In May 2007, HOA established the June Callwood Home Ownership Fund to provide even greater 2nd mortgage support to low and moderate income families with children. HOA capitalized the fund with an initial $2.5 million.
June Callwood was a Canadian journalist, author and social activist. Her career was marked by a strong concern for social justice, especially on issues affecting children and women. She became one of Canada's most famous social justice activists, founding or co-founding over 50 Canadian social action organizations including youth and women's hostels. She founded Casey House (1988), a Toronto hospice for people with AIDS, PEN Canada, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, and Feminists Against Censorship.
HOA hopes that an identifiable fund named in memory of a legendary Toronto social activist and founding HOA board member, and the early successes of the fund, will inspire other partners to join the Fund and enter into the world of affordable housing.
For every housing development that HOA supports, June Callwood Home Ownership Fund dollars are allocated to families that require additional help in purchasing their first home. Callwood funding is for specific families whose income is not high enough to purchase a home even with the normal financial advantages associated with an HOA-supported development. The amount of the additional assistance is geared to each household’s capacity to carry a mortgage and to provide a down payment.
HOA’s June Callwood Home Ownership Fund has now committed $3.2 million to helping families purchase homes. The Fund has helped make home ownership a reality for many families who would not otherwise have the means to buy their first home.
The table below shows the families that have received advances from the June Callwood Home Ownership Fund to date.
HOA combines June Callwood Home Ownership Fund money with funding from other partners in order to provide as much assistance as families need to afford a home.
The chart below provides household income data from 3 recent HOA projects. The red bars indicate the families that received extra help, being a combination of June Callwood Home Ownership Fund dollars and money from federal, provincial and municipal government partners.
As the chart shows, almost half of buyers with household incomes under $30,000 received extra help. As well, one quarter of buyers earning $30,000 to $60,000 received extra help. The fact that most of its buyers earn less than $60,000, compared with a GTA median income of $75,800, demonstrates that HOA is indeed delivering mixed income developments that are affordable to Canadian low and moderate income families.
