MoveIn Status:
Praying for a team.

Firsthand:
A woman living in a Toronto Community Housing building in this patch said it that it was difficult to get the city to fix anything in her apartment. She also felt it was an undesirable neighbourhood because of crime and drugs.  But this is only one perspective.  An upside to Cedarbrae, despite its many needs, is that unemployment is lower than the city average.

The Landscape:
This patch is located at Markham Rd. and Lawrence Ave. in the larger Woburn neighbourhood in the former City of Scarborough. There is a Toronto Community Housing (TCH) townhouse complex (Greenbrae Circuit 1), as well as TCH apartment buildings at 55 and 65 Greenbrae Circuit.¹ Three market-rent buildings that are 6 floors each—Cedarbrae Manor West 1 and 2, and Highland Park—are also in the patch.²

The People:
Nearby Cedarbrae Collegiate Institute is one of the largest schools in the Toronto District School Board. Approximately 1200 students, including teens from the Cedarbrae patch, attend this multicultural school where 48% of students have a first language other than English. The school has a wide variety of programs including an entertainment technology track and a construction tech program.³ The school is known for its outstanding dramatic and musical presentations—including an annual multicultural show.⁴

In the wider neighbourhood that the Cedarbrae patch belongs to:⁵

• 73% of families are led by married parents.
• 53% of residents are immigrants; 40% arrived before 1991.
• The 2006 unemployment rate was 6.4% which is lower than the Toronto average of 6.7%.
• 65% of residents are visible minorities, the largest group is South Asian, followed by Filipino and Black.
• In 2006, only 23% of residents were considered to have low before tax incomes as compared to 18% in the rest of Toronto.

The History:
The Woburn area began to be officially recognized when in 1856 Thomas Dowswell received permission to have a post office in his tavern alternately called the Central Inn, Dowswell’s Inn, or The Woburn Inn. Scarborough Municipal Council met at the Woburn Inn from the 1850’s until 1921—this neighbourhood was the centre of the township’s government for more than 75 years.⁶

The Challenge:
God has planted the seeds of change in this neighbourhood. Will you nurture those seeds and help residents grow toward Christ? Would you be willing to move in?

Sources:
¹ http://www.torontohousing.ca/our_housing/scarborough_southwest
² http://www.urbandb.com/canada/ontario/toronto/greenbraecircuit.html
³ Cedarbrae Collegiate Institute Profile
⁴ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWqem_gZcis&feature=channel_page.
⁵ Statistics Canada 2006 Census tract profile 0366.00 (CT), Toronto (CMA) and Ontario
⁶ Scarborough Historical Society