Toronto Community Housing serves and the variety of unique hardships each tenant faces. This will provide the students with a deeper understanding of the social, economic and racial issues that are present not only in Toronto Community Housing but our society as a whole, while building their knowledge and abilities to positively influence those in need.

Both the Community Safety Unit and OPSEU Local 529 were part of the hiring process and would like to welcome the following, successful candidates into the co-op program:

• Ella McCullough was the successful co-op student from the University of Guelph–Humber’s Justice Studies Program, and;
• Julie Potapinski from Durham College’s School of Justice and Emergency Services – Advanced Law and Investigations Certificate Program.

Both McCullough and Potapinski will have the opportunity to see the issues that tenants and staff of Toronto Community Housing face on a daily basis and will be able to help develop their own skills in assisting some of the most vulnerable, racialized and marginalized communities and community members across the Toronto Community Housing portfolio.