Mission
Established in 1981
Who Are We?
Tawaak Housing Association is an Aboriginal owned and operated non-profit charitable organization serving urban Aboriginal peoples and helping to continuously improve housing and living conditions in urban areas of Nova Scotia.
What is our Mission?
Tawaak Housing Association helps build safe, healthy urban Aboriginal communities by providing affordable, suitable, quality housing and counselling services.
- to ensure urban Aboriginal peoples in need have access to affordable, suitable and adequate shelter;
- to support and provide an adequate supply of social rental housing in cases where the market does not provide for urban Aboriginals who cannot meet their housing needs on their own;
- to give Aboriginal peoples an adequate supply of supportive housing units;
- to assist homeless Aboriginal peoples through a supply of supportive housing;
- and to affect federal, provincial and municipal decision-making in areas related to improvements in housing conditions for urban Aboriginal peoples.
Strategic Objectives:
- providing a supply of quality affordable, suitable and adequate rental housing to assist urban Aboriginal peoples in need;
- helping homeless Aboriginal peoples with supportive housing to assist in the transition from homelessness to independant living and self-reliance;
- tenant relations and counselling services to tenants and clients;
- promoting healthy and safe community environments and ensuring that an effective Aboriginal social housing market is maintained and expanded;
- sound, effective program and financial management, properly targeted assistance by allocating limited resources fairly focusing on those in need, and responsive leadership.
Where Are We?
- Halifax, Dartmouth, Sydney, Truro, Bridgewater, Liverpool and Antigonish;
- 54 properties with 145 housing units;
- 2 fully contained and furnished supportive housing apartments for homeless Aboriginal peoples.
Organizational Structure
- board of directors comprised of all Aboriginal people from various community sectors;
- executive director with administration and accounting support;
- maintenance coordinator and support staff;
- tenant relations and counselling.
Partnerships
- In addition to the provincial Department of Community Services, Housing Services, Tawaak Housing Association works cooperatively with many others involved in serving off reserve Aboriginal peoples – other Native organizations, federal, prvovincial and municipal governments, the private sector and non-governmental organizations – while constantly pursuing Tawaak objectives.