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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

This information is an update to the notices and correspondence that have been posted in our Apartment buildings and mailed to our family homes regarding COVID-19 precautions.

On behalf of the Haldimand Norfolk Housing Corporation, Long Point Area Non-Profit Housing Corporation, Dunnville Non-Profit Housing Corporation, South & Metcalfe Non-Profit Housing Corporation, and Del-Gold Villa Non-Profit Housing Corporation, we want you to know that your health and safety is a top priority for us.

It is very important that you stay in your homes as much as possible and engage in social distancing. Please DO NOT congregate in common areas of the building, including lobbies, yards, or laundry rooms.

It is for this reason that as of March 16, 2020, we closed all Apartment building Common Rooms and public washrooms.

In addition to this, as of Monday, March 16, 2020, our janitorial contractors were instructed to provide extra time on cleaning and disinfecting the following, but not limited to, high-risk areas. This additional work will be completed, at this time, during the regularly scheduled cleaning days:

1.  All stairwell and corridor handrails
2.  Entrance/ Exit doors & handles
3.  All Laundry Room flat work surfaces and laundry machines
4.  All building mailbox units
5.  Elevator surfaces
6.  Enterphones

Further Action HNHC is taking in response to COVID-19:

Office: Effective March 17, 2020, our office closed to the public until further notice. Staff are available by telephone or email to assist our tenants.

Maintenance: We will continue to respond to urgent and emergency maintenance requests that impact your health and safety. Routine maintenance will be deferred to a later date at this time. This is to protect the health of our residents as well as the health of our contractors. We ask for your patience and understanding of the delays associated with routine maintenance requests.

Rent and Income Changes: We understand that many of our tenants may experience a significant decrease in household income as many businesses and employers are experiencing temporary shutdowns. During this period we advise you to do the following:

• Continue to pay as much of your rent as you are able. Where possible, please pay via e-transfer, or by mail.
• Send in documentation regarding income changes via mail.
• Please note that: HNHC will not proceed with eviction due to outstanding rent balance during the temporary shutdown; however, it is very important that you keep us informed if your income changes due to COVID-19 and that you pay your rent as much as possible. Please be advised that you will be responsible for outstanding rent balances accumulated during the shutdown. Please contact your Property Manager should this occur.

Thank you for your cooperation in keeping our communities safe and healthy. We wish you and your families all the best during this difficult time.

Following suit with many organizations around the world, HNHC is addressing how to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. We are following the guidelines outlined in our Pandemic Plan, as well as recommendations from the Haldimand Norfolk Health Unit, our Service Manager (Norfolk County), the World Health Organization, and the Ontario Health Ministry.

Effective March 19, 2020 our office will be closed to the public until further notice. We will continue to serve our residents and will be available by telephone, email, or through our website; www.hnhousing.ca.

Emergency repairs at our rental homes will continue; however, non-emergency repairs will be suspended until further notice. Rental payments may be made via e-transfer or by mail.

While we need to take reasonable precautions, there is no need to panic. Public health officials want us to slow the progression of the virus to help keep the health care system from becoming over-burdened and to minimize the risk to the most vulnerable.

Matt Bowen
Chief Executive Officer