Month: May 2020

Dear Residents,

I hope you are enjoying the beautiful weather we’ve finally been graced with!

We are also seeing some restrictions being lifted with a gradual opening of many retail businesses, garden centers, marinas, golf courses, and private parks and campgrounds.  Our local libraries will also soon be offering curbside pickup!

While we all still need to be careful and continue to practice social distancing and use gloves and masks where necessary, it feels like there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

At HNHC, our office is still closed to the public.  We are following County guidelines and will re-open once the County offices are deemed safe to open, so please continue to reach us by telephone, email, or through this website.  We are here working hard for you!

Although some plans were derailed by COVID-19, we’ve continued many of the projects we had planned for the Spring, including creating a Resident Satisfaction Survey and publishing our resident newsletter, the Porchlight. The newsletters and surveys will be mailed out to you next week.

The surveys are very important to our goal to improve resident satisfaction.  Please be sure to complete a survey, it is short and won’t take long!.  You will find a self-addressed stamped envelope with the mailed surveys, or, to make it easy, we have also posted the survey online which you can complete by clicking here.

The surveys are completely anonymous and we ask that they be completed and returned by June 30, 2020.

The newsletter will also include both a puzzle contest and colouring contest.  Each has a $50 gift card prize, so be sure to complete them and return by June 30, 2020 for your chance to win!  If you can’t wait for the newsletter to arrive in your mailbox, you can read a pdf version here.  You can also print extra contest ballots if more than one member of your family wants to participate.  Click here for the puzzle and click here for the colouring page.

We look forward to hearing what you have to say, so please send in those surveys!!

Warm regards,

Matt Bowen, CEO

Attention All Residents:

Our Spring/Summer newsletter includes a Resident Satisfaction Survey which you can complete and mail in (using the self-addressed stamped envelope we included) or you can fill out the survey online:

To our Residents:

We have had some inquiries about the community gardens at two of our properties.

In Dunnville, a team of residents runs the Thompson Creek Community Garden and in Port Dover, the Port Dover & Woodhouse Horticultural Society plants and maintains 5 raised beds; the proceeds of which are donated to the local Food Bank.

Under the current provincial guidelines, community gardens are permitted subject to a review by the Medical Officer of Health for that municipality.

We are happy to report the message we received from Dr. Nesathurai: “the public health service would be supportive of initiatives that improve access to fresh food.”

Heidy VanDyk-Ellis, the Director of Haldimand Norfolk Social Services and Housing added her recommendation that signage be put up to remind gardeners to maintain appropriate physical distancing.

We have spoken with the organizers of both of our community gardens who are very excited to launch this season’s planting. Both groups will be putting safety measures in place to respect social distancing to keep their gardeners safe.

We ask all residents to also respect these guidelines for the safety of everyone. We will be sending out communications to this effect and encourage you to contact us with any questions or concerns.

“To nurture a garden is to feed not just the body, but the soul.” Alfred Austin