Inspired by the tradition of innovation within the Settlement house movement, today’s neighbourhood centres take many forms as they generate local solutions to global challenges. Together and separately TNC members seek to catalyze change by:

• Developing relationships of trust and mutuality among people from different backgrounds and experience, as individuals, families and groups
• Bridging between those who are affected by decisions and those who make them
• Providing open and safe space for people to meet, organize, celebrate and participate actively in community life
• Building on people‘s potential and gifts rather than focusing on their problems
• Releasing the potential of communities as places of creativity and enterprise
• Strengthening the voice of people normally left out or ignored
• Cherishing our independence in order to remain flexible and responsive to opportunity
• Pioneering innovative approaches and solutions to neighbourhood issues
• Investing and reinvesting in community assets to build local sustainability

TNC members contribute to a world in which the “international community” is shaped by people working together from their local communities, a power and legitimacy from the base of society.

• Identifies and speaks out on common issues and concerns in our communities as an association and in cooperation with other community groups;
• Promotes the model of universal access multi-service Neighbourhood Centres as a core component of healthy communities (complementing strong public services and a well-supported network of organizations and services targeted to diverse communities and sectors)
• Encourages the development of Neighbourhood Centres in under-served communities across Toronto;
• Links Neighbourhood Centres across Toronto, serving as a medium for the exchange of information and ideas, and sharing organizational resources and capacities;
• Sponsors inter-agency projects with member agencies and other organizations;
• Promotes best practices for community-based social service, health and recreation activities.

TNC is a registered charitable organization and a member of the Canadian Association of Neighbourhood Services (CANS), and the International Federation of Settlements and Neighbourhood Centres (IFS).

Agnes enjoys teaching, training, coaching, mentoring, volunteering, writing, and photography. Agnes and her husband have three children and live in Scarborough.

Currently Treasurer of TNC, John (he/him) has also served as Vice-Chair.  John Campey is Executive Director of the Ralph Thornton Community Centre in south Riverdale. Prior to this role, John served for twelve years as Executive Director of Social Planning Toronto, and has also worked as an elementary school teacher, government relations consultant, political assistant, and editor and publisher of a community newspaper.  John was also elected as the first openly gay Public School Trustee in Ontario.

Pam (she/her) is the Senior Manager of Community Development and Women’s Programs at The Neighbourhood Group (TNG). TNG is an amalgamation of three agencies, Neighbourhood Link Support Services, Central Neighbourhood House and St. Stephen’s Community House. Pam has been working in the areas of shelter, supportive housing, children and youth, senior’s and women’s programming for over 30 years. Prior to working at the TNG Pam worked in youth, VAW and women’s shelters, supportive housing, and in community development as a youth worker, a union leader and manager at YWCA Toronto. In shelter services Pam developed an intersectional trauma framework to address oppression, build resilience, and support change. Pam is a published photographer, world traveller and an award-winning film maker. As a passionate outdoor enthusiast and “closet” architect, Pam has designed and built 2 forest cabins – one on a west coast gulf island and one a little closer, on Georgian Bay.

Parnika (she/her) is the Newcomer Youth Mental Health Settlement Worker at the Newcomer Youth Program at West Neighbourhood House. In her role, she focuses on providing mental health support and psychoeducation in creative ways to youth who are new to Canada, particularly through the arts and through virtual formats. Parnika is passionate about supporting immigrant and refugee mental health based on her own experiences.  Parnika’s professional interests include the impacts of intergenerational trauma/implementing trauma-informed care, culturally competent care, public health, research, and disability justice. She remains committed to learning and taking action with different aspects of social justice. 

Parnika earned her HBSc in Psychology, Anthropology, and Theatre & Drama Studies from the University of Toronto, as well as an MSW with an emphasis on Global Social Work and Social Development from Rutgers University. She has also authored a publication titled “Contact tracing: Public health in unprecedented times” that is based on her experiences supporting the public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic within the United States. 

Parnika’s engagement with TNC has been focused on supporting the Disability Justice Affinity Group. Parnika enjoys engaging with all aspects of the arts and bringing these into her work.  She also enjoys reading, learning new things, and exploring new places. 

I am a 1st generation English-born man with a Grenadian Heritage, who came to Canada as a 15 year old orphan. After completing high school and two (2) years of college in London, ON, I joined the Canadian Air Force. I served in the Armed Forces for 12 years and left in the mid 1990s. This is when I returned to Inuvik, NT, which was the location of my first posting while serving in the Armed Forces. I worked in a school residence once known as a Residential School for six (6) years. Because of the many injustices and unfair representation in the legal system, I became the first Black Justice of the Peace in the Northwest Territories.   

While working as a Justice of the Peace, I also owned and operated a Sports & Leisure store as a way to offer amenities to the local population who did not have access to certain services and products due to their remote location.

In 2000, I moved back to Ontario, where I worked as a correctional officer in secure custody and detention centres for youth.    

In 2006, I was hired as the Adult Justice Worker for a Victim/Offender Program at West Scarborough Neighbourhood Community Centre (WSNCC). From 2008 to the present, I have worked as the Divisional Coordinator for Youth Justice Services at WSNCC.

 (preferred pronoun: he, him, his; preferred form of address: first name)

Keddone Dias’ (she/her) commitment to building healthy communities has fuelled her passion to work in the not-for-profit sector for over 20 years. In her current role as Executive Director at LAMP Community Health Centre, Keddone leads a multi-disciplinary team in the delivery of primary health care services and health promotion programs that address the needs of the whole person. With special emphasis on areas including health equity, youth development and education, Keddone has worked to improve access to the resources needed to help communities grow and thrive.

Keddone holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Finance from Ryerson University and a Master of Public Policy, Administration and Law from York University, as well as certificates in Community Health Leadership from the Rotman School of Management, and Leading Sustainable Strategic Change from the Schulich School of Business.

Keddone volunteers as Chair of the Board of Visions of Science Network for Learning, an organization that engages children and youth from under-represented communities in education focused on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. She enjoys spending time with family, especially her two school aged children, who always keep her on her toes.

Wayne (he/him) is the Director of Human Resources and Administration at the Jane/Finch Centre. He joined the organization in 2014. Jane/Finch Centre is a mult-service, community based organization with a strong focus on resident engagement, capacity building and anti-oppression.