Tobias House Attendant Care, Toronto, ON

Our History In 1984, Patricia Walsh, Betty McCrimmon, and Ann Musgrave met with the Franciscan Friars to see if they would sponsor a project for the development of housing for people with physical disabilities. The Franciscans were also looking for office space, so they merged the ideas and took on the challenge. Tobias House of Toronto Caring for People in the Spirit of St. Francis Inc. was formed as a not-for-profit housing corporation with representatives from the St. Bonaventure Roman Catholic Parish in Don Mills. On May 11, 1990, Tobias House Attendant Care Inc. received charitable status, and in November 1992, began providing personal support services to twelve individuals with physical disabilities at 695 Coxwell Avenue, in Toronto. Tobias House was named after Father Tobias Klein. In June 1995, Tobias House expanded to its second location at 84 Carlton Street with an additional nineteen Consumers, and in March 1996, the third location opened at 460 Jarvis Street. Two more locations opened over the next year and a half. In June 2000, our Resource Centre became operational. Since 2000, many changes have occurred at Tobias House, some more significant than others. To continue to provide services and to meet financial obligations, the strategic decision was made to streamline operations, resulting in the closing of the last two locations. All Consumers and staff were accommodated among the remaining three locations. Tobias House endeavours to incorporate input from Consumers through individual annual meetings, regular Consumer/Management meetings, and a governing Board of Directors of nine members, ideally three of which, or one third of the Board, are Consumers.