A local recreation centre in Ottawa is becoming an isolation and treatment centre for homeless people with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19. Ottawa Inner City Health says homeless people can be tested for the virus by a mobile assessment van, paramedics, as well as the typical assessment centre and hospitals.

The Fritz Sick gymnasium will transition into a temporary homeless shelter to provide more square footage than the current homeless shelter. Rooms have also been secured at a local motel as a self-isolation unit for the homeless population.

Peterborough city and county announced a plan for sheltering homeless people in gyms at the vacated Peterborough Sport and Wellness Centre. People staying at the Brock Mission, or the city’s emergency shelter, will go stay in cots at the Sport and Wellness Centre starting Wednesday night. The idea is to allow homeless space for social distancing.

Around 65 people will move into the building located at 585 King Edward Ave. on Monday after a request was made by the City of Ottawa. Some of these new residents may have been exposed to people who carry the coronavirus, while others are exhibiting symptoms of the illness, hence the need to quickly house them so that they can self-isolate.

Toronto Councillor Joe Cressy said five hotels have been acquired with another five in the process of being secured. Two vacant rental buildings are also in the process of being acquired and 50 permanent housing units have been identified. He added that 19 households have secured permanent housing. The latest acquisitions are in addition to the nine existing sites the city has already opened to facilitate social distancing within the shelter system. Cressy added that the city has provided funding to five community partners that run overnight programs to stay open all day to provide daytime spaces for those experiencing homelessness. Two sites are now open and three others will open shortly.

The site, Youth Are Awesome, commonly referred to as YAA, is a blog written by youth for youth. YAA provides the youth of Calgary a place to amplify their voices and perspectives on what is happening around them.

Among other initiatives, the Department of Health and Wellness will distribute up to 800 iPads across the province to long-term care homes so residents can connect with family and friends; the tablets will begin arriving at facilities in April.

Main Street America is a non-profit organization helping to revitalize commercial districts compiling existing resources, opportunities, and community response examples to help Main Street districts during this crisis.

This site is inviting people to record up to three minute “stories” about how Covid19 has shaped people’s roles, priorities, strategies, or day-to-day life as a citymaker. These stories will be compiled and shared next week. The idea is to create ever-more resilient, livable, sustainable cities – for all!

NGen, an industry-led non-profit, will invest $50 million in Supercluster funding to support companies as they rapidly respond to the COVID-19 pandemic by building a Canadian supply of essential equipment, products, and therapeutics. Projects will be selected for funding according to critical needs identified by the Government of Canada and the ability of manufacturers to produce products that are safe for both patients and health care workers.

A group of community and health-care organizations opened the Supported Isolation Centre (SIC) in downtown Guelph. This particular model is not a medical model, meaning that the people who are there are not being medically monitored; they’re being supported to self-isolate.

Au Canada, les femmes sont nettement plus inquiètes que les hommes au sujet de la crise COVID-19. Par exemple, un récent sondage réalisé par Abacus Data a révélé que 49 % des femmes ont déclaré se sentir “très inquiètes” de l’épidémie, contre 33 % des hommes. Trente-sept pour cent des hommes ont déclaré qu’ils n’étaient “pas du tout inquiets” ou “peu inquiets” à propos de l’épidémie.

Any emergency or disaster is experienced differently by different genders, and it’s not just a matter of biology, infection rates, and severity of illness. The gendered experience of coronavirus is grounded in gender inequalities that impact all of us, every single day. Here are some interrelated gendered impacts to think about and act on.

Two dozen small business owners and small business experts provide recommendations on how city and state policymakers can help them survive this crisis for small business.

All community centres in Vancouver were closed to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. City officials have opened some centres to be used for homeless people and others who can’t self-isolate such as tenants in hotels, where sharing a washroom and other facilities is common.

Stories include: How Cochrane AB is fostering community through technology; Virtual Storytimes in Woodstock, ON; Edmonton, Alberta is staying connected with community postcards; Waterloo ON’s window walks; and Hamilton’s caremongering supports

The city is launching a program that will pay local restaurants to make and deliver boxed or bagged lunches to nearby homeless shelters. Working with Central Square Business Improvement District and Harvard Square Business Association, the goal is to deliver about 1,800 to 2,000 meals to nine different shelters in a week.

Coming Together Vancouver brings provides connections to share resources, extend a helping hand to our neighbours, show solidarity for healthcare workers and the vulnerable, and highlight social movements that are fighting for access to healthcare, housing, and workers’ rights.

Mary W. Rowe is a leading urban advocate and civil society leader who has worked in cities across Canada and the United States – and she is certainly no stranger to working with communities in crisis. She is currently the CEO of the Canadian Urban Institute, and joined this podcast to talk about important new resources available for municipalities.

The University of Laval’s Faculty of Business Administration is hosting a three-part webinar series with advice on how individuals and organizations can adapt to the crisis.

Edmonton’s Downtown BIA has compiled a list of resources for businesses impacted by the pandemic, as well as one for employees.

Health Association of African Canadians, NS Health Professionals and the Black Cultural Centre is providing interactive updates on COVID-19 and people of African descent

The B.C. Association of Farmers’ Markets is helping its 145 members set up digital shop. As part of the Ministry of Agriculture’s Buy BC program, the province is providing funds to cover fees for individual farmers markets to join. Each participating farmers market will create its own virtual store to best serve its communities.

Social distancing is devastating local small businesses and there’s not much time to save them. And the answer is not more debt.

National Geographic Society is launching an emergency fund for journalists all over the world who wish to cover COVID-19 within their own communities. This fund will place particular emphasis on delivering news to underserved populations, particularly where there is a dearth of evidence-based information getting to those who need it. They are interested in local and even hyper-local distribution models. This fund is designed to quickly deliver support so that both individual stories and longer series of content may be created.

Kahnawake is located south of Montreal and has positive cases of the virus. They launched an emergency food service that is providing hot meals twice a day for elders and those with limited mobility or dietary restrictions. An expansion of an existing food bank service also started delivering a food box to those struggling financially but who are able to cook for themselves.

The website now provides information and maps on open restaurants offering takeout/delivery across Vancouver

The website includes a map and directory of businesses that have gift cards for sale or are delivering during the COVID-19 pandemic, to give people a way to support them during this time. Supported by the Calgary Chamber of Commerce and the BBB of Southern Alberta.

Offerings include online resources — from learning new languages and computer skills, to learning new hobbies, gardening, health, business, ebooks and audiobooks, emagazines, and a poetry contest!

The Toronto Public Library just announced that they’re temporarily donating 10 of their Ultimaker 2+ 3D printers to a team at Toronto General Hospital making personal protective equipment (PPE) for front-line healthcare workers. Other Ontario libraries, such as those in Kitchener and Stratford, have also agreed to loan their 3D printers to PPE production efforts.