To Our Residents:
This is an update to our previous notices and correspondence to keep you informed about our response to COVID-19. Your health and safety continue to be a top priority for us!
Our office is still closed to the public, but our staff are working hard to meet residents’ needs, keep up on the latest information so that we can keep you informed, and to work with our partners to find solutions for problems that are arising during this crisis.
Wellness Checks: To ensure that we are doing everything we can to keep you safe and secure during the COVID-19 pandemic, HNHC Community Housing Staff will be reaching out to our residents via telephone to complete wellness checks and to find out what services some of our more vulnerable tenants may need. We will be starting with our seniors and residents who reside in single bedroom apartments. Many of these residents may feel isolated, may have issues related to access to food, medications, or other basic needs. We do encourage any resident who may be experiencing any of these issues to please contact us. We have been researching resources in the community that may be able to assist with your needs.
We have been speaking with the staff of Haldimand Norfolk Social Services and Housing regularly. We can report that the staff of Social Services and Housing are primarily working from home in an effort to allow the Health Unit the space that they need to conduct their vital work. But they would like you to know that services remain open and you can still reach them by telephone. Since staff are working remotely, you will have to leave them a message and your call will be picked up and forwarded to the appropriate worker. They are also running a Community Food Hotline. If anyone is struggling with access to food as a result of COVID-19 self-isolation, please call 519-426-6170 or 905-318-6623, extension 3793. Please leave a message with your name, address and telephone number – they will call you back!
Rent Payments: We encourage you to pay your rent using e-transfer. If you are not set up for e-transfer all the details can be found on our e-transfer document.
If you are having any trouble paying your rent due to loss of income, please call and let us know – we can help direct you to services that can help!
If you have lost your job and need to apply for Employment Insurance, please visit Canada EI Services
Maintenance: We will continue to respond to urgent and emergency maintenance requests that impact your health and safety. Routine maintenance requests will continue to be deferred to a later date. We thank you for your patience and understanding as we work with our contractors to safely address urgent issues. Maintenance requests can be submitted by telephone (see below), email (maint@hnhousing.ca) or here on our website.
As a reminder, please do not flush anything besides toilet paper down the toilet. We are trying to minimize the need for a maintenance person to attend your unit. Your cooperation with respect to this request will help tremendously.
It is very important that you continue to practice social distancing and self-isolation. We know this can be very difficult! We encourage you to reach out to family or friends (by telephone, text, email) to touch base, let them know how you are doing or just talk about your day. If you are finding isolation particularly difficult, Brant Haldimand Canadian Mental Health is offering support by telephone. Call 1-800-461-4319 and an operator will connect you with services that may help.
Lastly, if you are experiencing any symptoms or have any concerns about your health, please call your family Doctor or TeleHealth Ontario at
1-866-797-0000.
We are all in this together and we will continue to get through it together!
Matt Bowen
CEO
How to reach HNHC Community Housing by telephone:
If you live in Norfolk County: 519-426-7792
If you live in Haldimand County: 1-800-265-2819