Philosophy

We strive to be community based. We are not geared to a specific client group. We don't have clients. We work with inner city communities with low income and disadvantaged people. We house a representative cross section of inner city residents. We don't label the housing or the people in it.

Part of being community based is being accountable to the community. It means working with the community on locating new housing projects, and trying to design our housing to fit with the neighbourhood.

It means managing the projects in a manner which encourages a positive impact on the community and avoids negative impacts. It means keeping tenants informed of ways to be involved in their neighbourhood.

Community based also means involving community groups and local agencies, and making use of local resources. We work to keep our roots in the communities we serve and to work with a cross-section of groups and individuals to further our goals. We like to have some Board members who are residents of the inner city communities in which EICHS is rooted.

We do not want to displace people from their housing for our own projects. We prefer to renovate empty buildings or build on empty lots. If we renovate, we try and keep tenants in-situ. In the face of redevelopment pressures we hope to maintain the residential nature of the inner city.