Item - 2023.HL5.3

The Board of Health:

1. Authorized the Medical Officer of Health to allocate $1,911,313 in 2023 for one one-year project totaling $61,637 and seventeen three-year projects totaling $1,849,676, $1,867,746 in 2024 and $1,870,409 in 2025, as recommended by the Toronto Urban Health Fund (TUHF) Review Panels and as outlined in Tables 2 and 3 and Appendix 2 to the report (June 19, 2023) from the Medical Officer of Health.

2. Authorized the Medical Officer of Health to execute Grant Agreements with the applicants identified in Appendix 2 to the report (June 19, 2023) from the Medical Officer of Health.

3. Directed the Medical Officer of Health to review the Toronto Urban Health Fund (TUHF) program and report back to the Board of Health with recommendations ahead of the next 3-year funding cycle.
 

4. Directed the Medical Officer of Health to consult with stakeholders in her review of the Toronto Urban Health Fund (TUHF) program, to ensure that recommendations are both community and data-informed, including specific consultation with:

a. Indigenous partners;

b. Board of Health Directors;

c. Agencies currently in receipt of grants from TUHF and unsuccessful applicants to the TUHF program; and

d. Previous members of the TUHF Review Panel and TUHF Indigenous Review Panel.

The Director, Finance and Administration, Toronto Public Health and the Supervisor, Toronto Urban Health Fund, Toronto Public Health gave a presentation on 2023 Toronto Urban Health Fund Allocations and Review Process.

The Toronto Urban Health Fund (TUHF) provides grants to community-based HIV prevention and substance use initiatives. Projects funded through TUHF complement existing Toronto Public Health (TPH) programs to provide effective services that focus on HIV, substance use and harm reduction programming to populations and groups that TPH cannot access due to linguistic, cultural and geographic barriers.

This report outlines the TUHF’s program criteria and priorities, application review process, and 2023 grant recommendations for Board of Health approval. The 2023 TUHF Review Panel and the TUHF Indigenous Review Panel recommend granting $61,637 for one one-year project and $1,849,676 for seventeen three-year projects. The grants total $1,911,313 for the eighteen projects and are to be used between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024. The 2023 recommended projects focus on HIV prevention through sexual transmission, harm reduction, child and youth resiliency, and Indigenous health promotion.