New research report from SPRC Hamilton:Where’s the Exit? Persistence of poverty in Hamilton and Ontario, 1992–2023 Along with annual snapshot data that show rates of poverty overall in a community, it is helpful to understand “persistence of poverty”: how many people...
Using taxfiler data, the new SPRC report Family and Child Poverty in Hamilton report explores child and youth poverty, family poverty, depth of poverty, and the impacts of poverty on housing, food security, and income security, It also examines community participation, belonging, and social inclusion.
The Community Benefits Framework – Understanding the Need report provides a data‑driven foundation to guide Hamilton’s development of a Community Benefits Framework (CBF). Using 2021 Census data and other validated sources, this report identifies population groups and...
Using 2021 Census data on activity limitations, this new report explores types of disability, demographics like ages, gender, immigration status, and further characteristics such as housing, income, education, and employment to gain insights into the Hamilton...
A recent policy brief from Maytree highlights how Ontario’s deeply inadequate social assistance program directly contributes to the growing homelessness crisis across the province. Through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request for data from the Ministry of Children,...
In August 2025, the City of Hamilton engaged the Social Planning and Research Council of Hamilton (SPRC), along with other partnering organizations, to conduct a series of community engagements to support the Climate Justice Framework. Through partnership with...
Hamilton’s new Living Wage is $22.60/hour, a 6.1% increase from last year. This updated calculation, released by the Ontario Living Wage Network (OLWN) on November 10, reflects what it truly costs to live and work in Hamilton: covering essentials like rent, food,...
A new report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and the Ontario Living Wage Network highlights a growing challenge across Ontario: wages aren’t keeping up with the cost of living. You can read the report here. Here in Hamilton, over 60,000 workers are...
This is the first-ever report dedicated to Personal Needs Allowance (PNA), a hidden part of Ontario’s social assistance system. At only $149/month and frozen since 2019, the PNA is the only personal income for tenants in residential care facilities (RCFs). The report...
On June 24, 2025, SPRC Hamilton hosted a screening of the documentary, “A Matter of Justice: Climate Change in Black Communities in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.” Following the screening, Dr. Ingrid Waldron, the film’s documentarian and McMaster professor,...
August 18, 2025 On June 24, 2025, the Social Planning and Research Council of Hamilton (SPRC) held our annual community impact event to reflect on and share the impact of our programs in the community over the past year. In attendance were SPRC staff, board members,...
In collaboration with SEND Relief, the SPRC has published a report on refugees in Hamilton. Close to 31,000 people living in the city of Hamilton in 2021 came to Canada in the 1980s or later as refugees. That represents about 6% of Hamilton’s overall population. This...
Close to 31,000 people living in the City of Hamilton in 2021 came to Canada in the 1980s or later as refugees. This new SPRC Report uses census data and other sources to give insights into the demographic characteristics of this population. Join us in person at the...
This bulletin takes a closer look at what poverty looks like for some of the Hamilton groups most impacted by poverty. Keep scrolling down to read this report, or use the buttons to jump to a section: Measuring Poverty Faces of Poverty Recent Immigrants Singles – with...
As published in the Hamilton Spectator, April 9, 2025 The recent cancellation of the Canada Carbon Rebate (CCR) has sparked significant concern for low-income Canadians who have come to rely on these payments to help offset basic living expenses. The CCR was designed...
SPRC Hamilton staff supported the Mayor's Task Force on Transparency, Access, and Accountability's engagement strategy through consultations with equity-deserving groups via focus groups. SPRC Hamilton also retained an Indigenous engagement specialist to conduct...
New data shows more single people are excluded from Ontario's post-pandemic economy Scroll down to view this report Or download a simple PDF view of this webpage Growing homelessness including encampments across Ontario, and record levels of visits to food banks, are...
In July 2023, Hamilton City Council tasked the Government Relations and Community Engagement Division with reviewing the City’s Volunteer Advisory Committees (VACs). Partnering with the Social Planning and Research Council of Hamilton (SPRC), the review gathered...
This SPRC report illustrates core housing need across Hamilton's Census Tracts using 2021 Census data. This report contains interactive maps that allow for the exploration of data at the census tract (neighbourhood) level, with clickable popup information for each...
Hamilton Social Landscape Hamilton's Housing Crisis:2010-2023 Trends in Rental Housing Explore this report ↓ Or download simple PDF viewof this webpage How to explore this report: Use the buttons in each section to jump to next section, or just keep scrolling down ↓...
Hamilton’s new Living Wage is $21.30/hour. A new report from the Ontario Living Wage Network (OLWN) shows that a full-time worker in Hamilton needs to earn $21.30 an hour to meet their needs and participate in the community. A Living Wage is an evidence-based...
This report was prepared for the Hamilton Immigration Partnership Council and provides maps of the top 10 countries of birth of Hamilton recent immigrants, and the top 10 most common non-English home languages spoken by Hamilton residents. Download PDF
This bulletin summarizes some key trends regarding persons who identify with racialized groups in Hamilton based on data from the 2021 Census. The term ‘racialized,’ which includes both visible minorities and Indigenous peoples, is becoming more common. The Ontario...
The Canada Disability Benefit was designed by the Federal Government to reduce poverty and support eligible individuals with disabilities. The Benefit will launch in July 2025. The SPRC helped organization a community forum on September 16 2024 on the draft...
The call for a national school food program in Canada, like those in other countries, is growing louder. By Donna Weldon Every day, Tastebuds' student nutrition programs serve over 20,000 students across Hamilton with nutritious meals and snacks, ensuring no child...
Hamilton’s new Living Wage is $20.80/hour. A new report from the Ontario Living Wage Network shows that a full-time worker in Hamilton needs to earn $20.80 an hour to meet their needs and participate in the community. A Living Wage is an evidence-based calculation...
SPRC and the Hamilton Community Legal Clinic (HCLC) jointly submitted to the National Housing Council’s Review Panel on the Financialization of Purpose Built Rental Housing in August 2023. As two organizations committed to advancing the right to housing in our...
Join us for an engaging online event on Friday, October 20, 2023 at 12:00PM. This event aims to shed light on the important topic of gender diversity and inclusion in the classroom. We will debunk misconceptions, explore real-life experiences, and provide...
Join us for a look back at the transformational impact of the Ontario Basic Income Pilot Project. Basic Income: It still matters... Tickets, Fri, 27 Oct 2023 at 10:00 AM | Eventbrite
Join us for a virtual town hall on Wednesday, September 20th at 7pm-8pm on Zoom. We'll examine Ontario's social assistance system & what needs to change! Register Here: Meeting Registration - Zoom Speakers Include: Dr. Peter Graefe, McMaster University: Research...
In June 2022, the City of Hamilton Housing Services Division selected the Social Planning and Research Council of Hamilton to conduct a post-pandemic review of the size of the emergency shelter system. The scope directed the SPRC to consult service providers, review...
June 30, 2023 Michelle BairdDirector of Housing ServicesCity of Hamilton71 Main St WestHamilton, ONL8P 4Y5 [via email] Dear Ms. Baird: RE: Open Letter to the City of Hamilton on the Proposed Encampment Protocol Please accept this letter as the Social Planning and...
We are pleased to share some of our accomplishments over the past year in our 2022/2023 Annual Impact Report. A highlight of the year was the SPRC brand receiving a fresh new look which reflects a revitalized image and purpose for SPRC Hamilton. Our dedication to...
As you know, emboldened acts of hatred are plaguing Hamilton and the rest of the world. A coalition of many organizations and individuals formed No Hate in the Hammer in 2019 to address acts of Hate and build a more inclusive Hamilton. Over the past year, this group...
The Federal Housing Advocate has launched a review on homeless encampments as a violation of human rights in Canada. As part of the review, the Federal Housing Advocate is seeking input from people deprived of housing and community-based organizations on what is...
The Profile of North Hamilton outlines the area's trends and conditions, emphasizing critical issues for both the Compass Health Centre Board of Directors and the broader community. It includes community demographics, socio-economic data such as income, housing,...
Introduction Over the course of several months in 2014 community partners in Hamilton collaborated to arrange and host a series of community events that would invite and assist eligible families with young children to register for the Canada Learning Bond (CLB)....
A Binbrook-based business is supporting a school nutrition program. The business, named Ashley's Sweets & Treats, offered to hold a cupcake decorating class at the school and donate a portion of each registration fee to the nutrition program, which provides...
Celebrating March 21st International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination for 2023. SPRC Executive Director and Co-chair of No Hate In the Hammer, Kim Martin, joined Kojo Damptey, former Executive Director of the Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion,...
By Caroline Alphonso, Education Reporter Globe & MailTuesday, March 14, 2023 Globe and Mail Article March 14, 2023.pdf
Green and PC candidates do not respond to SPRC survey on rental housing The Social Planning and Research Council of Hamilton sent a survey by email to candidates in the Hamilton Centre by-election to ask their views on the housing crisis facing tenants. The survey...
City food programs are working to keep up with a spike in demand amid inflation and rising food costs, with some reporting a 25 per cent increase in demand over recent years. And food prices in Ontario are climbing — about 18 per cent since 2018. The latest Canada...
Hamilton Social Landscape, Issue #30 Young renters face more challenges to finding affordable housing, according to the SPRC report from November 2022. Households led by racialized and Indigenous youth are among the highest rates of renter households, amplifying...
It's Living Wage Week 2022 and Hamilton's new living wage is $19.05. A new report from the Ontario Living Wage Network was released on Monday that suggests hourly wages required to live in Ontario have increased amid decades-high inflation and remain significantly...
Hamilton renter households are growing in all parts of the city. Growth of renter households across Hamilton was 11.5% from 2016 to 2021, a 5 times higher growth rate than the 2.3% growth in owner households in that time. Two new reports have been released, 2021...
The combination of high inflation and frozen social assistance rates is causing a food insecurity emergency for Hamilton residents living in deep poverty across the city. Inflation in Ontario has hit lowest income residents most intensely. Low income residents spend...
The 2021 Census showed that poverty rates have changed substantially across Canada including in Hamilton. The income data in this latest Census is from the 2020 tax year, and for almost a third of Canadians, their income included Canada Emergency Response Benefits...
The 2021-2022 Annual Impact Report is out and it is a treasure trove of information. Along with the summary of a very busy year, the Report shares the development of a new Strategic Plan that will guide SPRC Hamilton for years. Exciting developments are included, too,...
On May 18, 2022, SPRC Hamilton and Community Development Halton hosted a virtual Town Hall called, Show us the Money: Income Security in Ontario: Preparing for Provincial Election 2022. Below is a pre-election resource to assist with conversations on the income...
FirstOntario Credit Union has donated $20,000.00 to Tastebuds, Hamilton’s Student Nutrition Collaborative. This food funding received will allow the Hamilton Tastebuds Student Nutrition Collaborative to scale up operations of local student nutrition initiatives and...
Key findings: Ontario’s Vaccination strategy includes Equity as a key pillar, and groups facing disproportionate riskare to be prioritized, to help reduce the magnification of inequalities that COVID-19 has created. Progress on vaccinations has been slower for many...
Key findings: Neighbourhoods with high proportions of residents living in rental housing have high rates of COVID-19. The rental housing market is under stress from many landlords using tactics to increase rents and/or evict tenants during the pandemic. People...
Key findings: Average COVID-19 infection rates are highest in neighbourhoods with high proportions of workers in healthcare and sales and service occupations and lowest in neighbourhoods with high proportions of management and natural resources workers. The economic...
Key findings: COVID-19 infection rates are high in neighbourhoods with high proportion of children 0-17 and neighbourhoods with high rates of child poverty. Severe mental health distress among some children is leading to increased rates of hospitalization. Rates of...
Key findings: Neighbourhoods with high proportions of racialized residents have high rates of COVID-19 infections.Areas with low proportions of residents facing material deprivation have low rates of COVID-19 infections. Residents who identify as Arab/Middle Eastern,...
A year of firsts… The pandemic impacted everyone in our community - and marginalized citizens felt its impact very keenly. Many of us have never seen a time where schools are closed, there are numerous road blocks to providing service, low spirits and high levels of...
Key findings: The effects of the global pandemic are not over and will persist for all society, for some time to come. Persons and groups already experiencing inequality are seeing the most acute effects of the pandemic. Social justice principles must be centred in...
Key findings: Employment in the Hamilton Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) has experienced a crushing blow, with a net drop of 48,300 persons employed between February and July of 2020. The unemployment rate is higher than it has been in at least the last 20 years, at...
Key findings: Hamilton neighbourhoods with higher concentrations of people living on low incomes and people who identify with a racialized group have higher rates of COVID-19. These discrepancies reflect similar patterns in Ontario and beyond and are due in part due...
Published: June 2020 This fiscal year of 2019/2020 will forever be remembered as the year of the Covid-19 pandemic. With much of the world on lockdown, businesses closed and unprecedented unemployment levels, this is the greatest crisis in our collective memory. No...
The current rental landscape is changing, and changing fast. Highlighting data on rental housing from a variety of sources, the Social Planning and Research Council of Hamilton is publishing a series of bulletins to bring attention to Hamilton’s renters, the buildings...
A recent report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives shows that a minimum-wage earner would have to work 54 hours a week to afford a one bedroom apartment in Hamilton. This troubling situation is not unique to Hamilton, as many communities across Ontario...
Tenants are being squeezed by increasing rental prices as illustrated in the previous bulletins in this series (Rents and affordability in Hamilton and Ontario and Rents in Hamilton's neighbourhoods). This bulletin provides data for another pressure renters are under:...
One reason rents are increasing at higher rates recently is that the number of renters in Hamilton has increased to 68,545 households in 2016. This figure is higher than any census year since 1991, an increase of over 8,000 households since a low of just under 62,000...
In Canada, a full-time minimum wage worker can afford a one-bedroom apartment in only 70 out of 795 neighborhoods across the country, 9% of neighbourhoods examined in the CCPA report, Unaccommodated1. In the City of Hamilton, there are no neighbourhoods where a...
The 68,545 rental dwellings in Hamilton identified in the 2016 Census can be divided into the three main types of rental units: those in private primary rental buildings, those in private secondary units, and subsidized units, most often run by non-profit...
The lack of new builds or reinvestment into aging rental stock in Hamilton has led to more and more tenants living in substandard housing. The Canadian Census asks renters and homeowners if their housing is in need of regular maintenance, minor repairs or major...
Housing is key to social welfare, and in fact Canada now recognizes housing as a human right in legislation, but “housing is famously the shaky of ’wobbly pillar’ of the welfare state in that it is only slightly decomodified” (Still Renovating: A History of Canadian...
Lack of new builds or reinvestment into aging rental stock in Hamilton has led to more and more tenants living in substandard housing. The Canadian Census asks renters and homeowners if their housing is in need of regular maintenance, minor repairs or major repairs....
Results of The Cost of a School Day project, created by the Hamilton Community of Practice for the Knowledge of Student Wellbeing, show that there are costs associated with various aspects of the school day which disproportionately create disadvantages for low-income...
This four page report highlights the declining poverty rate in Hamilton, from 21.9% in 1996 to 16.6% 2016, mirroring a provincial trend. The report points to policies and economic changes that have contributed to poverty reduction and makes the case that poverty...
Published: June 2019 In addition to our ongoing programs and collaborations, we have developednew partnerships designed to increase capacity in the community. This yearwe built upon our legal education stream with a new project funded by theLaw Foundation of Ontario,...
A Review of Hamilton CAPC Council: Strengthening Relationships Through Community Engagement and Advocacy Download Report Funded by: Public Health Agency of Canada
Published: June 2018 Newsletter from Tastebuds’, Hamilton’s Student Nutrition Collaborative Funded by: Ministry of Children and Youth Services To view the Newsletter, please click here.
Housing affordability for tenants has reached crisis levels in Hamilton and other Ontario communities. With less than a week left in the provincial election campaign, all political parties need to let voters know what they will do to address the rental housing crisis....
Out of Control examines differences between Hamilton and Quebec City’s rental markets. It finds that Quebec has both stronger tenant protection policies and greater supply of new rental housing. These both help to create a more affordable housing market than in...
In 2015, The Social Planning and Research Council of Hamilton (SPRC) partnered with three social housing providers, Hamilton East Kiwanis Non-Profit Homes Inc., Victoria Park Community Homes Inc. and McGivney Community Homes Inc., to explore the potential of a...
Despite a significant increase in funding over the last five years to address women’s homelessness in Hamilton, the crisis persists with seemingly no end in sight. Funded by: Federal government’s Homelessness Partnering Strategy administered by the City of Hamilton,...
The Hamilton Immigration Partnership Council and the Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion launched a new public education campaign, #HamiltonForAll, that aims to stimulate dialogue and open minds by encouraging Hamiltonians to stand up against prejudice, exclusion and...
Published: December 2017This report provides a program review of Catholic Family Services St. Martin’s Manor and the Salvation Army Grace Haven. Funded by: Catholic Family Services St. Martin’s Manor, the Salvation Army Grace Haven To read the full report, click...
Published: November 2017New Hamilton Social Landscape bulletin on Visible minorities shows that persons who identify with a visible minority group in Hamilton have reached 100,000 residents, more than doubling in the last two decades. Funded by: United Way of Halton...
Published: September 2017This report explores what intergenerational trauma is, how it relates to historical treatment of Aboriginal Peoples, and how the effects persist to this day, including effects on homelessness. The report also offers insights into ways...
Published: August 2017The Hamilton Community Food Centre (HCFC), a project of Neighbour to Neighbour, has secured funding for a community garden in Captain Cornelius Park, both of which are located in the neighbourhood of Rolston. A community garden had been...
This report was commissioned by the Hamilton Family Health team as part of efforts to better understand the Dundas community and to help inform potential projects that will better integrate community services and primary health care with the goal of improving...
Published: April 2017 Using new taxfiler and longitudinal data from Statistics Canada, these bulletins explore trends in poverty in Hamilton. Poverty Among Hamilton's Taxfilers Bulletin Persistence of Poverty in the Hamilton CMA BulletinFunded by: United Way of...
Presentation about transit data to help inform Hamilton’s City Council in their deliberations about the municipal budget, including HSR and the 10 year transit strategy. To view this presentation, click the link below. Transit Ridership and Funding Trends Funded by:...
Published: February 2017 The South Mountain community engagement initiative reaches out to seven social housing complexes operated by Kiwanis Homes Inc., Victoria Park Community Homes Inc. and McGivney Homes Inc.. The initiative, funded by the Ontario Trillium...
Published: February 2017 In April 2016, the SPRC supported Hamilton Organizing for Poverty Elimination (HOPE) and Hamilton Faith Communities in Action to organize a Social Audit, a process of examining the social assistance system through the stories of people who...
Published: January 2017 Building Opportunities: Advancing Women in Non-Traditional Occupations was a three year project led by YWCA Hamilton in partnership with Workforce Planning Hamilton (WPH). The project was designed to research, understand, and communicate the...
Published: October 2016 This submission to the federal government’s National Housing Strategy consultation is based in part on the City of Hamilton’s housing and homelessness action plan. The policy brief includes suggested federal strategies to address affordable...
Published: September 2016 Kiwanis Homes Inc. Victoria Park Community Homes Inc. and McGivney Community Homes Inc. partnered with the SPRC to create a project that would have a benefit to the South Mountain community and have a broader positive impact to the residents...
Published: September 2016 Using a variety of data sources, the Demographic shifts series of Hamilton’s Social Landscape bulletins explore differences between older and younger generations to uncover trends in a range of demographic characteristics of Hamilton’s...
Published: May 2016 Created for distribution at Tastebuds’ Feast on the Farm fundraiser, held on May 26, 2016. Click here to see the infographic. Funded by: Ministry of Youth and Child Services
Published: April 2016 This report is phase two of the “Mapping Community Assets” report recently produced by the Woman Abuse Working Group. It is intended to provide a baseline system overview of intimate partner violence and sexual violence of adult women. Goals of...
Published: February 2016 Newsletter from Tastebuds’, Hamilton’s Student Nutrition Collaborative, 2016 issues. Winter Newsletter Spring Newsletter Funded by: Ministry of Children and Youth Services
Published: February 2016 This report surveys the landscape of payday lending in Hamilton, including the increase in payday loan outlets and the decrease in bank branches over the past 15 years. The report also examines trends in precarious employment, and what changes...
This report, Money for Nothing, Debt for Free: Is the payday loan industry cashing in on Hamilton’s rise in precarious employment?, surveys the landscape of payday lending in Hamilton, including the increase in payday loan outlets and the decrease in bank branches...
Published: January 2016 If you are a community, non-profit, or public organization looking for assistance with research, or if you have been approached by McMaster University researchers interested in conducting research with you, this guide is for you. It is a...
Published: January 2016 The Hamilton Neighbourhood Action Strategy, the Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction, and the Hamilton Public Library, partnered to administer voter ID clinics during the 2015 federal election. The purpose of the clinics was to increase...
Published: January 2016 This report updates the community on the vision and values of the St. Leonard’s Society of Hamilton and summarizes their services and recent accomplishments. Click here to view the report. Funded by: St. Leonard’s Society of Hamilton
Published: September 2015 Newsletter from Tastebuds’, Hamilton’s Student Nutrition Collaborative, 2015 issues. Winter Newsletter Spring Newsletter Fall Newsletter Funded by: Ministry of Youth and Child Services
Published: September 2015 The federal election is on October 19, 2015. Use Canada Votes to help spark dialogue about social issues in Canada and put them on the public agenda. On October 19, 2015 Canadians will come together to choose the direction of policy...
Over the course of several months in 2014 a number of community partners in Hamilton collaborated to arrange and host a series of community events that would invite and assist eligible families with young children to register for the Canada Learning Bond. The Canada...
Published: May 2015 Summary of results from survey conducted in February 2015, showing 47% of Hamilton’s residents experiencing homelessness surveyed on downtown streets were Aboriginal. Click here to see the survey. Funded by: United Way of Burlington & Greater...
Published: May 2015 This report documents findings of the 2014 Service Provider Survey for the Hamilton Immigration Partnership Council (HIPC). The main objective of the 2014 Service Provider Survey is to document levels of awareness of services available to newcomers...
Published: April 2015 This short report gives overview of demographics of Hamilton’s Aboriginal residents in other to better understand this important community. The report highlights a growing youth population, a large age group in the 45-49 year age group, possibly...
Published: April 2015 This Profile of North Hamilton describes the trends and conditions within North Hamilton, including the North End and Keith neighbourhoods. The report was commissioned by North Hamilton Community Health Centre and the Hughson Street Baptist...
Published: April 2015 This Resource Map provides an inventory of Violence Against Women Services in Hamilton. Click here to view the full report. Community Partners: Woman Abuse Working GroupFunded by: Ontario Women’s Directorate
Published: March 2015 The purpose of this review is to determine what resources and structure Grocer Ease requires to ensure that it meets the needs of the community, the mandate of its funders, and supports the mission of Banyan Community Services. The review showed...
Published: March 2015 The Hamilton Immigration Partnership Council (HIPC) again enlisted the Social Planning and Research Council of Hamilton (SPRC) to conduct an evaluation of the impacts of the HIPC’s work in the community and to quantify its members’ contributions...
Published: February 2015 Click here to view the bulletin. Funded by: Ministry of Children and Youth Services
Published: February 2015 This report is the result of a consultation process initiated by the City of Hamilton (Housing Division) and involving the Women’s Housing Planning Collaborative (WHPC). WHPC exists to develop, coordinate, advocate for and facilitate a gender...
Published: January 2015 This report summarizes the evaluation of the YWCA Hamilton’s Financial Literacy Program, which aimed to reach 80 disadvantaged women in the course of developing a model for financial literacy and training that could be incorporated into...
Published: January 2015 Click here to view the bulletin. Funded by: Ministry of Children and Youth Services
Published: January 2015 Improved unemployment rates, a booming real estate market and an influx of young adults are proof of Hamilton’s “economic renaissance,” but the prosperity has not reached across the city, says a new report from Hamilton Community Foundation....
Published: December 2014 Click here to view the bulletin. Funded by: Ministry of Children and Youth Services
Published: December 2014 Click here to view the community plan.
Published: March 2014 This report is an evaluation of the Youth Housing Support Project (YHSP). This evaluation reports on activities and outcomes achieved throughout the timeline of April 1, 2012 to March 31, 2014. Click here to view the report. Community Partners:...
Published: October 2014 Newsletter from Tastebuds’, Hamilton’s Student Nutrition Collaborative, 2014 issues Winter Newsletter Spring Newsletter Summer Newsletter Fall Newsletter Funded by: Ministry of Children and Youth Services
Published: October 2014 The goals of this evaluation of the YWCA Hamilton’s Bridging Internationally Trained Individuals Program are to explore and offer recommendations for strengthening several elements of the program, including the effectiveness of recruitment and...
Published: July 2014 This report conducts an evaluative review of client satisfaction, an evaluation of program results and an overview of best practices for the services of the St. Leonard’s Society of Hamilton. Click here to view the evaluation. Funded by: St....
Published: April 2014 This evaluation gathered the stories of men who had some level of engagement with discharge planning offered by The Bridge upon release from the local Detention Centre. One focus group was conducted with nine men and six men agreed to individual...
Published: April 2014 This report provides an evaluation of the Building Better Futures program run through the Neighbour 2 Neighbour Centre. The purpose of this evaluation has been to illuminate project outcomes, key findings and lessons learned, opportunities for...
Published: March 2014 This report is an evaluation of the Youth Housing Support Project (YHSP). This evaluation reports on activities and outcomes achieved throughout the timeline of April 1, 2012 to March 31, 2014. Click here to view the report. Community Partners:...
Published: October 2013 This report describes how the unfairness of inequality is damaging both our economy and our society, provides Hamilton specific data about income inequality and poverty, and highlights ways that these trends can be reversed. Click here to view...
Published: October 2013 The Affordable Housing Flagship has been working with the City of Hamilton’s Housing Division since 2010 to develop a 10 year housing and homelessness action plan for the community. The plan is now complete and has two parts: A strategic...
Published: July 2013 This evaluation explores the impacts of the Hamilton Immigration Partnership’s (HIPC) work since its inception and attempts to quantify partner contributions to the HIPC’s work. Findings show that HIPC partners have contributed between $1,447,638...
Published: July 2013 This local evaluation of the Community Action Program for Children (CAPC) uses numerical data from program partners to identify numbers of sub-groups of participants and visits within each program, and presents stories from program partners about...
Published: April 2013 This bulletin shows that youth aged 20-24 in the Hamilton CMA have seen a 50% decline in their employment earnings since 1976, largely due to your workers facing more precarity in the labour market. While the City of Hamilton’s youth unemployment...
Published: April 2013 Change provides an opportunity to become more responsive. For STAR Hamilton, going through organizational changes provided an opportunity to hear more from tenants in three areas served by the organization (Oriole Crescent, Kenora Avenue, and...
Published: March 2013 This is the fifth in a series of occasional bulletins that focus on issues highlighted in the Hamilton’s Social Landscape report and bring attention to more recent trends. This report shows that the since 1993, women have been responsible for...
Published: February 2013 This is the fourth in a series of occasional bulletins that focus on issues highlighted in the Hamilton’s Social Landscape report and bring attention to more recent trends. This report shows that the Hamilton CMA’s working age employment rate...
Published: January 2013 This is the third in a series of occasional bulletins that focus on issues highlighted in the Hamilton’s SocialLandscape report and bring attention to more recent trends. This report shows that Hamilton’s unemployment rate has recovered quickly...
Published: November 2012 A new series of profiles on the reality of poverty in Hamilton’s electoral ridings titled “Action on Poverty” from the Social Planning and Research Council of Hamilton. These reports are part of a larger series of 53 profiles, one for...
Published: October 2012 This report summarizes the activities, key findings, and recommendations from SPRC’s year-long Strengthening Newcomer Services project, which was undertaken with community partners Workforce Planning Hamilton, Hamilton Centre for Civic...
Published: September 2012 A neighbourhood can’t build a hospital or find a cure for cancer. However, improvements to the physical, social, economic, and cultural environments in cities and neighbourhoods are the best recipe for better health. This short four-page...
Published: August 2012 This purposes of this evaluation of the Hamilton Community Action Program for Children (CAPC) program are to 1) assess the long-term impacts of CAPC in east Hamilton since 1993; and 2) offer recommendations for program improvement. A mix of...
Published: June 2012 Annual Report for April 1, 2011 to March 31, 2012 Click here to view the report.
Published: May 2012 This is the second in a series of occasional bulletins that focus on issues highlighted in the Hamilton’s Social Landscape report and bring attention to more recent trends. Click here to view the bulletin. Funded by: United Way of Burlington &...
Published: May 2012 This is the first in a series of occasional bulletins that focus on issues highlighted in Hamilton’s SocialLandscape report and bring attention to more recent trends. Click here to view the bulletin. Click here to view the media release. Funded by:...
Published: May 2012 In the City of Hamilton, 319 students participated in the Youth Confidence in Learning and the Future Project survey. Of the students surveyed, 53% identified as female, while 47% identified as male. The largest response by grade was 53% from grade...
The United Way commissioned the SPRC to complete a set of demographic profiles of some of Hamilton’s neighbourhoods. This is to aid the United Way of Burlington & Greater Hamilton and its agencies and stakeholders to better understand the neighbourhoods they are...
Published: March 2012 This report is based in part on research from “The Right to Choose Where to Live: Challenging the radial separation by-law and perceptions of supportive and supported housing in Hamilton”. Meng (Dolly) Lin, a McMaster University Health Sciences...
Published: March 2012 To aid the United Way and service providers to better understand the neighbourhoods they are serving, the SPRC was asked to complete a set of profiles of some of Hamilton’s neighbourhoods. This profile is the most in-depth in the series, but...
Published: January 2012 This report begins with an overview of population characteristics and a summary analysis of key trends affecting Hamilton’s downtown. This is followed by an overview of health and future growth potential in Hamilton’s downtown. Finally, after...
Published: December 2011 In Hamilton, 30,000 people are working and still living in poverty. How is this possible? It used to be that if someone was having a tough time making ends meet, the simple answer was “get a job”. However, it has become increasingly difficult...
Published: December 2011 Consultations about what a living wage should include were conducted in public forums and workshops across Hamilton, since the launch of the living wage campaign in 2006. Over 600 Hamiltonians participated in these events, and many completed...
The United Way of Burlington and Greater Hamilton requested that the SPRC prepare a report on Hamilton seniors to give the United Way and the community a picture of how Hamilton’s seniors are faring. The collaboration on this report included the Hamilton Council on...
Published: June 2011 Annual Report for April 1, 2010 to March 31, 2011 Click here to view the report.
Published: May 2011 This report focuses primarily on groups or social issues for which data is already collected and relatively accessible. There are many groups of Hamilton residents for which there is a scarcity of data, but yet still require attention by the...
Published: May 2011 The purposes of this research are to: determine the value of short-term employment related workshops accessed by dislocated workers at HJAC; explore options for maximizing these benefits to laid off workers and to the wider unemployed/underemployed...
Published: May 2011 This report was commissioned by Mission Services of Hamilton and attempts to give at least a partial picture of the challenges and conditions faced by homeless women in Hamilton with the aim of aiding Mission Services to better understand this...
Published: April 2011 Over 60,000 persons speak a language other than English at Home, representing 13% if Hamilton’s population. The last census in 2006 counted 60 different languages spoken by Hamiltonians at home. This poster gives a snapshot of Hamilton’s...
Published: April 2011 The goal of the Our Health Counts (OHC) project was to work in partnership with Aboriginal organizational stakeholders to develop a baseline population health database for urban Aboriginal people living in Ontario that is immediately accessible,...
Published: April 2011 The purpose of this evaluation is to explore the nature of issues related to housing and student nutrition programs as they relate to child development and well-being in East Hamilton. This evaluation integrates an independent evaluation of the...
Published: January 2011 In 2010, Hamilton’s Vital Signs pulled back the veil on a community making progress in some areas, but split by deep fault lines of inequality. Building on the work of the Hamilton Spectator’s Code Red investigation into Hamilton’s...
Published: January 2011 This report was prepared by the SPRC in partnership with the United Way of Burlington and Greater Hamilton as a resource for addressing youth issues in Hamilton. It has been structured to focus on current knowledge about youth issues drawn from...
Published: December 2010 The Hamilton Community Foundation engaged the SPRC to prepare this report to give an overview of the history of Student Nutrition Programs in Hamilton, how they operate as well as their strengths and the challenges they face. This report will...
Published: October 2010 In 2010, the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board requested the help of the SPRC to review demographic data with an aim to update the Equal Opportunities Program with newer data and give a basis for the committee to re-examine...
Published: August 2010 This report is a summary of all information collected for the Urban Arts Initiative consultation. The Urban Arts Initiative met for almost two years to better plan for arts opportunities with and for at-risk youth in the Hamilton community. The...
Published: June 2010 This report aims to outline the state of housing in Hamilton, with an emphasis on affordable housing for our most vulnerable residents. These residents include people with disabilities, racialized minorities, people experiencing poverty and/or...
Published: June 2010 The Social Planning Network of Ontario’s (SPNO) report provides valuable information about Ontario and its evolving communities. Chalk-full of demographic and socio-economic data, the report is offered as a resource for program planning, needs...
The first Women and Poverty in Hamilton report was published in 2006. This report showed that poverty is not gender neutral. "Poverty in Hamilton has a female face that often goes unreported. Women are far more likely to live in poverty than are men. In Hamilton,...
Published: June 2010 Annual Report for April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2010 Click here to view the report.
Published: May 2010 Since the SPRC published its first report on women and poverty in Hamilton in May 2006, women remain disproportionately affected by poverty in our community. This report is an update of the 2006 report using more recent data from Statistics Canada....
Published: May 2010 The City of Hamilton and the SPRC collaborated to produce this report which tracks various indicators of homelessness, particularly emergency shelter data. Click here to view the report. Community Partner: City of Hamilton – Housing and...
Published: April 2010 This report is the result of a day spent listening deeply to and reflecting upon the stories told by remarkable people with lived experience of poverty who came forward to be a part of the Hamilton Social Audit on April 22, 2010. Click here to...
Published: March 2010 The Hamilton Community Action Program for Children (CAPC) is a national project with each province developing its own set of priorities and guidelines. In Ontario, there are ninety-two CAPC programs currently operating. This report is an...
Published: February 2010 This report describes the process and findings of a study undertaken to conduct a community needs assessment of the trends, issues and unmet needs of people using the current array of community based corrections services providing support to...
Published: December 2009 A small neighborhood in East Hamilton bound by Centennial Parkway, Barton, Queenston Road, and Lake Avenue Park, right next to the border between Stoney Creek and the original Hamilton, Riverdale West is home to a vibrant mix of citizens from...
Published: December 2009 SPRC Newsletter, Community – Vol 23 No 4 – Winter 2009 Click here to view the newsletter.
Published: November 2007 The purpose of this research was to develop a better understanding of local child care needs from the perspectives of key stakeholders, and to identify innovative strategies that complement the existing child care system and meet current...
Published: November 2009 These Community Profiles have been developed to aid in understanding the unique social characteristics important to, yet distinct about, each community within the City of Hamilton. This series of reports will look at a number of demographic...
Published: November 2007 This report is intended to provide community members and service agencies with a progress update on the implementation of the Addressing the Needs of Street Involved and Homeless Youth in Hamilton report. Funded by: Government of...
Published: November 2007 In 2006, the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) initiated an evaluation process aimed at gathering data on the diversity of the staff in the organization. The administration recognized that it lacked the statistical data...
Published: November 2007 Measuring Homelessness in Hamilton (2007) is to identify the central factors that impact homelessness and to provide a basis for the community, the City and senior levels of governments to discuss and address homelessness. This report builds...
Published: October 2009 The purpose of this research was to develop a better understanding of local child care needs from the perspectives of key stakeholders, and to identify innovative strategies that complement the existing child care system and meet current needs....
Published: September 2009 This guide, sponsored and supported, by the Community Services Department of the City of Hamilton and by the Hamilton Training Advisory Board, was developed initially in support of planning efforts upon which both sponsors are embarking. In...
Published: August 2009 As part of an anti-racism organizational change initiative, the Catholic Children’s Aid Society of Hamilton (CCAS) partnered with the SPRC. The role of the SPRC in this partnership was to consult with CCAS staff, management, volunteers, foster...
Published: August 2009 This report is an evaluation of the three year project led by the Street Youth Planning Collaborative and based on the 27 recommendations in the 2005 Addressing the Needs of Street Involved and Homeless Youth in Hamilton report. It reflects the...
Published: June 2009 Annual Report for April 1, 2008 to March 31, 2009 Click here to view the report.
Published: May 2009 The report provides an overview of the methodology used in the study, the evolution and operation of the Under the Willows program, and findings from consultations with key stakeholders. A set of conclusions are also included, based on a synthesis...
Published: April 2009 The data and analysis from this report shows both signs of hope and signs of concern for Hamilton’s fight against poverty. Click here to view the executive summary. Click here to view the full report. Funded by: United Way of Burlington &...
Published: March 2009 SPRC Hamilton was contracted by Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion (HCCI) to do a broad stroke review of the successes and challenges experienced throughout the Enabling Institutional Change Through Community Partnership and Civic Participation...
Published: March 2009 In 2008, the Homelessness Partnership Initiative (HPI) provided funding to The Catholic Children’s Aid Society of Hamilton (CCAS) in partnership with The Children’s Aid Society of Hamilton (CAS) and the Street Youth Planning Collaborative for a...
This report, an update to the pivotal 2004 Incomes and Poverty in Hamilton in Hamilton report, tracked the reduction in poverty from 1996 to 2006, from 21.9% to 18.1%. In addition, changes in poverty rates across Hamilton's former municipalities, and within family...
Published: November 2008 These Community Profiles have been developed to aid in understanding the unique social characteristics important to, yet distinct about, each community within the City of Hamilton. This series of reports will look at a number of demographic...
Published: October 2008 The Stoney Creek United Church Wraparound project engaged the services of the Social Planning and Research Council of Hamilton in June 2008 to conduct an evaluation of the project in accordance with the terms noted in a proposal for funding to...
Published: September 2008 SPRC Newsletter, Community – Vol 23 No 3 – Summer-Fall 2008 Click here to view the newsletter.
Published: August 2008 The purpose of the report is to assist Mission Services with service planning. The analysis of population characteristics is useful in understanding the needs of the community. Identifying what services and supports are currently available and...
Published: June 2008 On March 26, 2008 the SPRC, the Street Youth Planning Collaborative (SYPC) and a group of students from the McMaster University School of Social Work 4J03 Class hosted a community discussion about drop-in programming for street-involved and...
Published: June 2008 Annual Report for April 1, 2007 to March 31, 2008 Click here to view the report.
Published: June 2008 At the end of the first year of the Youth Engagement and Action in Hamilton project, the staff wanted to check in with the community to talk about the successes and learnings of the project and to hear from the community about their perspectives...
Published: May 2008 The Youth Anti-Abuse Project Phase 2: Strengthening Supports and Expanding Diversity (YAAP) is evaluated in this report. This project was a partnership fostered by the Sexual Assault Centre of Hamilton and Wesley Urban Ministries. This project...
Published: April 2008 The Social Planning Network of Ontario received funding in 2006 from Human Resources and Social Development Canada’s Social Development Partnerships Program to carry out a two year project in five pilot projects in communities across Ontario that...
Published: April 2008 SPRC Newsletter, Community – Vol 23 No 2 – Spring 2008 Click here to view the newsletter.
Creating Positive Space for the LGBTQ Community is an executive summary of the longer report, Report on the Needs Assessment of the LGBTQ Community of Hamilton. This summary highlights the fear that LGBTQ people have in terms of “coming out” at places of work, school,...
Published: December 2007 A small neighborhood in East Hamilton bound by Centennial Parkway, Barton, Queenston Road, and Lake Avenue Park, right next to the border between Stoney Creek and the original Hamilton, Riverdale West is home to a vibrant mix of citizens from...
Published: December 2007 This needs assessment came about because of the vision of the Board of Directors for Hamilton Pride Festival Inc. (Hamilton Pride). After conducting a short survey at Hamilton Pride 2005, the board saw a need to expand the scope of their...
Published: October 2007 This report is a collection of information and some practical guidelines that we hope will help as you work with and engage youth in Hamilton. This collection is an attempt to summarize and explain Hamilton-specific youth engagement and...
Published: September 2007 In July of 2007, Mission Services of Hamilton approached the SPRC with interest in developing a better understanding of a specific area in Hamilton’s East end. The area’s boundaries include Ottawa Street (to the West), Parkdale Avenue (to the...
Published: June 2006 The needs assessment is to determine the service needs, (informational, supportive, medical) of people living with hepatitis C in Hamilton in order to help the network prioritize future actions and activities accordingly. The purpose of this...
Published: June 2007 Annual Report for April 1, 2006 to March 31, 2007 Click here to view the report.
Published: April 2007 This report examines the In-School Mentoring Program of the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hamilton and Burlington over 2004 and 2005. Commissioned by: Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hamilton Click here to view the report.
Published: February 2007 The SPRC was commissioned by the St. Joseph’s Immigrant Women’s Centre to detail a plan for evaluation of the Facilitating Inclusion Leadership Enhancement project and then charged with the task of implementing the plan. Funded by: Hamilton...
Published: October 2006 On October 10th, 2006, a forum was held in the community to provide youth with the chance to talk about issues that were most important to them. Many different youth were there, representing many different issues. In the morning, youth got...
Published: July 2006 The SPRC committed to implementing the Immigrant Skills Workforce Integration Project (ISWIP) with funding from the Hamilton Community Foundation. The purpose of the project was to develop a community plan for Hamilton that would fully integrate...
Published: June 2006 In the summer of 2005, the Hospitals-Shelters Working Group determined that data was needed to better understand the population of people moving between shelters and hospitals. The objectives of this data collection process were to learn more...
Published: May 2006 The purpose of this report is to assist in the homelessness planning activities of the Hamilton Aboriginal community, to research the need for a Homeless Aboriginal Men’s Residence, and to facilitate the process for a Homeless Aboriginal Men’s...
Published: May 2006 Women in Hamilton have a poverty rate of 22% compared with men’s rate of 18%. A deeper look reveals further inequities between men and women in select categories. There are also significant differences in poverty rates between women of different...
Published: May 2006 The City of Hamilton increase in diversity necessitates a review of the operation and design of the sectors which seek to serve the public to ensure that all needs are being met. In response to this message, in September 2005, a working group and...
Published: February 2006 Phase One of the Barton Street Community Partners for Crime Prevention took place in 2000. It included extensive consultation with primary stakeholders including youth, women, sex trade workers, residents and business people. The project...
Published: February 2006 The purpose of the Consultation Session was to identify ways that the transition out of care and into adulthood could be made more successfully. This report is based on the input from these discussion groups, and is provided for the Working...
Published: January 2006 This indicators report notes key factors impacting homelessness in Hamilton. Local information on factors contributing to homelessness, a demographic profile of people experiencing homelessness and some service utilization statistics are...
Incomes and Poverty in Hamilton, released in 2004, reflected to the city the stark situation 20% of residents were facing and that had been for too long ignored, and brought needed attention to this vital issue. There are enough people living in poverty in Hamilton to...