Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women: The results from focus groups on women’s experiences accessing municipal services in Ottawa

Appendices

August 28, 2001 Working Group on Women’s Access to Municipal Services in Ottawa

Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 1

Appendix A

Members of the Working Group on Women’s Access to Municipal Services in Ottawa

Chair

Judy E Flavin Development Services City of Ottawa

Staff

Alette Willis Project Administrator

Patricia Harewood Focus Group Coordinator

Members

Ann Rose Women’s Place

Bernice Perry Member at Large

Carole Thurston Ottawa-Carleton Regional Police Services City of Ottawa

Caroline Andrew Faculty of Social Sciences University of Ottawa

Cathie Wood Ottawa-Carleton Regional Police Services City of Ottawa

Christine Turkewych Canadian Federation of University Women

Colleen Pellatt People Services Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 2

City of Ottawa

Connie Delahanty Older Women’s Network

Daniel Presse Clerk’s Department City of Ottawa

David Pepper Ottawa-Carleton Regional Police Services City of Ottawa

Denise Lemire Member at Large

Diana Davis RCCEVAW

Dianne Urquhart Social Planning Council of Ottawa-Carleton

Fran Klodawsky Pauline Jewett Institute of Women’s Studies Carleton University

Galina Gurova Consultant

Ginette Roberge Public Health Nurse City of Ottawa

Helen Saravanamuttoo Member at Large

Jeannine Chauvette Status of Women Canada

Julie Laviolette OC Transpo City of Ottawa Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 3

Laurie Fenton Ottawa-Carleton Regional Police Services City of Ottawa

Lois Emburg Human Resources and Workplace Equity City of Ottawa

Margot Arseneau Lower Town Community Resource Centre

Maria Neil Ottawa-Carleton Council of Women

Marisa Spicer People Services City of Ottawa

Michael Birmingham Carlington Community Health Centre

Michele Bougie Women’s Action Centre Against Violence

Pegi Cesar Member at Large

Sandy Onyalo Ottawa Rape Crisis Centre

Shellie Bird CUPE 2204, Daycare Workers of Eastern Ontario

Valerie Collicott Women’s Action Centre Against Violence

Willow Scobie Member at Large

Yvonne McKinnon Match International Centre Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 4 Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 5

Appendix B

Four Groups of Municipal Services Used in the Focus Group Research

1. MOBILITY • Pedestrian facilities • Sidewalks • Pedestrian connections such as bridges, underpasses • Bicycle facilities • bicycle lanes • bicycle paths • bicycle parking • Public transit service •OC Transpo • Para Transpo • Transitway • Lightrail • Transecure • Parking permits, metres and lots • Municipal Roads and traffic lights • Police services designed to improve safety of [Safety and Security] • cyclists • pedestrians • motorists • Consultations around • manage development of region • Official Plan • Transportation Master Plan

2a. EMPLOYMENT ACCESS • Business Licenses • Entrepreneurship Centre • Job searching for persons with disabilities • Ontario works [Family Life and Health]: • community placements • employment placements • job/skills training • self-employment support • employment start-up benefits • Ontario Disability Support Program [Family Life and Health] • Partners for Jobs program • Employment Resource Centre: resources, groups, individual counselling Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 6

• Cultural interpreters [Family Life and Health] • Sign Language Interpreters [Family Life and Health

2b. EMPLOYMENT MAINTENANCE [I’ve included those programs which might relieve burdens on caregivers thus enabling them to continue working. All of these services are cross-referenced to other baskets] • Child care, child care subsidies, licensing of child care centres and home child care providers [Family Life and Health] • Programs to support independent living for seniors in community [Family Life and Health] • Ontario Disability Support Program [Family Life and Health] • Assistive Devices Program [Family Life and Health] • Home Management Services - counselling on balancing job, home, family etc. [Family Life and Health] • Caregiver support programs [Family Life and Health] • Homes for the Aged [Family Life and Health] • Adult Day Centres [Family Life and Health] • OC Transpo [Mobility] • Para Transpo [Mobility] • Municipal Roads and traffic lights [Mobility] • Parking and permits [Mobility] • Essential Health and Social Supports [Family Life and Health] • help with drug costs • work-related clothing and footwear • work supplies • vision care • dental care • baby layettes • special diets • medical supplies [Family Life and Health]

3. FAMILY LIFE AND HEALTH • By-law enforcement of things such as non-smoking areas [Safety and Security] • Essential Health and Social Supports for social assistance recipients and working poor [Employment Access/Maintenance] • Ontario works [Employment Access/Maintenance]: • community placements • employment placements • job/skills training • self-employment support • employment start-up benefits • Winter clothing allowance • Back-to-school allowance Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 7

• financial assistance for basic needs and shelter • Access to recreational facilities: arenas, community centres, pools etc. • Access to fitness, sport, general interest, wellness, and arts programs • Access to parks (access to park planning) • Access to Libraries • Access to Health Clinics • Special Services at Home Program for persons with disabilities • Medical supplies subsidies [Employment Access/Maintenance] • Children’s Integration Services of Ottawa-Carleton for persons with disabilities • Learning, Earning and Parenting (LEAP) program for young single parents • Family Support Program for single parent headed households • Child care, child care subsidies, licensing of child care centres and home child care providers [Employment Access/Maintenance] • Success by 6 Program • Prenatal, Child Health and Parenting Programs: • Parent-child Info Line • Healthy Babies, Healthy Children • Well Baby Drop-ins • You and Your Baby Sessions • Breast-feeding groups • Nobody’s Perfect • Buns in the Oven • School Age Health Promotion Programs: communicable disease, tobacco use, injury, sexuality, nutrition, heart health etc. • Immunization • Dental Screening • Social housing • Emergency shelters • Emergency financial assistance • Drug benefits • Ontario Disability Support Program [Employment Access/Maintenance] • The Assistive Devices Program • Home Management Services - counselling on money management, problem solving, parenting, balancing job, home, family etc. [Employment Access/Maintenance] • Homemaking services • Cultural interpreters [Employment Access/Maintenance] • Sign Language Interpreters [Employment Access/Maintenance] • Youth Services • Adult health programs: • dental program • caregiver support • HIV prevention programs: • AIDS-Sexual Health Info Line Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 8

• counselling for newly diagnosed AIDS patients • HIV programs for injection drug users: SITE, needle exchange, testing and Hepatitis vaccines • Sexual Health Centres • Programs to support independent living for seniors in community [Employment Access/Maintenance] • Homes for the Aged [Employment Access/Maintenance] • Adult Day Centres [Employment Access/Maintenance] • Ensuring drinking water quality

4. SAFETY AND SECURITY • Accessing land ambulances • By-law enforcement of things such as non-smoking areas [Family Life and Health]] • Using 9-1-1 • Accessing Fire Services • Accessing police services: • community policing centres • crime investigation • crime prevention and community service programs • victim services • diversity and race relations • traffic services • Child Car-seat clinics • Injury Prevention Programs • Transecure program involving surveillance by OC Transpo employees • Official Plan and Approvals Process that promotes safer urban design practices

MUNICIPAL HOUSING SERVICES • funds social housing subsidies • funds projects to reduce homelessness • new housing units • support services • outreach and prevention • long-term care for seniors

OVERARCHING SERVICES (apply to all above categories) • access to client services centres • access to on-line info and services • housing ? Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 9

SERVICES NOT INCLUDED IN ABOVE CATEGORIES • Waste collection and recycling • Surface water quality control: • rural clean-water grants • Environmental Health Programs: • monitor and investigate potential environmental health risks • environmental health hazard complaints • animal bites • beach water quality • food complaints and poisoning • restaurant inspections • prevent tobacco sales to minors •Hydro • Planning and Development Approvals Services: • manage development of region • building permits • committee of adjustment • acquire, manage and maintain property and buildings necessary for future infrastructure • the Water Master Plan • the Waste Water Master Plan • by-law development • coordinate policies for affordable housing • provide access to municipal GIS Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 10 Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 11

Appendix C - Summaries of the Focus Groups

Focus Group E1 Topic: Employment Access and Maintenance Services Date: May 29, 2001 Location: The Guidance Office of Rideau High School Number of Participants: 8 Recruiting Organisation(s): Childcare Centre at Rideau High School Recruitment Criteria: Young women with children who have attended or have just graduated from regular high school who have used LEAP/Ontario Works and are single mothers Participant Characteristics: All of the participants were single mothers with one child. Most were between the ages of 18 and 21, although one woman was 23. All have been on the Ontario Works program in the past, seven are currently in the LEAP program. They were all students: 6 in high school, 1 in college and 1 in university. All but one woman reported being in good health. Seven of the participants were born in Ottawa, the other participant was born elsewhere in Canada but had lived in Ottawa for more than 10 years. They currently live in Vanier, Centretown, Lowertown, Vars/Embrun, Ottawa South, and Overbrook.

Services discussed: Most of the discussion centred upon their experiences with the LEAP program, although there was some discussion about Essential Health and Social Supports. Employment Centres were only discussed briefly since, for the most part, these women do not attempt to access them because they do not have time and because the centres are only open during school hours.

Helpers: 1) Childcare - all these women were able to access subsidised childcare through LEAP and cited quality childcare as one of their biggest helpers. For those women who attended Rideau High School, they particularly liked that the daycare was in the same building and that they could see their child at any time. Most felt that without subsidised childcare they would be unable to go to school. 2) Helpful case-workers - some women had case-workers who were helpful and supportive and who went out of their way to assist them, however, this was not a universal experience. 3) Healthy Babies program - one woman had a very positive experience with the post-natal nurse who came to visit her at home. This nurse was able to help her with breastfeeding and provided support to her during a stressful and somewhat "scary" time. 4) Flexibility with money in LEAP - "The flexibility with the money ... if you're doing something and you're being productive, then they're a lot more eager to give you money to help you out." The ability to get money for different needs in the LEAP program was seen as helpful by most of the women. Some women especially liked receiving a bus pass. Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 12

Barriers and What Women Recommended: 1) Difficulties in accessing their case-workers - all of the women had experienced problems in trying to access their case-workers. The primary problem is that case-workers are only available during school hours, therefore, if a woman needs to contact her case-worker she must miss class. The second problem is that they often get the run-around when trying to contact their case-worker: getting busy signals, being transferred, being put on hold or ending up with an answering machine. Because these women are in school, it is not possible for the case-worker to call them back. Women reported frequently spending an hour or more attempting to contact their case-worker. One woman had a case-worker who would come to the school which she found helpful. The other participants were surprised to hear this. Location was also a problem as many women had to travel across the City to access their case-worker in person. What was recommended: When participants were asked what their single most important recommendation would be, most of them replied better hours for accessing case-workers. Specifically, they suggested that case-workers start and finish later from 10am to 6pm (instead of the current 8 am to 4 pm), and even later in the evening on Thursdays and Fridays. The women thought it would be helpful for their workers to come to the school on a regular basis but they still needed to be able to reach them between visits in case of emergencies. 2) Inconsistencies between case-workers and between clients - the women felt that access to services was somewhat arbitrary, depending too much upon case-workers' discretion. They felt that women with good case-workers were better able to access the services they were entitled to than those with uncaring case-workers. That one woman had a case-worker who would come to her school while other women's case-workers wouldn't was seen as an example of this inequity. There appeared to be other discrepancies in terms of Essential Health and Social Supports, some women had been told that adults were not entitled to subsidised dental care while other women had been able to get their dental care covered. Women were also concerned that case-workers were treating their clients differently. Two women had the same case-worker but felt that the case-worker did not treat them equitably (she paid the hydro of one but not the other). One woman thought that what looked like arbitrary decisions might actually be based on some criteria that they were not informed about. Another woman had taken social services to court over being told she was not covered and that she should move back home with her parents. Although she won her case, she felt that she now received poor service because of it. Another woman said she was reluctant to complain about her case-worker because the case-worker might be friends with the supervisor. What was recommended: The women wanted greater transparency in the provision of services. They wanted to have a list of the services that were available and the criteria needed to qualify. This list could be provided on-line. They felt transparency would benefit case-workers as well because if they knew what was available, and what the criteria were they wouldn't waste time asking for things they couldn't have. 3) Not enough funds for housing and other items - While these women generally thought that LEAP was willing to give them money for what they needed, there were certain things that they felt they did not get enough money for: housing, baby furniture, medication, dental work, and formula for mothers who medically can't breastfeed. While emergency dental work is covered, preventive dental work is not. Women pointed out that this would actually end up costing the Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 13 government more in the long run as dental surgery costs more than dental cleanings or teeth protectors. One woman has a child with chronic asthma, while some prescription medications are covered, the particular prescription her daughter needs is not. Housing was by far the biggest problem. They felt that their housing allowance was not even enough to cover a one-bedroom apartment in a bad neighbourhood and that the extra money for rent had to come out of their food budget. They were worried that their children would end up undernourished. They had heard that a law will soon be passed requiring that children have a separate bedroom from their parents after age 4 and were worried that they would have problems with Children's Aid because they could not afford a two-bedroom apartment. What was recommended: While these women would like more money for housing, they were also willing to live in subsidised housing if it were available. In particular, they suggested that the City provide more subsidised housing buildings specifically for single parents. One woman is on the waiting list for a place in such a building but the wait is at least 5 years. 4) Lack of appropriate parental programs - Through the LEAP program, these young mothers attended a mandatory parenting course in high school, however, they did not feel that this course met their needs. "I took the parenting program at Rideau and the whole thing is planning for babies... We spend the first part of the program talking about contraception, well I'm sorry it's a little late for that...we spent 2 weeks on preschoolers and toddlers and not even the real stuff, just development and stuff we know already." What was recommended: These women want a facilitated discussion group for young single parents that covers parenting children of all ages and that provides them with information as well as support. (In their experience, parenting programs in Ottawa only go up to age 3). While some women wanted this to be available in the evenings or on weekends, other women felt they would only have time for it if it was during school hours. 5) Bus design and strollers - Most of these women were dependent upon public transportation, and often found themselves travelling on the bus alone with a stroller. While the new buses are more accessible, they still experienced difficulties in taking the bus with a stroller. What was recommended: that bus design take into account not only wheelchair access but stroller access. 6) Child Support and baby bonus deductions - When a single mother is on social assistance, the government collects child support directly from the father as compensation; the mother never sees any of this money. Many of the women did not like this system and felt that the government had no right to take the child support money. Other women, however, felt the government was justified in this. There was general consensus, however, that the government should not take away their baby bonus as employed people, and people on OSAP still receive it. What was recommended: Do not take baby bonuses away from single mothers. Some women felt that mothers should receive child support payments.

Clustering of services: All of these women liked having childcare at their school. One woman had a case-worker who would come to her school; she found this very helpful. Most of the women wanted to have a regular parenting discussion and information session at the school. There was some support for locating services where recreation programs are available, however, Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 14 one woman said that this would not be helpful for her since she could not afford the recreation programs. The one university student in the group wanted more services available on campus.

Internet access: All these women liked the idea of internet access and had access to computers through school and through the library. One woman thought it might be a good idea to have an on-line form that people could use when they had problems or wanted to apply for a particular service–as long as someone would actually process the form and get back to people with answers. Even if internet access was increased, these women would still like to see improvements in phone access so that they could better access services from home or school. They do not mind having to push buttons as long as a "real human being" answers the phone at the end.

Summary: These women's lives and needs are defined by being young single mothers and by being students. The LEAP program helps them both of these roles however, it is a continual challenge for them to balance their lives. Problems with city services were often reported when accessing that service impinged upon either their ability to be the kind of mother they wanted to be, or their ability to fully participate in school. Recommendations they put forward often involved bringing these two parts of their lives closer together. Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 15

Focus Group E2 Topic: Employment Access and Maintenance Date: April 6, 2001 Location: Minwaashin Lodge Number of Participants: 5 Recruitment Organisation: Aboriginal Women’s Support Centre Recruitment criteria: Aboriginal women who are parents (19-40) single-headed family, engaged in paid work, low income, living in Vanier Participant characteristics: All aboriginal, four had children of various ages; education achieved ranged from primary to post-secondary; only one had paid employment; all lived in Vanier.

Services Discussed: Childcare, employment training, internet training, social assistance, ODSP, Family Support Worker, children's programs, parenting programs.

Helpers: 1) The Aboriginal Women’s Support Centre -"I felt warmth and welcome instead of sitting at home moping" 2) Public transit - buses help women get to the employment centre. 3) Well-mannered workers - one woman had a good experience with her worker for ODSP. She was "well-mannered," "polite" and "and she went through everything with me." 4) "Easier when there's no hassles, like giving you the run around."

Barriers and What Women Recommended: 1) Not enough information - "even what I found out today I didn't know about it, if I hadn't come today I don't think I'd ever hear about it" 2) OC Transpo fares - bus fares to go to employment centre etc. are too high. What was recommended: Supply bus tickets with programs. 3) Racism - women had experienced discrimination in certain situations. What was recommended: multicultural education for the public. 4) Lack of childcare - one woman would like to have childcare available during her parenting program and during other training programs. Conversely, another woman would like training programs for herself during the times her children are in recreational programs. 5) Social assistance is not enough money What was recommended: more funding for people looking for a job or on assistance. 6) Homeless - one woman wrote that she can't really do anything because she doesn't have a home. 7) Instability of programs - "Funding might be cut out in the middle of your program and then there goes all your dreams and goals" 8) Don't have work experience What was recommended: include apprenticeships in the job bank. 9) Minimum wage is too low What was recommended: increase minimum wage. Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 16

Clustering: Linking childcare with employment training programs and other services such as the entrepreneurship centre was suggested. Also, have programs for parents while their children are in recreational programs.

Internet: If these women had computers at home they would find accessing services over the internet useful. However, none of them had computers. A couple of women wanted training on the computer as well. Accessing computers outside of the home was not seen as particularly useful, especially if they had to pay for a bus to get there. What was recommended: affordable telephones and computers for accessing services or a loan to enable women to buy a computer and internet hook-up.

Summary: A number of women brought up internal barriers to accessing employment services such as "fear of change" and "motivation." Employment programs which do not address these concerns may not be accessible to these women. The physical location of services was also important, as transportation costs were just one cost too many. Services within walking distance, such as the Aboriginal Women's Support Centre, were the most accessible. Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 17

Focus Group E3 Topic: Employment Access and Maintenance Date: April 14, 2001 Location: Overbrook Community Centre Number of Participants: 11 Recruitment Organisation(s): Somali Women’s Support and Information Line Recruitment Characterisitics: Women of colour who are former refugees (19-40) engaged in paid work, low-income, mothers, allophone living in St. Laurent area Participant Characterisitics: All these women were originally refugees from Somalia. They all spoke more than one language. Two women had paid employment outside the house. One woman did not have any children, six had more than one child and one had more than three children. Seven women had children under 12. Eight women had some post-secondary education, one had only secondary education and the other 2 had no formal education. Nine wore the hijab. All lived in the St. Laurent area, 5 lived in Overbrook, within walking distance of the community centre.

Services Discussed: Ontario Works, employment centres, employment training, internet training, childcare, interpreters, community health centres, parks and home management.

Helpers: 1) Subsidised childcare - helped women to finish their schooling. They found the quality of care to be very high. One woman mentioned that having formal subsidised childcare gave her peace of mind because she felt it to be safer than sending her child to someone's house. 2) Ontario Works - Got good employment training from Ontario Works on things such as how to write a CV or succeed in an interview. One woman was placed at a company by Ontario Works and was later hired on full-time there. Ontario Works found both a job and childcare for another woman. Another woman reported that Ontario Works gave her self-confidence and showed her that she was able to do things. 3) Employment Centre - provided access to fax, computers and telephones which was helpful. The employment centre at St. Laurent provides childcare on one or two days a week, while this is good, women would like it to be offered more often.

Barriers and What Women Recommended: 1) Language - Services are only available in French or English which poses a barrier to some women. What was recommended: provide employment training in different languages. Provide easier access to cultural interpreters. Help single mothers find work that does not require much English or French since they often desperately need the money and cannot wait until they have learned the language. 2) Lack of Support at Employment Centre - One woman felt that the employment centre had good facilities but that there was not a lot of support because it was individual (not group) work and the staff were not very supportive one-on-one. Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 18

3) Discrimination from bus drivers - " because I'm dressed like this, they don't know whether you know the language and then they really do mistreat you, then when they see you that you are speaking the language they back off." What was recommended: more multicultural bus drivers. 4) No childcare available at nights - One woman works nights and there is no formal and/or subsidised childcare available then. What was recommended:: provide formal subsidised childcare for parents who work night shifts. 5) Taking bus to employment centre - One woman does not have enough money to take the bus to the employment centre. Another woman had to take 2 or 3 buses and felt it took too long. What was recommended: more employment centres so that women don't have to travel as far. Include a free bus pass and childcare with job training programs to encourage mothers to come out. To send lists of new jobs to people at their homes so they don't have to go in to the centre. 6) Job training - provide quick training and placements for low-skill jobs such as cashier. Gear training to emerging job markets. Provide training for women to upgrade their jobs. Provide job training in languages other than English and French. 7) Being new to Canada - Employers ask specifically for job experience in Canada. Also it is difficult to adjust to the Ottawa climate, makes them not want to leave the house in winter. What was recommended: more agencies providing information and referrals to newcomers. 8) Childcare subsidies for households with two income-earners - One woman and her partner work so they don't qualify for a childcare subsidy but she finds that childcare costs are too high. She also felt that taxes were too high. 9) Discrimination - one woman spoke about her struggle to find a job. She went to college and had good grades, when she sends her CV employers are interested in hiring her but when they see what she looks like they aren't interested anymore. 10) Lack of information on services - did not know about all the services discussed at the focus group. Municipal services should be transparent, everyone should know about all the services that are available. What was recommended: Advertise employment services in the newspaper. To have regular meetings at community centres to find out about services. Could be a discussion group in which individuals give reports and projects and provide encouragement to each other in accessing municipal services. 11) Social assistance does not give enough money - These women felt that they needed more money from social assistance to cover their costs. 12) People who need homecare aren't accessing it - many single pregnant women need help with home management, likewise older women who don't speak French or English don't know about home support and don't access it.

Clustering: These women are all mothers and so it is important to them that they have childcare available when they seek to access any of the employment services such as the resource centres or Ontario Works. It would be ideal if they could drop off their children at a daycare and then search for a job all at the same location. Also if bus passes were given out with job training programs that would be helpful. Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 19

Internet: These women did not have computers at home. They knew that they could access computers and the internet at libraries and employment centres but said that the time you could spend on these machines was too limited to search for a job. They would find internet access to services useful if there were more computers available.

Summary: When asked what improved services provision would look like, one woman responded that it would be changed to fit the people who live in Ottawa now, they would be fixed so that they fit new comers. Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 20

Focus Group F1 Topic: Family Life and Health and Employment Access and Maintenance Date: June 5, 2001 Location: City Hall Number of Participants: 7 Recruiting Organisation(s): OCDSB teacher, CCEE Student Forum Recruiting criteria: Young women from middle-income families living in rural areas/ former Kanata/Orleans engaged in/looking for paid work Participant characteristics: All between the ages of 15 and 21, all born in Canada, all consider themselves to be in good health, all are bilingual, 5 speak more than two languages. They were of various ethnicities and racialisations. All are in school full-time, three have paid employment as well. Five live in a home which is owned by their parents. Two live in Gloucester, 3 in Nepean, and 2 in rural areas.

Services Discussed: Libraries, Transecure, OC Transpo, OC Transpo Information Line, promotional workshops in schools, recreational programs

Helpers: 1) Libraries and librarians - the women generally had good things to say about their experiences with libraries. They found the librarians helpful, the location of the libraries made them easy to access, the number of computers available was good, and they always find what they're looking for. 2) Transecure and bus drivers - a couple of women had positive things to say about the Transecure program and the help they had gotten from bus drivers. All of these women were aware of the "one stop night stop." 3) Parents and other individuals - These women often found out about programs through their parents. One woman said that she learns about things from other students who are involved in activities outside of school. 4) Schools - Some women learned about municipal services through their schools.

Barriers and What Women Recommended: 1) Lack of information: These women did not know about: LEAP, Essential Health and Social Supports, Community Health Centres (confused them with drop-in clinics), LIT programs, youth services, the young women's shelter. What was recommended: A number of recommendations were made regarding improving information provision including: locations for advertising (schools, malls); and medium of advertising (radio, television). These young women listened to radio more than television. Other suggestions included: fridge magnets or business cards to advertise services; targeted mailings of information for seniors, for youth etc; and having the person's name on the mail out. For tv and radio ads they wanted catchy tunes. For posters they wanted eye catching colours and an indication of how the service was relevant to youth. Enthusiastic staff were also seen as an asset to promoting municipal services. One woman suggested that the City hire design students to Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 21 work on information packages. Student Council representatives and newsletters were also seen as a way of getting information to students. 2) Attending private school - one woman attends Lycee Claudel school. In her experience the staff and students at the school are not informed about municipal services. They had a public health nurse come in and talk about STDs but only after their teacher asked to have someone come in. What was recommended: more advertising of municipal services in private schools. More workshops/courses on public health issues such as STDs, violence, and parenting at private schools. 3)Libraries - although many women had positive things to say, several women felt that the public library did not have the level of information that they required. The woman from Munster felt that her library was particularly under-resourced. 4)Transportation - even though transportation was not the topic for this focus group, a number of women mentioned that public transit did not fulfill their needs. One woman, who lives in Munster, listed transportation as her biggest barrier. In order to even attend the focus group she had to make arrangements to sleep at a friend's house as she would have missed the last bus from Ottawa to Munster (the focus group ended at 5:45pm). Another woman could not visit friends in part of Cumberland because the bus does not go there. Still another woman found that bus service downtown at rush hour is "so blocked can't get anywhere." What was recommended: have subsidised taxis from transitway stations to rural locations. Provide shuttle buses between Munster and Stittsville so that can take the shuttle bus from Stittsville to Kanata. 5) Cost of programs - Some women and some of their friends could not access services because of the costs. One woman thought that the community centre near her, and near to the projects, actually had higher program costs than other community centres. She had also heard that one community centre had a discount for students, whereas hers does not. What was recommended: same fees for programs in all community centres. 6) Schools - They felt that often schools had information about services but that it just lay unused in student services or guidance offices. They felt that staff knew about these services but were not communicating that information to the students. What was recommended: Providing information about municipal services through the Student Council or on eye-catching posters, at assemblies or during announcements. 7) Lack of childcare - although none of these women had children, one woman brought up a lack of childcare as a barrier for mothers.

Clustering: The focus group coordinator suggested libraries and employment services. The women liked this idea as long as the building was big enough that the people talking about employment would not interfere with the library users. Also health services and schools were seen as a useful combination.

Internet: These young women thought that accessing municipal services over the internet would be useful, however none of them knew about the City web site. One woman had tried to find information on municipal services on Ottawa.com and couldn't. One woman had used OC Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 22

Transpo's website to find information because the Information Line was "always busy." Women contrasted internet access with phone access. One woman thought people might feel more comfortable looking for information on the Sexual Health Clinic on-line. Another woman preferred the internet because she found customer service representatives on the phone were often rude, didn't know the answer, or were misinformed. Another woman defended customer service reps by saying that the clients themselves are often rude and its hard to be nice to rude people. Another woman differentiated between phone and internet access. She would only use the phone if she had a question and/or she needed information right away. If she wanted general information about a service she would use the internet. Still another woman preferred the internet because when using the phone you have to wait and push a lot of buttons before you find the right extension.

Summary: Every single woman brought up lack of knowledge as a barrier and when asked for only make one recommendation, they made innovative suggestions as to how the municipality could disseminate information especially to young people. In terms of information distribution, they focussed more on promoting municipal services than on merely providing information on a need to know basis. They believed that promoting through intelligent advertising was essential in order to get the attention of young people. In general, they were dependent upon their schools to get the information they required. These women were also very dependent upon public transportation. Although mobility services were not listed as topics for discussion at this focus group, the participants kept bringing up transportation issues. Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 23

Focus Group F2 Topic: Family Life and Health Date: May 3, 2001 Location: Young Women's Shelter Number of Participants: 9 Recruiting Organisation(s): Young Women’s Emergency Shelter of Youth Services Bureau Recruiting Criteria: Women at risk (15-24), multi-racial, not engaged in paid work/engaged in paid work, low-income, living in a shelter in downtown core Participant Characteristics: These women had originally lived in various places across Ottawa. They now all lived at the shelter. Four women were between 15 and 18 years of age, five women were between 19 and 24 years of age. Four had been born in Canada, three in East Africa, two elsewhere. Two currently had paid employment.

Services discussed: Social assistance, housing, libraries, pools, community centres, Youth Services.

Helpers: 1) Networking - The two women who had recently arrived in Canada found out to go to the social assistance office through friends and acquaintances. 2) City Service Providers - Many women reported that the workers at the shelter had helped them both in terms of support and also in terms of providing information about city services and how to access them. One woman also reported that her social worker and her Youth Services Bureau worker had also helped her to access services. 3) Non-city Service Providers - One woman found out about services through the Special Support Unit at her school and also through the hospital. Another woman found about services through her school social worker. Another woman was helped by her teacher and by a woman who comes to her school to talk to students about "how to get a job and stuff."

Barriers and Women's Recommendations: 1) Lack of Information - These young women had not heard of the majority of the services the City offered. "It makes me feel sad because there's all these services we could have used when we needed them, but we didn't know about them, and so we didn't get to use them that makes me feel sad." One woman blamed her lack of knowledge on being new to Canada, however, a number of young women who had been born in Canada also lacked information on services. What was recommended: Women wanted greater transparency in service provision, "all in all that all these things should be out in the open, you shouldn't have to ask for them because a lot of people are shy and afraid of asking for things, like myself." More workshops or discussion groups to find out about services and how to access them. Another woman suggested that a client be told about all the municipal services available during her first meeting with a social worker. Another woman felt she should have looked and searched more to find out the information. Advertising through the schools, on television and at bus shelters was suggested. One woman found out about the shelter through the student planner she received from her school (an alternate school). Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 24

2) "Not feeling comfortable" - "The biggest obstacle is the lack of information for people who haven't heard anything, and especially if you're scared, or you yourself don't have the motivation personally" Three women reported that their own feelings of shyness or anxiety were barriers to accessing services. One woman was held back from accessing services because "something about not feeling comfortable going into these places. I can't speak for anybody else but for me. I have problems, maybe I assume too much, but I find that being a woman and being black and being young, and anxiety because of that." 3) City Service Providers - Many women felt that the reason they did not know about municipal services was because their social/case workers were not forthcoming about them, "She wasn't very forthcoming about services, I had to specifically ask her about them and then she'd give me the information." One woman does not use pools because she does not "get along with lifeguards." Another woman does not use the library because she had a bad experience with a librarian refusing to give her a card when she was 15 and she didn't have proof that she lived in Gloucester. Another young woman had a bus driver be rude to her when she asked for information. She perceived she was being picked on for being a youth. In general these young women felt that their social workers didn't care about them. One woman said that her social worker just saw her as another "welfare bum," it made her feel "low." Another woman said that you could "tell by their facial expressions whether they care or if you should just say minimum conversation, some of them just give you looks when you tell them something." One woman was more sympathetic to her social worker but still felt her behaviour could be better, "social workers aren't really bad but the way they relate, they put up this wall, even if in their soul they aren't like that, but the way they interact with you is in that way." A couple of women complained that their social workers never returned phone calls. What was recommended: Harassment free service provision: "you come they just give you information and if you need help you can ask but they're not in your face." Training for social workers to have a more positive attitude. Hiring people who have lived through the experience that their clients are going through. Hiring people who enjoy being social workers. 4) Hours social workers are available - One woman reported that it was next to impossible for her to get hold of her social worker because she worked 9 to 5, which is the only time her worker is available. The young women are required to leave the shelter from 9 to 5 so there is no way for their social workers to call them there. What was recommended: Longer hours for social workers or shifts "so you can call them when you get off work." 5) Non-city Service Providers - One woman resented that teachers and principals kicked students out of school for missing classes when they should realise that these students probably had problems. What was recommended: Teachers and principals should provide students, who have high rates of absenteeism, with information about the municipal services available that could help them with their problems. 6) Other Service Users - One woman can no longer use the library because: "I signed up for the internet and the person before me wasn't on so I started 10 minutes early so the security guard kicked me off and then kicked me out of the library." She thinks the reaction was because she is black. Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 25

Clustering: The focus group coordinator suggested having an employment centre in the library, one woman thought this would be cool "like Starbucks in Chapters." Another woman suggested more schools linked with childcare for young single mothers such as her friend. Another woman suggested that social services have satellite offices “where young people go” such as community centres, arenas and pools. Another woman wanted to have her social worker at the shelter so it would be easier for her to have access to her.

Internet: As one young woman pointed out, can't access the internet if you're on the street. Even though it is possible to access the internet at libraries or schools, you still have to have transportation to get to those places. Overall, "the people who need the services wouldn't have access to it." The focus group coordinator suggested that they ask for internet service at the shelter. While some thought this would be a good idea, others thought that high demand for internet use might cause conflicts amongst the residents.

Summary: Asking for help was difficult for these young women, perhaps, in part, because they felt that the service providers looked down on them. There was a tension between the women's emotionally charged experience of their problems and the fact that helping them through these problems was just a job to the service providers: "Maybe because they treat it as a job when it's your life you know." When asked what their number one recommendation would be, these women's answers centred around changing the attitudes of service providers. The other suggested solution to this problem was to have a greater transparency about what services were available so that they wouldn't have to ask for things all the time, "we need more people to open up about the services. If they all started opening up now, telling us about services, well we could have used this a long time ago. Instead of sticking around doing nothing all day we could have done something with our lives." Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 26

Focus Group F3 Topic: Family Life and Health Services Date: May 23, 2001 Location: Richmond Branch of the Goulbourn Public Library Number of Participants: 6 Recruiting Organisation(s): Richmond Branch of the Goulbourn Public Library Recruitment Criteria: Women aged 19-40 who are middle-income, white, working at home, mothers of young children, living in the rural area. Participant Characteristics: All participants lived in the rural west end of Ottawa in Carp, Munster, North Gower, Richmond and “east of Prospect.” Four women were born in a city, one was born in a town, and the other was born in a rural area. Five women were born in Canada while the sixth was born in Germany. All women are raising children with a partner. One woman had 1 child, three had two children, and 2 had 3 or more children. Four women had children under 5, one had children between 6 and 10 and one had a child who is 11. The women themselves are between the ages of 31 and 46, with the majority (4) being between 31 and 35 years of age. Five women reported being in good health. One woman is blind. All have a college or university education and some form of paid employment they do at home as well as full-time unpaid home labour. Three women access a local childcare service at least once a week. One of the women is an at-home daycare provider to one of the other women.

Services Discussed: The greater part of the discussion centred around childcare, however, public transportation, recreational facilities and programs, resource centres, libraries, pre- and post-natal programs, ambulances and police services were also brought up.

Helpers: 1) Helping communities help themselves - Initiatives that brought programs to the community at minimal expense to the City were very well received. This included giving money to the community of North Gower to help them create and maintain an outdoor rink and running a Backyard Swim Program for children out of a family's private pool. 2) The Blue Book - One woman used to work for the Region in the Social Services department. She had taken a 1997 version of the Blue Book home with her. This directory helped her to locate the services she needed. 3) The Walter Baker Centre - women liked this recreation centre because it is relatively close, has good facilities and provides childcare during adult programs. One woman also praised the athletic programs in Goulbourn township and the new Goulbourn Centre. 4) Networking and the library - women found out about things from talking to each other and from helpful librarians.

Barriers and What Women Recommended: 1) Location of services - The central problem for these women was the concentration of City services in urban areas, leaving the rural areas under-served. Location of services is at the root of most of the barriers outlined below. Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 27

What was recommended: Locate more services in rural areas. These women felt that in many cases facilities exist but are not used to their full potential. Services they would like to see located in rural areas include: OC Transpo, childcare, Well-baby drop-ins, playgroups, resource centres (even if it is only once a week), arenas, community health centres, summer programs for children in parks (like they have downtown), and services for disabled persons. 2) Transportation - Because services are not located in the rural areas, women require transportation to access them. The only public transit available in these rural areas is a bus that goes into the urban areas at 6:30 am and a bus that comes back out in the evening rush hour. As mothers with small children, these times are not accessible to them. Paratranspo will drive clients from the urban areas to the rural areas but will not drive them from rural areas into town. The cost for a Paratranspo ride to Carp is $45. One woman felt that rural women cannot be real citizens of Ottawa without proper service by OC Transpo and Paratranspo. What was recommended: Provide buses between rural areas and downtown every two hours. 3) No formal childcare available - The only childcare available in the rural areas is informal, in-home care. "I found out about one agency in town, and it was the only one so there was no options. And I basically did all the work. There was no screening, – it wasn't quality, let's put it that way without pointing fingers, it just wasn't the quality of service I expect to receive, like I would have received in the City." What was recommended: To make formal daycare of the same quality as downtown, available in rural areas. To have a quality childcare agency. Also to make a centralised list of childcare providers available. 4) No childcare subsidies available - There are few subsidised childcare spots available in the rural areas and these are only in at-home settings. If they want to access subsidised childcare they have to go downtown. Most of the women are staying home with their children because they cannot afford childcare. What was recommended: that they have equal access to subsidised childcare as women downtown and that those subsidised spots be available in their own area in a formal daycare setting. 5) No childcare drop-in centres - These women sometimes need short-term childcare for when they go to appointments, workshops or recreational/athletic programs. Richmond used to provide childcare during adult athletic programs but no longer does so because of lack of demand. Women also wanted after-school childcare available in the rural areas. What was recommended: To have a formal daycare centre that provided a drop-in daycare service., or to set up a network of volunteers (potentially retirees) who would be willing to provide short-term childcare so that mothers can attend city programs. 6) Difficulties obtaining information - All women wanted better ways to access information about city services. One woman has experienced greater problems in obtaining information on municipal services, particularly in her area, since amalgamation. Another woman receives booklets outlining recreational and athletic programs too late or not at all. Notices on billboards are not effective ways of reaching mothers because they are too preoccupied with supervising their children. What was recommended: Making the Blue Book, or a similar directory, available to everyone in hard-copy and/or on the web. One woman also wanted a directory specifically listing services for Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 28 disabled persons. Having a municipal services website set up like the MLS listings so that you can search for services by area, was suggested. Information also needs to be provided in a form accessible by persons with disabilities. Training should be provided to city staff so that they are aware of what is available outside the downtown core area. One woman proposed a formalised buddy-system between a "citified" new-mother and a rural new-mother so that they could provide support and information to each other. Another woman works as a free-lance writer and makes a point of publishing information about city services whenever she comes across it. 7) Lack of facilities for programs for the disabled - There are no public programs for the disabled in rural areas, in part because there are no facilities available to house such programs. What was recommended: The Diefenbaker bunker could be used for disabled programs. 8) Slow emergency response - Concerns were raised over the time it takes for a police car or ambulance to respond to an emergency call. What was recommended: Women felt that emergency services could be provided more efficiently. They did not understand why police took so long to respond when there are police actually stationed in communities (such as Munster). Ambulance drivers don't sleep near their vehicles so time is lost driving to the ambulance. 9) Library hours - The women agreed that their children were better behaved and more likely to be awake during the morning. Unfortunately the library is only open in the afternoon, making it difficult for them to access the library with their children. What was recommended: Extend the library hours into the morning on some days. 10) Facilities used inefficiently - Throughout this discussion, the issue of making efficient use out of existing facilities was raised in both positive and negative contexts. What was recommended: More programs and services and longer hours could be offered at the Carp arena and at rural community centres.

Clustering: Basically these women would like to see almost every service combined with childcare.

Internet: While suggestions were made to provide information on the Web in the form of the Blue Book or MLS listings, these women face challenges accessing the net. All the women felt that accessing the net while supervising small children was impossible because of the time and attention required. One woman reported that she could only access the internet after all her children were asleep and by that time she was exhausted. When looking for information with children, something basic like a telephone directory is the most effective tool. If they could phone someone and have that person mail them the relevant information that would also be helpful.

Summary: "Suddenly you've gone from the work world to being a new mom and you have nobody. You know as a rural woman...you don't have anybody. You have to recreate yourself and recreate your life and that takes a lot of work." In urban areas new mothers have access to a number of services that bridge the isolation and that enable them to continue on in the workforce if they choose to. Because rural areas are under-served, it is much more difficult for a new mother to overcome the isolation and to continue to work if she desires to. Because networking Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 29 with other women was seen as an important way to gain information about services, the isolation of rural mothers puts them at an even greater disadvantage. Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 30

Focus Group F4 Topic: Family Life and Health Date: June 13 and 22, 2001 Location: City Hall Number of participants: 2 and 1 Recruiting Organization(s): GLBT Wellness Project Recruiting criteria: Women aged 19-40 who are lesbian/bisexual, white, mothers of young children, living in Nepean/Gloucester/Orleans/Kanata, middle-income Participant characteristics: This "focus group" was done in two parts. In the first part two women were interviewed together, on the second occasion one woman was interviewed. These three women represented a great diversity between them. One was born in Europe and her mother tongue is neither French nor English. The other two women were born in Canada, one is Francophone and the other is an Aboriginal Canadian. One was in her 30s, another in her early 40s and the third in her early 50s. Two were in good health, the third was on long-term disability. They live in downtown, the East End and the West End.

Services Discussed: Library, pools, arenas, parks, community centres, community development workers, social assistance, ODSP, recreational programs, sexual health clinic, community health centres

Helpers: 1) Free or low cost services - these women liked free services such as parks and libraries and services such as “open swims” that had low costs associated with them. 2) Community Development Workers - One woman got her information about services from a community development worker at the community centre. She found this person very knowledgeable and helpful. 3) Being involved - This woman found out about the Community Development Worker from being involved with the Task Force to End Poverty 4) Pride flag - The Centretown Community Health Centre is welcoming to these women because it has a Pride flag up and because "half the staff are gay." One woman mentioned that Gloucester also has services for the gay community. 5) Varieties of services - Women particularly liked facilities which offered a variety of services such as the swim programs at Jack Purcell Community Centre (swims for women from different cultural backgrounds, disability swims, chronic fatigue swims) or the programs at the arena on Walkley, including skating for seniors and women's hockey. 6) Non-city service providers - These women were helped by non-city service providers such as the Aboriginal Women's Support Centre, Capital Extra, Women's Place and the Women's Bookstore. 7) Hours - they liked pools because of the large number of hours for open swims, and hockey at Jack Purcell from 5 to 8 on Sunday nights.

Barriers and What Women Recommended: Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 31

1) Lack of information - They did not know about a number of services in this basket (home management counselling, by-law enforcement, Success by Six, LEAP, Essential Health and Social Supports, and the Transecure program). One of these women works in the social service sector and even she did not know about a lot of the services provided by the municipality. Directories are sent out advertising services that cost money, but not about free services or social services. They felt that those people most in need of services don't have the resources to find out about them. What was recommended: services need to be publicised in newspapers, on radio and television, by people going door-to-door. Provide directories of social services and free services to households. 2) Waiting lists - Waiting lists for shelters, for subsidised housing, for homes for the aged, and for counselling at community centres. These women wanted to have access to services now, and not be put on a waiting list. What was recommended: all three women suggested increasing the amount of subsidised housing available. 3) Applying for social assistance - One woman found the process of accessing social assistance demeaning and degrading. She had to answer a number of invasive questions, she felt like she was treated with suspicion, she had to sign 7 times that she was not being fraudulent (she felt this was excessive and humiliating). She labelled this treatment as "harassment." What was suggested: The Women's Career Counselling approach was suggested as a model. In this approach, everyone can access and no one is required to answer invasive questions. 4) Criteria for accessing services - One woman had had problems accessing ODSP because they did not recognize her ailment (chronic fatigue). 5) Funding cuts to non-city service providers - One woman counsels rape victims and she felt that her clients needs were no longer being met because so many non-city services no longer exist. What was recommended: Better funding for non-city service providers but also a re-organisation of services so that there is not so much overlap. The other woman disagreed with reorganisation, she thought that each organisation served its own niche. 6) Lack of enforcement for courtesy seating - One woman is mobility impaired and she has difficulty accessing buses because bus drivers do not enforce courtesy seating. 7) Local bus routes - don't come often enough and don't run late enough (ending at 10:30pm). As the woman who brought this issue up does not have a car, the lack of bus service impedes her ability to have a social life. 8) Lack of accessible housing - a good deal of subsidised or affordable housing is not accessible to someone with a mobility impairment. What was recommended provide more accessible and affordable housing.

Clustering: They thought that everything should be combined with childcare and also that everything should be combined with special needs programs. One woman had an interesting suggestion to pair up elderly women living alone in the community with new young mothers in need of housing. Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 32

Internet: The two able-bodied women were not particularly interested in accessing services using the internet. Although they had the technology, they lacked the skills and the patience. They did acknowledge that their children would find it useful. While they were not against providing services via the internet, because it is useful to a minority of people, they were concerned that the City might focus too much of its resources on internet provision. The woman with a mobility impairment was excited about accessing municipal services via the internet, this would be very helpful for her. She did not know about the City web-site however.

Summary: These three women had not experienced any problem accessing services because of their sexual orientation. The only limitation mentioned was that the libraries no longer carried National Capital Xtra. Although this made it difficult for one of the women to pick up the monthly newspaper that serves the gay community, she was not particularly upset as she too had issues with the paper. Being disabled or ill had more of an impact on two of these women's experiences of accessing municipal services than did their sexual orientation. In particular how service providers defined them was important. Also how service providers defined them in relation to needing to access services at all, affected their lives, and made asking for help a demeaning experience. One woman called it "poor bashing." These women also believed that women were under-served compared to men in the community. The different aspects of their identities also helped them in accessing services as they often accessed a service via a community organisation such as the Aboriginal Women's Support Centre, Pink Triangle Services or Women's Place. Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 33

Focus Group F5 Topic: Family Life and Health Date: March 30, 2001 Location: Family Housing Shelter at CFB Rockliffe Recruiting Organisation: Number of Participants: 10 Recruiting criteria: Women in family emergency housing (19 - 40) single-headed family, engaged in/looking for paid work, low-income, allophone/ many new Canadians living on Rockliffe Base Participant characteristics: These women were all mothers, one is a grandmother. One woman has more than 8 children, five have three children, two have five children, and one had 2 children. Six are raising children alone. One was born in Canada, a native woman from up north, the rest were born in Africa. Two were under thirty, the rest were between 30 and 50 years of age. Three had some post-secondary education, 4 had only primary education, two had no schooling at all and the last is not known. They all live at the shelter.

Services discussed: Community centres, housing, childcare, transportation.

Helpers: 1) Subsidies - The shelter workers arranged for these women to access the community centre and to have childcare for free for one afternoon. ''Also my child was looked after in the community centre for three hours yesterday, I just went out for fresh air, I felt like a change of scenery, I felt like a walk by myself and then I went around, I was relaxed.'' Getting free bus passes also helps them. 2) Friends - They are helped by friends who look after their children, who act as interpreters, and who give them temporary shelter. 3) Buses - help them to get around.

Barriers and Women's Recommendations: 1) Cost of services - These women do not access the community centre programs because they cannot afford them. Their children's bus passes are also a major expense. One woman has to pay for health care for her 4 month old son because he does not have a health card. What was recommended: Community centres should be free. Free bus passes for children over 12. Have a place to go to find jobs that don't require much English, doesn't matter what kind of job, just to get a start and get some money. 2) Language barrier - Language is a barrier to these women in either finding out about the services -- "how can you access the services when they are written in a language you don't understand?" -- or accessing that service -- "I'm afraid I don't go out by myself I have to ask someone to go with me." What was recommended: Provide information about services in many different languages. 3) Lack of information - Women felt they could access these services if they only knew about them. Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 34

What was recommended: advertise services on TV or in seminars like the focus group. Mail out information to people in their native language. Another woman suggested providing information on the Portuguese radio program. 4) Lack of childcare - One woman was late to the focus group because she had trouble finding someone to look after her children. This is a common problem for her. Others also reported lack of childcare as a barrier. Without childcare they had difficulty doing their grocery shopping let alone accessing municipal services. What was recommended: Having access to safe daycare where the children would come into contact with other people and have a chance at a better life. 5) Lack of housing - Because they are so focussed on finding housing, they are unable to think about accessing other services. What was recommended: more housing coordinators to help them find affordable housing. 6) Attitudes of service providers - One woman was denied refugee status and so had to leave and come back into Canada as an immigrant. When she returned to Ottawa and went to the social services office they called the police. 7) Getting the run-around - The woman who was denied refugee status lost her housing and many of her belongings when she was refused. When she returned she was given the run-around in getting emergency housing. First she was told they could not help her. Then she was told she had a hotel space and she should go get her kids and bring them to the office. She did so but when she returned she was told the hotel had been cancelled. 8) Attitudes of neighbours - The neighbours of one woman called the military police because her friend had left garbage out. She felt "inferior" because she was black and the neighbour was white. When the police arrived she was able to explain the mistake because her friend was there who spoke English. "The police says okay, you know, don't worry"

Clustering: "They wish everything could be where they live, childcare, library etc." Someone else suggested that health clinics and community centres should be combined along with childcare. Internet: None of them had access to computers at home. They said the big problem in accessing services on the internet would be language. If the information was provided in their language that would be very helpful. The focus group coordinator asked them "so no one is afraid of computers?" They all laughed and said no.

Summary: "When you don't have a house to live or somewhere to live you feel sad and empty." These women are struggling to find homes for themselves and their children. They do not have the energy or resources to access other services in the face of language barriers and financial problems. Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 35

Focus Group F6 Topic: Family Life and Health Date: June 21, 2001 Location: City Hall Number of Participants: 3 Recruiting Organisation(s): Gloucester Community Resource Centre, Jewish Family Services Recruiting Criteria: Women who are informal caregivers to dependent adults (ie: with Alzheimer’s/other debilitative diseases), aged (41-60) engaged in paid work, middle-income, mothers Anglophone, Jewish, living in Nep/Glouc/Orleans Participant Characteristics: All women had lived in Ottawa for more than 10 years. Two had been born in Canada, the third in the US. Two were in their 50s, and one between 67 and 75 years of age. Two do paid full-time work and the third does full-time (well over 30 hours a week) of unpaid work. They all own their houses. Only one considers herself to be in good health. Two live in Alta Vista, the third lives in Goulbourn.

Services discussed: Seniors’ day programs, Support Groups, Community Centres, Recreational Programs, Resource Centres, the Assistive Devices Program (ADP), The Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP), Home Support Programs, parking.

Helpers: 1) Support group - Besides getting emotional support, one woman who is active in a support group for caregivers finds out about services through the group. "I don't know where someone would go to find out if you didn't have a support group." 2) Community Centres and recreational programs - at least one woman said that she enjoyed taking programs at her local community centre. Unfortunately these women did not have much time to access services for themselves.

Barriers and what women recommended: 1) Lack of information - Women did not know about a lot of services. One woman had actively tried to find out and had had difficulties. She reported that she had been at the end of her patience dealing with her mother and so had sat down and gone through the phone book phoning everything under seniors or elders until she stumbled upon someone who could help her. What was recommended: Mail out a booklet mailed to homes about City Services. One woman gets her information from television but another does not have time for TV or radio. Have a central phone number listed with essential services at the front of the phone book that you could call and reach a real person who would either know the answer to your question or would be able to transfer you to someone who could (All three women made this their top recommendation). 2) Drop-in daycare for seniors - One woman would like to have a centre for seniors where she can drop off her husband for a short period of time while she runs errands. Moreover, "I find they get immense stimulation when they're with a crowd of people with the same illness. They seem to enjoy it." This woman does access some sort of day program for seniors but she had to pay for it and it is expensive. Having somewhere to leave their dependent adults would also give these women time to do things for themselves. Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 36

3) Not meeting their own needs - Often these women were too busy with their caregiving to even think of accessing services for themselves. One woman told of her friend who has MS and is caring for a mother with Alzheimer’s: she had been trying to access home support for her mother but it never occurred to her to apply for herself. 4) Home support personnel - One woman had accessed home support for her mother but had cancelled it because the staff people always showed up late and then had to leave so “it wasn't worth her while.” 5) Dislike of strangers - One woman had trouble accessing services such as Meals on Wheels because her mother disliked having strangers around. She needed help providing meals for her mother but did not know how to resolved this issue. 6) Under-served rural areas - Again the woman from the rural area wanted to access services that weren't available to her in her location. She wanted a caregiver support program in her neighbourhood. She also wanted a resource centre. What was recommended: use an abandoned building in Stittsville to house a resource centre. 7) Cost of parking - The cost of parking, especially around medical facilities, is too high. One woman lives near the General Hospital, people park on her street because they can't afford to pay for parking at the hospital and then the "jerk police come along and ticket them." What was recommended: get rid of pay parking lots.

Clustering: One woman liked the fact that her local community centre also housed a library and that she could access arts and crafts programs there, however, she wanted more, "a centre where I could go for me." She couldn't be any more specific than that. Another suggestion was to have one phone number you could call to access all city services and get answers to your questions. One woman also suggested clustering all organisations pertaining to something, such as Alzheimers, in the same building so that caregivers could access multiple services at the same location.

Internet: Two of the three women have computers at home. One of these women said she would prefer to talk to a real person. The other woman responded: "But the thing is you don't anyway. So I might as well talk to a computer." When accessing services using the internet, the individual still has to know what to search for, what department to look under. In general, these women would prefer to talk to a real person who was knowledgeable about city services.

Summary: These women were not getting the support they needed to manage their lives and their caregiving responsibilities. One woman looked after her mother for two years, was not able to access any services and now is paying for it through her own ill health. In their role as caregiver, for the most part they did not access any City services. Two women had not heard about ODSP or ADP. When they were told about them, they thought that those were probably aimed at people of lower income than themselves. However, they also found the costs of caring for their dependent adult to be high: paying for home support, for assistive devices, and for seniors homes. One woman had applied for ADP but had not got it. One of the participants had been part of four other focus groups on seniors, she was curious to see where all of this was going to lead. Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 37

Focus Group F7 Date: March 28, 2001 Topic: Family Life and Health Location: Sandy Hill Community Health Centre Number of Participants: 6 Recruiting Organisation(s): Sandy Hill Community Health Centre Recruitment characteristics: Women who are elders (65-85); independently living, low-income, white, Francophone, living in Sandy Hill area. Participant characteristics: These women were all over 70, four women were actually between 80 and 85 years of age. All of them were Francophone and had been born in Canada (3 in Ontario, 1 in New Brunswick and 1 in Quebec). They currently resided in Sandy Hill (2), Vanier (2), Lowertown and the St. Laurent area.

Services Discussed: OC Transpo, sidewalks, Community Centres, Community Health Centres, Community Resource Centres, preventive health programs, recreational and athletic programs, libraries, pools, housing for the aged.

Helpers: 1) Variety and number of Programs offered at the Sandy Hill Community Health Centre (SHCHC)- These women accessed a wide range of programs at the SHCHC: baseball, tennis, skating, cross-country skiing, outings to the sugar bush or on boats, crafts, painting, preventive health workshops, line dancing. One woman did want golf programs for women which are not available. 2) Hours of SHCHC - it opens at 8 am which was seen as helpful. 3) Cleanliness and spatial organisation - Women liked coming to the SHCHC because it is clean and there is no smoking (in contrast to the Legion or the Knights of Columbus). One woman also commended the libraries for being clean and well organised 4) OC Transpo - In general OC Transpo helped women to access other municipal services. All the women found it easy to get to the SHCHC by bus. However, some problems with bus service were reported (see below).

Barriers and What Women Recommended: 1) Risk of falling - These women had problems accessing some transportation services because of the risk of falling. They found that sidewalks were not properly cleared of ice in the winter, making it difficult for them to leave their homes safely. Also, OC Transpo drivers in a hurry start the buses moving before passengers have a chance to sit down. One woman had had a bad fall on a bus. What was recommended: Bus drivers should wait until everyone is safely seated before leaving the bus stop, and passengers should be able to wait until the bus has stopped before getting up to exit. Women wanted the sidewalks cleared of ice and someone to shovel snow for elder women who lived alone. 2) Fear of being out at night - Some women would only participate in activities during the day because they perceived it to be unsafe to go out at night. Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 38

What was recommended: Have a subsidised taxi to serve elder women after dark. Women should use the same taxi driver, who they can get to know and trust. 3) The design of housing for elders - Seniors apartments in Ottawa are too small and cramped considering how much time an individual might have to spend inside. What was recommended: Bigger apartments with better kitchens. 4) Hours of services - Women wanted more recreational programs on Saturdays and Sundays. They also wanted doctors available on weekends. 5) Cost of programs - Women had to pay $8-$10 a day at the Patro, which was seen as a barrier. What was recommended: Reduce costs. The women also wanted the municipality to pressure non-city service providers, such as the NAC, into offering reduced prices for seniors. 6) Pools - Women did not use pools because they were allergic to chlorine, did not like the smell of chlorine or were uncomfortable with the presence of children in the pool. 7) Vanier underserviced - One woman who lives in Vanier felt that they did not offer enough programs at the Vanier Community Service Centre, that the hours were not long enough and that they needed better communication with the public.

Clustering: The women enjoyed having a range of programs offered at the same location: SHCHC. One woman also liked the St. Laurent complex which has a pool, library, and arena.

Internet: These women did not have access to the internet and had never tried using it. When asked whether she would like to have access to the internet one woman responded: Je ne connait pas les personnes sur la rue". They would rather have a phone number that you could call and a real person would answer. One woman did not even have a touchtone phone so could not access automated phone information.

Summary: Perhaps the biggest help these women had in accessing municipal services is the fact that they were all in good health and were busy active people. Initially they had difficulty thinking of any barriers they experienced. To these women the SHCHC is a second home. The programs they access provide them with a social life and a set of friends they can really talk to. As the women themselves pointed out, those women with illnesses or who were less involved might experience more barriers in trying to access services. Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 39

Focus Group F8 Date: May 2, 2001 Topic: Family Life and Health Services Location: Carlington Community Health Centre Number of Participants: 11 Recruitment Organisation(s): Somali Women's Support and Information Line Recruitment Criteria: Women of colour who are elders (60+) allophones, low-income, not engaged in paid/unpaid work, living in Nepean/Orleans/Gloucester Participant characteristics: All of these women had immigrated to Canada, 3 had lived in Ottawa for more than 10 years, and two more had lived in Ottawa for over 5 years. They were all over 50 years old: 4 between the ages of 50 and 60, 5 between the ages of 61 and 70 and two were older than 70. Only two women spoke more than one language. Somali was the mother tongue for 10 women while the 11th woman spoke Arabic. They all lived in the Carlington area. Most were in poor health.

Services discussed: community health centres, home support, home management, subsidised housing, exercise programs, Healthy Babies, Ontario Works, taxi, OC Transpo, interpreters, ADP.

Helpers: 1) Somali Women's Information Line - These women get most of their information about municipal services through this organisation. The people in this organisation speak their language and they also offer interpreters to help the women access other services. Perhaps most importantly they offer emotional support and understanding. One woman was actually a volunteer at the Information Line, being involved helped her to find out about other services. 2) Other non-city service providers - Women often found out about home-making from their physicians and from hospital workers. One woman found out about the Carlington Community Health Centre through her ESL teacher at the Caldwell Family Centre. 3) Carlington Community Health Centre - Various aspects of the CCHC were helpful to these women. First, it is located close to where they live. Second, they provide transportation to the centre for various services (most of the women were brought to the focus group by the CCHC bus). Third, childcare and cultural interpretation (through the Somali Info Line) are available on-site. Fourth, Carlington arranges to have prescriptions filled and delivered to one woman's house because she has no transportation. Fifth, there is a multicultural worker at the CCHC who helps women with immigration issues. Sixth, one woman was able to access an at home nurse through CCHC who comes in every two weeks 4) Healthy Babies and Healthy Children - One woman lives with her daughter and grandchildren. The Healthy Babies worker speaks Arabic, she was able to find out about other services through the worker. 5) Social workers - social worker was cited as helpful by one woman. 6) Ontario Works - was reported to be helpful by one woman. Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 40

7) Speaking English - One of the women who spoke English maintained that she did not experience any barriers because she spoke the language, knew how to get around by public transit and had her children to help her. 8) Friends and neighbours - these women depend upon the help of friends and neighbours and family members to provide interpretation and sometimes transportation.

Barriers and What Women Recommended 1) Language - The language a service is provided in is a huge barrier for these women, most of whom speak neither English nor French. The language barrier both prevents them from finding out about services and prevents them from using services. Accessing services by phone is particularly problematic. "If someone calls me and I hear they speak English I hang up.... A lot of appointments I miss. I have to go to neighbours because I miss the taxi, to ask them to call the doctor and say I will be late." What was recommended: more cultural interpretation services. Women were also eager to learn English. Medical problems and care-giver obligations make it hard for some women to leave the house to attend ESL classes. One suggestion is to have people come to their homes to teach them English. Another was to have ESL classes by phone. 2) Voice mail - Because of the language barrier, these women must seek help from friends or relatives when trying to access services by phone. If no one answers the phone their helper can leave a message, however, if the service provider calls back and the helper is not there, the women are unable to communicate. "They work hard to get someone to translate for them, but that person calls and gets a machine and so they can't stay and dial all day, so they leave, and they lose their helper. Always get machines." "When people services call to ask what I need, I just say nothing, nothing because I can't understand." 3) Transportation - Most women did not know how to use OC Transpo and/or were afraid to use it. Many end up taking taxis when they need to get somewhere which they must pay for from their food money. One woman had learned how to take the bus to CCHC but did not know how to get anywhere else. 4) Lack of information - Many women wanted more information about services, particularly those that had to do with their medical problems. What was recommended: More information about services sent to women’s homes. One woman liked the focus group format as a way of accessing information, this way "she's not seeking information on her own." 5) Case-worker - One woman told of an experience she had trying to get help for her diabetes. She kept calling her case-worker explaining her problem with diabetes but the case-worker never called her back. So she found the Diabetes Association in the phone book and she went there in the snow and everything. The Association told her that she had to get her case-worker to contact them and send them money before they could help her. 6) Recreation programs and facilities for seniors - None of these women access exercise programs. One woman felt that if she had a group of seniors she would feel more confident about exercising. What was recommended: exercise programs for seniors. Hot tubs for seniors, for their joints. Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 41

7) Physician shortage - While all the women would like to have physicians at the CCHC, only half do. The other women are on waiting lists because there are not enough physicians at the centre. 8) Not enough subsidised housing - Several women wanted to access subsidised housing but could not. "I asked about subsidised housing but nothing, I have diabetes and I have to use food money to pay for my rent." One woman reported that she lives in subsidised housing, however, she feels more is needed because she knows many people who need it but cannot access it. 9) Prescription subsidies - Not all the medications and equipment required by these women were covered. In particular, one diabetic woman found it difficult to pay for her syringes which were not covered.

Clustering: The most important combination of services for these women is interpretation and anything else. The combination of interpretation, medical services, multicultural advocation, childcare and transportation offered at CCHC is particularly appreciated.

Internet: They don't have computers. They thought it would be useful if a machine were available that could translate phone calls.

Summary: Many of these women feel isolated because their children have grown up and left or are still living back in Somalia. The language barrier forces them to be dependent upon help from friends and relatives who speak English, and therefore their isolation from friends and family exacerbates their difficulties in accessing services. Moreover, a number of women are dealing with major health issues, they are afraid that they will be unable to access emergency services in the case of a health crisis (such as a diabetic coma) because no-one will know they are sick. Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 42

Focus Group F9 Topic: Family Life and Health Date: June 23, 2001 Location: Bayshore Recreation Centre Recruiting Organisation(s): Individual Recruiting Number of Participants: 4 Recruiting criteria: Women of colour with children (25-44), engaged in paid work, low-income, children under 12 years old, Filipina/South Asian heritage, allophone, living in Bayshore area Participant characteristics: All of these women are originally from the Phillipines, however, 3 have lived in Ottawa for more than 10 years. They all have children: two have one child, and the other two have two children. All women have children under 10 years of age, three women have children under 5. Three women are in the 30s, the fourth is in her early 40s. They all rent their homes. Two women have one paid job, one has two paid jobs and the fourth had three paid jobs. Three women speak three languages while the fourth speaks two. Three women are in good health. They all live in the Bayshore area.

Services discussed: childcare, recreational programs, arenas, pools, community centres

Helpers: 1) Word of mouth - these women found out about things through other people. Two women had taken daycare at Algonquin so they knew about the childcare system from school. 2) VON - One woman found out about childcare and a resource centre from her VON after childbirth.

Barriers and what women recommended: 1) Automated telephone systems - One woman tried to register her daughter for skating lessons by phone, and was passed from person to person until she "hit a deadend" so she actually went to the arena. The person at the arena told her that she could not register in person but rather had to phone. The woman gave up. Because small children require constant attentive supervision, it is generally difficult for caregivers to access services by phone if it is an automated system or if they are put on hold for long periods of time. What was recommended: To have physical locations, perhaps in community centres, where women can meet with a real person and ask questions or register for programs. 2) Lack of childcare - These women were all concerned about the lack of childcare, particularly subsidised childcare, in their neighbourhood. The waiting lists for a childcare spot were as long as 2 years. They joked that you have to register for childcare before you even conceive a child. One woman did not know how to find a childcare spot, nor did her friends. What was recommended: increase the number of childcare spots available based on the population in the neighbourhood, which would mean more spots in Bayshore. 3) Lack of information - These women felt that they were at a disadvantage because they are New Canadians. They felt that other women in the community knew about services and how to access them because they had networks who could help them with these issues. As new Canadians, they felt that their networks were not as well informed. Another woman had tried to Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 43 access a children’s drop-in program at a resource centre and after repeated phone calls had been told when the program was. When she went at that time the resource centre was closed. This same woman did not know how to go about accessing childcare. They did not know about: emergency shelters, community health centres, sexual health clinic, special services at home program, and medical supply subsidies. Although their English was impeccable, these women could not even guess what the program “Buns in the Oven” was about. An illustration that English idioms are not easily understood by those women for whom English is a second language. What was recommended: Flyers delivered to every door. Having a location they could go to ask a real person questions. 4) Transportation - Although they can access some childcare and children's recreational programs at Crystal Beach or in Barrhaven, the lack of good bus routes to the centres is an obstacle for one mother with no car. She has to take 3 buses to Barrhaven, or 2 to Crystal Beach but the bus stop for Crystal Beach is a far walk from the centre which is a problem in Winter. 5) Parks - these women had bad experiences with cyclists and dogs in parks where by-laws prohibited both. Even parks are overcrowded in Bayshore.

Clustering: Childcare at the pool would be good so that women could do some swimming for themselves. Also they used to have mass at the community centre, they would like that to be offered again.

Internet: Although at least one woman was interested in accessing services via the internet, they were either without the computers or without the skills to do so. They were aware that internet training is available at libraries and at the community centre. As for telephone access, because of their small children, they could not stay on hold. Also they do not like being passed from one person to another. Telephone access would be acceptable if it could be like the automated schedules for OC Transpo where you immediately got the information you needed.

Summary: Overall, these women felt that their neighbourhood, Bayshore, is underserved by the City. Childcare was their primary concern: the two year waiting lists, and the lack of spots in their neighbourhood. One woman felt that her child was not going to develop properly because she could not send him to childcare where he would get the benefits of being with other people. This focus group was a good illustration of networking and word-of-mouth information provision. These women knew a fair amount about the resources, or lack of resources, in their neighbourhood, they shared this information with each other during the focus group. They also actively sought information on services that they did not know about from the focus group coordinator. As one woman said, "ask anyone you can meet. That's a good way. If they got something I want, I just ask where they got it." Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 44

Focus Group S1 Topic: Safety and Security Services Date: March 15, 2001 Number of Participants: 11 Recruiting Organisation(s): Woodroffe High School and Individual Recruitings Recruiting criteria: Women of colour who are urban teenagers (13-18) mostly Somali and Muslim allophone, engaged in paid work/looking for paid work living in Pinecrest area Participant characteristics: The participants were all between the ages of 15 and 18. None of their parents were born in Canada and only two women were themselves born in Canada. Most of the women had six or more siblings. Four women lived in a woman headed household. Two women lived in an extended family household. Most women were Somali, Muslim, and lived in the West End.

Services discussed: police, fire services, ambulance, 9-1-1, Transecure, public health programs,

Helpers: 1) Community Policing - "Police officers are more involved in community, they say ‘hi say I'm your neighbourhood police officer.’ They speak to youth at the community centre. Now people are starting to go and talk to them, they’re more comfortable" One woman also commended the police on "courtesy in terms of dealing with the clinically insane." They also felt a physical presence prevented crimes from happening. 2) School Workshops - They thought that having service providers come into the schools to do workshops was very useful. In particular fire safety workshops and sessions on hate crimes and discrimination. They thought that there should be more school workshops like these. 3) Teachers - "have a lot of influence, help students a lot, help students access services." 4) Fire services - general agreement that fire services were "reliable and efficient" 5) Ambulance attendants - "pay attention to you, and try to get your mind off, and do all they can" 6) OC Transpo's Information Line - "It's a lot easier because you just call up on the phone, can just call OC Transpo and just ask."

Barriers and What Women Recommended: 1) Lack of information - as one woman pointed out not knowing about these services "reduces abilities to feel safe" For example, only three women knew about Transecure programs. What was recommended: More awareness programs like the focus group. Go door to door to tell people about services. "Keep things personal, keep [services] right in front of people." "Mail info in their own language, people pay attention if it's in their own language." 2) Discrimination and response times - Although they did not report any experiences with discrimination from municipal services, because they are surrounded by discrimination in society in general, these young women assumed that there was discrimination in the provision of services. "My scarf is a religious symbol you feel like they treat you differently because of your religion or your race." One woman's uncle and brother had experienced discrimination from a Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 45 police officer. Many women perceived that there was discrimination in the response time of some services to their neighbourhood: Ramsey. What was recommended: More minority representation in the services. 3) Ambulance and 9-1-1 response times - One woman had had trouble getting through to 9-1-1, when she did get through she felt that they asked too many questions and did not dispatch the ambulance quickly enough. Other women assured her that the ambulance was dispatched as soon as she called and that the dispatcher was asking her questions to calm her down and keep her on the phone. What was recommended: This woman wanted more dispatchers on 9-1-1. Someone else recommended that every household have someone trained in CPR and in dealing with choking. These courses could be offered right in the home so that mothers would have access to it. 4) By-laws not enforced - One woman felt that by-laws, such as not crossing roads at Transitway stops, should be enforced. She perceived that they were not enforced because service providers did not care about her. What was recommended: enforce by-laws. 5) More programs for women What was recommended: hotlines for women in trouble to give them "advice and assurance." More group homes for women "who have been abused or have children on their own." More jobs for women who have children and who are not in school. More access to self-defence classes. Transportation of pregnant women to hospital if they don't have someone to drive them. More women taxi drivers because it's not safe for women to take taxi with male drivers. Also "more encouragements amongst females themselves to access services." 6) Language - While all of these women spoke perfect English, they were concerned for members of their community, particularly Somalian women, who don't speak the language and, therefore, feel they can't access the services. What was recommended: more cultural interpreters to help people access services. Mailing information to women in their native language. 7) Attitudes of service providers - "some people just don't like their jobs."

Clustering: They liked 9-1-1, that you could access police, ambulance and fire all with the same number.

Internet: They were adamant that the internet should only be an option, that it should not replace other means of accessing services. They were all comfortable using the internet but were conscious that others don't know how, and don't have access to it. They felt that it was not appropriate to access emergency services on the internet, it is better to leave that as phone access. Less urgent services could be offered on the internet. In fact, one woman thought it might be a good way for people who were worried about retaliation to give information to the police anonymously. One barrier these young women face in accessing municipal services on the internet was their parents distrust of the internet. In order to overcome this, workshops are needed to teach parents that the internet is not all bad. Some of these women did have reservations about the use of the internet, feeling it would diminish personal contact and Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 46 contribute to people becoming antisocial. They also felt that computers are not that dependable and if one thing goes wrong, internet access is gone.

Summary: This group of young women was very aware of their own needs as women and the needs of other women in their community. They were willing to take initiatives, "It's us that has to bring these issues up," and to speak on behalf of other women who might not have a voice. They were confident in their own abilities to access services and that, in turn, gave them a sense of security. "Knowing you can access them is a comfort, knowing these programs exist, creates comfort" Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 47

Focus Group S2 Topic: Safety and Security Services Date: April 10, 2001 Location: Offices of Immigrant and Visible Minority Women Against Abuse Number of Participants: 16 Recruiting Organisation: Immigrant and Visible Minority Women Against Abuse Recruitment criteria: Women escaping abuse aged 18-40, living in public housing with children engaged/interested in paid work, Immigrant women/multi-racial Participant characteristics: Thirteen of these women had children and none of them had any family support for raising them. Most had only one or two children, but two had three children and one had five. Eleven had some post-secondary education but only two currently had paid employment. Five women were between the ages of 18 and 30, the others were between 30 and 50. Although many interpreters were required to conduct this focus group, 7 women spoke two languages and 3 women spoke four or more languages. The women lived all over the City.

Services discussed: Police, ambulance, 9-1-1, housing, social assistance.

Helpers: 1) Non-city service providers - A large number of women listed the Immigrant and Visible Minority Women Escaping Abuse (IVM) as an important helper in accessing municipal services. IVM helped in two ways, first increasing women's self-esteem through counselling, second by providing information and help with accessing municipal services specifically. Some women were also helped by other non-city service providers, such as the woman whose ESL teacher phoned the police because she was concerned about her student. Another woman was helped by her child's doctor. 2) 911 - generally happy with 9-1-1 because they have gotten fast response and because it gives access to a number of different services at once and it's easy to phone. The operators are "very patient and friendly, they make me feel better, they calm me down." 3) Police - Many women were happy with the service they received from the police. One woman who had had a misunderstanding with a police officer was happy with the way the mistake was resolved. In another incident the police had taken a woman’s side against a "Canadian family" so she was satisfied that they were not prejudiced. Another woman said that the police were "nice, helpful, which made me feel safe" Another woman particularly liked the Police Safety Line. 4) Social worker - within three weeks of leaving her husband, a woman got housing thanks to City Living and her social worker.

Barriers and What Women Recommended: 1) Immigration status - There was some confusion as to what women were entitled to access during the process of becoming a Canadian citizen. "Before I'm Canadian, I have no rights, if I have problem I can't call police I just be quiet and sit in my home" Even when this woman was told she had the right to contact the police, she said that she had heard it would be bad for her immigration case if she "had a relationship with the police." Another woman told a story of Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 48 trying to access emergency medical services on behalf of a friend and being turned away because he did not have up-to-date health care papers. In some cases, abusers took advantage of this confusion as one woman relates, "I faced isolation for about a year in my father's house which made it impossible to know where to get help" What was recommended: police and immigration work together to provide newcomers with information on their rights as soon as they enter the country. Another woman wanted more information about the police and law in general in Canada. "Ask immigration to be sensitive to immigrants because they make immigrants so scared to access they don't do anything." 2) Language barrier - The majority of these women did not speak English which made it difficult for them to find out about or access municipal services. One woman had a misunderstanding with a police officer because of the language barrier. What was recommended: provide information about services in different languages, not just French and English. Provide services themselves in different languages. Provide cultural interpreters to help women access a service for the first time. 3) Lack of information about services - Finding out about services was a particular problem for these women either because of the language barrier or because of their general isolation. What was recommended: Mandatory workshops on municipal services (eg. 9-1-1, using the bus) and on rights of access at point of entry into Canada for immigrants. Advertising on television, particularly during various community programs. More workshops, like the focus group where representatives from each service would come and tell immigrants about the services available and how to access them. Have people at every community centre who women can ask for information. Another idea was to have information mailed to newcomers in their native language, it would be possible to do this because upon entry into Canada each immigrant has to give an address and a native language. 4) Changing case workers - One woman reported having difficulty finding out how to access the services she needed because her social worker changed each time. 5) Experiences outside Canada - A couple of women reported being afraid to access police or other emergency services because of bad experiences with these services in their countries of origin. Having more minority police who understand their problems was recommended. 6) "all service providers need to be more sensitive" - as immigrants, many women felt isolated which made it difficult for them to access services. They need the service providers to be supportive and understanding to help them overcome this isolation. 7) Response time of police - police are not responding fast enough and are not processing things fast enough, according to one woman. 8) Attitudes of service providers - "people need to be trained in terms of how to treat people who are accessing the service" In particular women felt that service providers generalised that all welfare recipients were liars, "sometimes they talk to you like you are nobody" 9) Problems contacting services for non-emergencies - One woman reported that safety and security services did not return her calls. Another woman had used 9-1-1 in a non-emergency situation because she did not know what it was used for. The responding police officers got angry with her. What was recommended: One woman would like to be able to call and talk to safety and security services as often as she needs to. Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 49

10) Transecure - only three women knew about the Transecure program. One of these women still did not feel safe because buses come so infrequently at 9 or 10 at night. 11) Financial problems - Many women could not work full-time because they had small children. They found that social assistance did not provide them enough money to cover all the little things, however, if they got a full-time job they'd have to pay for childcare so they would not be any further ahead. 12) Housing - finding and affording housing was a barrier to these women. What was recommended: More help with housing. 13) Cost of ambulance - cost is too high. 14) Police powers - one woman is being harassed by someone who is writing false letters to immigration and to her school, unfortunately the police are unable to stop him.

Clustering: Women liked 9-1-1 becaus it linked them to a range of services. One of the suggestions made to help give people information about services was to have someone at every community centre who could answer questions about all municipal services. Also links between federal immigration services and municipal services were suggested.

Internet: These women did not have easy access to the internet. They did not have computers at home -- "I don't have computer, sometimes we don't have money for food" -- and they found it difficult to access computers at the library because they worked, or had children, or both. They felt that television was a better means of reaching people because "almost everyone" has one.

Summary: Isolation was a huge barrier for these women. They were isolated because they did not speak French or English. They were isolated by abusive family members. They were isolated by being single mothers who did not work outside of the home. They were isolated by their experiences outside of Canada. And, unfortunately, they were isolated because of confusion around what they had the right to access. In order for them to be able to access services, their isolation has to be overcome. Non-city service providers are one of the few persons with knowledge about municipal services whom these women come into contact with. They are able to help women overcome their isolation. Despite the barriers to access, for the most part safety and security services have played important and positive roles in these women's lives: "These services are important for me and helpful, if police services weren't here I might not be here" Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 50

Focus Group S3 Date: April 20, 2001 Topic: Safety and Security Services Location: Cornerstone Refuge Apostolic Church Number of Participants: 13 Recruiting Organisation(s): Somerset Community Centre Recruitment Criteria: Women of colour (ie: of West Indian origin) who are elders (55-70) independently living, middle and low-income, engaged in non-paid work living in Alta Vista/Bayshore/Carlingwood areas Participant Characteristics: All women were born in the Caribbean. Three have lived in Ottawa for more than 35 years, eight have lived in Ottawa for more than 25 but less than 35 years, one woman has lived in Ottawa for more than 10 but less than 25 years and the last woman has lived in Ottawa for less than 10 years. Eight of them brought up their children in Ottawa. Five women were over 60, the rest were between 55 and 60. Five women live in the Hintonburg area, the rest live elsewhere in Ottawa (Ottawa South, West End, South End, Baseline, Riverside).

Services discussed: Police, OC Transpo, Transecure, ambulance, fire services

Helpers: 1) Friendly service providers - women reported on good experiences with nice, kind and friendly police officers, ambulance attendants and bus drivers. 2) Complaints taken seriously - one woman had a good experience with making a complaint regarding a racist remark a police officer had made. 3) Priority seating on buses - knowing that people will give up their seats to the elderly helps them to access buses. 4) Fire services respond quickly 5) Family members - one woman told a story about her friend being harassed by police for walking down a road at night. This woman’s daughter is a police officer so she helped her to deal with the situation.

Barriers and What Women Recommended: 1) Racial discrimination - These women have experienced harassment from both members of the public, bus drivers and police officers. This is compounded by knowing other people who have been harassed. What was recommended: A police officer had made a demeaning remark to a woman. She filed a complaint and it was handled very well. The police even asked her to join their board so that she could relate to them and teach them how to interact with racialised minorities. One recommendation was to ensure that service providers are given sensitivity training. Also some women felt that they themselves should get more involved with police and the community. 2) Lack of information - women wanted more information about OC Transpo and other municipal services. What was recommended: supply more information through churches. Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 51

3) Slow response - one woman felt the police did not respond as quickly as they should have to a break in, which had been a frightening experience for her. Another woman thought that ambulance services were also too slow. 4) Phone access - A police officer who responded to a break in gave the woman his card and told her to call him if she needed to. She has tried to call him for some information, leaves messages but he has never called back. Nor is she able to get information from any other officer. 5) Cost of services - bus fares and the cost of ambulances were seen as too high. What was recommended: Seniors rates for ambulances. Many women retire at 50 so the seniors rate for buses should start at 50 or at least 55. Or use proof of retirement instead of age for reduced rates. 6) Teenagers - Women felt that teenagers were intimidating, swore too much and obstructed the aisles on buses with their feet. 7) Baby strollers on buses - women felt that baby strollers on buses presented an obstacle. 8) Don't see police - women wanted a more physical presence of police and/or security. 9) Transecure inconsistent - sometimes bus drivers forget to stop at Transecure stops. 10) Miscellaneous recommendations: seniors need help crossing the road and with their laundry.

Summary: For this group, racial discrimination was a significant barrier to accessing safety and security services. Not only had they experienced discrimination directly, but they also had friends who had been discriminated against. They are the only group to suggest providing information on services through a religious institution, in this case a Christian church. Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 52

Focus Group S4 Topic: Safety and Security Date: July 10, 2001 Location: CIFODE Number of Participants: 7 Recruiting Organisation(s): CIFODE Recruiting Criteria: Women of colour (41-60), engaged in paid work, francophone, middle- income, living in Gloucester/Orleans area Participant Characteristics: All women have children, do not have paid work and were born in Somalia. They all speak both Somali and French. They range in age: two are between 25 and 30, two between 31 and 37 and three are between 38 and 48. They live all over Ottawa. Three have less than 3 children, one has 4 children and three have 5 children. They all consider themselves to be in good health.

Services discussed: 9-1-1, ambulance, police, transecure, fire services

Helpers: 1) Fast response rates - Women thought that 9-1-1, ambulances and fire services had fast response times. 2) Networking - women get their information from talking to people, from meetings like the focus group, and from television.

Barriers and What Women Recommended: 1) Didn't know about Transecure - These women did not know about the One Stop Night Stop and other aspects of Transecure. One woman did know she could flag down a bus in an emergency but did not know it was called Transecure. Women admitted to not reading pamphlets or posters, they are too busy. What was recommended: advertise on television. Providing information through the libraries and schools would be helpful, because their children will tell them about it, or else they will read material their children bring home from school because it's important. 2) Safety needed at bus stops in neighbourhoods - One woman has two daughters who are harassed when they get off the bus at a local stop by a group of men who hang out there. What was recommended: Put security systems at isolated bus stops in the neighbourhoods. Have surveillance of bus stops in neighbourhoods. 3) 9-1-1 needs to be faster - Though all of these women had had good experiences with 9-1-1, they thought it should be faster for other people who are in life threatening situations. One woman didn't like all the questions that 9-1-1 asks, "sometimes can't answer them because you're in shock or because you have to go help the child you don't have time to answer the questions." 4) Language barrier - All of these women could speak French and so did not have problems accessing services because of language but they all knew people who did have language problems. One woman said that she did have to insist on being served in French sometimes because most police and ambulance attendants are Anglophones. Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 53

What was recommended: Have service providers who speak more than French and English, who speak Spanish or Somali as well. When there are two service providers, police or paramedics, at least one should be able to speak French.

Clustering: The clustering or ambulance, police services, and fire services through 9-1-1 is a good helper. One woman thought that emergency services might be able to reach people faster if they were all physically located in the same place.

Internet: Most of these women had computers and internet access at home but did not use it themselves. Only one woman uses the internet. They prefer to use the phone to get information.

Summary: This group had not had very much experience with safety and security services. It took some time before they could think of any barriers. Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 54

Focus Group M1 Topic: Mobility Services Date: May 4, 2001 Location: City Hall Number of Participants: 10 Recruiting organisation(s): Youthnet Recruitment characteristics: Women aged (13-25) engaged in paid work/looking for work women of colour and white women, multi-income levels, living in Stittsville/East/West Ottawa Participant characteristics: The women were mostly between the ages of 15 and 22 although one woman was over 25. Five were in high school and one was in university, four were engaged in paid work. One woman was born in Africa, the others were all born in Canada with three being born in Ottawa. They lived all over Ottawa, in the west end, the east end and the south end. The one woman from Stittsville who had intended to come did not show up.

Services discussed: Most of the discussion centred around the services that OC Transpo provides, however other services were mentioned: bike paths, parking, parks, roads, sidewalks, snow removal, and taxis.

Helpers: 1) OC Transpo Information Line- Unanimous approval for this service. Women liked that they could phone up and talk to a real person who would supply them with information on different options to get from A to B and who also supplied them with landmarks to look out for ("...the court house is near there and you just have to walk and you can see the flags."). They found that the operators were helpful, patient and knowledgeable. 2) OC Transpo schedule lines - Women generally liked the automated phone schedules although one woman reported technical problems with the line for the stop near her work place (CHEO). 3) OC Transpo drivers - Many women had positive stories to share about the help they had received from kind and generous bus drivers. One woman was particularly enthusiastic about female drivers: "woman bus drivers, we love you." Another woman talked about a driver who interacted with the kids on the bus in a positive way over the p.a. system. Another woman who trained guide dogs was pleased with how they dealt with her and the dogs. 4) One stop night stop - women liked this a lot because it made them feel safer to stand with a larger group of people in a well lit area, than at a little used local route stop. 5) Bike paths - many women used and enjoyed the bike paths in Ottawa. 6) Paratranspo drivers - One woman who has used Paratranspo for herself, and also as a nursing student, had nothing but praise for Paratranspo drivers for the way they deal with clients. 7) 95 to Barrhaven - The more frequent bus service to Barrhaven was much appreciated. 8) Cameras on buses - feel more secure knowing there are cameras on certain buses.

Barriers and Recommendations: 1) Drivers' attitude towards youth and others - women felt that drivers singled them out when anything happened on a bus because they are young. One woman of colour reported that they Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 55 call her “bad words” in her neighbourhood. Others had witnessed incidents in which drivers had not treated mentally ill persons properly. Another woman had witnessed drivers being rude in administering the Fare's Fair policy. What was recommended: Train drivers to deal with unruly passengers. Give drivers sensitivity training to help them be more openminded about the diversity of people who use the bus. 2) Paratranspo - a few women had had experience with Paratranspo as clients or as aids. They found the service inconvenient and unreliable. One woman had had a poor driver who had caused her pain by driving too fast over bumps. What was recommended: "My big wish is that ParaTranspo users have equal access for services... if I get up and I want to go downtown at this time and I have to be somewhere at this time, I can do that and I think if you're living with mobility problems and you need to go to where ever you want to go you should have the wish to phone a number and have services. We're not living in a time that we can't make this happen, so I don't think there is an excuse, I think we just need to find a way to do it." 3) Full buses - Certain buses at certain times are always full making rides uncomfortable. New buses exacerbate this problem because they have fewer seats. Sometimes, if they are full, the driver won't pick up new passengers making people late for work. What was recommended: Find out which routes are too full at what times and put more buses on. Put double buses on some of the local routes by South Keys. Send more buses to high schools and Carleton U. when the students get out. 4) Knowledge of Transecure - only a few women knew about transecure programs. 5) OC Transpo fares - one woman thought that seniors should not have to pay for the bus. Others argued that if you reduced the fare for one group you should reduce it for all disadvantaged groups including students. One woman wanted the drivers to be able to give change. 6) Condition of buses and shelters - Women often did not use bus shelters because of how dirty they are, the smell of urine or of cigarette smoke, slush, etc. One woman also complained about the smell on buses especially in the winter and about having trouble seeing out the windows. What was recommended: clean buses and facilities more often. Driver should make announcements about where the bus is when the windows are covered. 7) Lack of good safety measures at Transitway stops - Most women felt unsafe at Transitway stops after dark. Although there are security alarm boxes, many have been vandalised, moreover OC Transpo response to the boxes is extremely slow (upwards of 20 minutes). What was recommended: Have actual OC security personnel on duty at Transitway stops. Cut down trees at Transitway stops. 8) Sexual harassment from taxi-drivers - A few women spoke of being uncomfortable taking cabs home alone at night. "I don't think I've ever had a cabbie who hasn't made some kind of comment about the fact that you're a woman and alone." 9) Lack of good safety measures on bike paths - Some of the bike paths need repair. Some are poorly lit at night. What was recommended: More lighting and repairs and install alarm boxes. Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 56

10) Frequency of buses - many people wanted more frequent bus service: one woman wanted more frequent service to the hospitals; another wanted more buses to go between Carleton and the West End; another woman wanted more local routes between Barrhaven and Bayshore. 11) Lack of schedules on local stops - Many stops do not have schedules posted on them. As one woman said, "if you're someplace that doesn't have that and it's late at night and you don't know if you’re going to be waiting there for an hour, you might as well walk or take another bus, it's an issue." What was recommended: Have a schedule posted at each stop. 12) Snow at bus stops - one woman was concerned about the safety of her grandmother and other persons with mobility problems when snow is not removed from bus stops. 13) Unhelpful bus drivers - Several women have had bus drivers who did not know anything about connecting routes or roads and landmarks on their own route or who were curt when asked a question. What was recommended: Drivers should at least know something about the routes that their bus connects with. 14) Lighting at bus stops - women wanted better lighting at all bus stops. 15) Unsafe walking at night - Several women were uncomfortable walking along sidewalks at night and had been harrassed or stalked. What was recommended: Later bus service and more local routes. Have a Transecure van drive around neighbourhoods late at night to make sure everyone is safe. 16) Accessibility of cross-walks - Some take too long to change and others don't give people enough time to cross. What was recommended: put beepers on more cross-walks. 17) Parking by-law signage - difficult to read the small font used to outline parking regulations on traffic metres. One woman reported that her brother had been ticketted for parking somewhere that did not have clear signage. She also had an experience of going to emergency and having to wait for her mother to find parking and return before she could see a doctor. What was recommended: Should have laxer parking regulations around emergency services. More places where you pay for parking when you leave or by credit card. Big signs by parking-metres. 18) Transitway through downtown during rush-hour - Because of all the construction, it takes excessively long to take a bus through downtown at rushhour. Also construction begins too early for downtown residents, waking them up. What was recommended: restrict construction downtown to times when there is little car flow. Have construction later in the evenings rather than early in the morning. 19) Friction of use between bikes, cars and pedestrians - each group needs to be more aware of and considerate towards the other. The city can help by making bike lanes more pronounced. 20) Dirt and ice on sidewalks - sidewalks in spring are covered with ice, salt and gravel. Women felt that sidewalks are dirty, unsanitary and slippery. What was recommended: Clean the sidewalks more often. Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 57

Clustering: Buses, bikes and parks should go together by putting bike racks on all bus routes that go by parks. Linking university foot patrol with buses so that they can take women right to their doors.

Internet: Women thought that telephone access is better than internet access because more people have phones than have computers. Some women only used the web for research and did not think it was a good tool for providing information that was required immediately. "I'm not going to boot up my whole computer to find something out, I'll pick up the phone" However, another woman said she wouldn't phone the City for information because she would just end up getting an automated phone system with "press this and press that". Although the OC Transpo phone schedule is automated, it is customised so you get only the information you need. All the women had very positive things to say about OC Transpo phone schedules and information, they didn't want those services to change. They got information about road networks, repairs etc, from the radio or by word of mouth. They would not use the internet to check for possible construction.

Summary: The biggest concern for these young women, was safety. They had all experienced some harassment using one or more of the mobility services from either an individual or from the service provider. The harassment was directed at them because they were young, female, or in some cases women of colour or Muslim women. They experienced fear frequently when accessing these services at night, but often had no choice about using them. These women were all very dependent upon OC Transpo to get between school, jobs and social engagements. While they were concerned about their own well-being, they also made a number of suggestions aimed at helping other groups access these services more safely. Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 58

Focus Group M2 Topic: Employment Access & Maintenance and Mobility Services (touches on many Family Life and Health Services as well) Date: May 11, 2001 Location: City Hall Number of Participants: 5 Recruitment organisation(s): Women’s Action Centre Against Violence and Ottawa Independent Living Centre Recruitment characteristics: Women who are physically challenged/visually impaired/whose mobility is impaired (45-60) engaged in paid work/looking for paid work, independently-living low-income, white, Anglophone, living in east/west and central Ottawa Participant characteristics: Four women had mobility impairments and the fifth woman had a visual impairment. Four were born in Canada, one was born in Europe. All spoke English, one also spoke French. Four lived by themselves, the fifth lived with her partner. Two women were under 40, two were between 40 and 55 and one was older than 56. They came from all over town: west end, south-east end, centre-town and Sandy Hill. Note: the Paratranspo strike was still going on at the time of this focus group.

Services discussed: employment resource centres, internet training, Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP), home support, Essential Health and Social Supports, Assistive Devices Program (ADP), OC Transpo, Transecure, Paratranspo, Sidewalks, By-law enforcement, Ontario Works

Helpers: 1) Service providers acting as advocates - one woman mentioned that her case-worker at Ontario Works was a wonderful woman; she was supportive, helpful, positive, and fought for her client. 2) Being involved - one woman knew about most of the services because she has sat on municipal committees. 3) Extent of OC Transpo routes and hours - one woman felt that the extent and frequency of OC Transpo buses was helpful. Others disagreed saying that weekend and evening service is bad. 4) Transecure - One woman had a good experience with Transecure. She was out on the street alone at night and a bus driver stopped, asked if she needed help, let her on the bus for free, and phoned ahead to make sure someone would be meeting her where he dropped her off. 5) Paratranspo regular bookings - works well. 6) ADP - one of the women who could not access ODSP was able to access ADP to get an electric wheelchair.

Barriers and What Was Recommended: 1) Lack of information - there were several services that we had listed that some or all women did not know about and wanted more information on: entrepreuneurship centre, ODSP, transecure and other OC Transpo services. In terms of the latter, women are aware that OC Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 59

Transpo has put some wheelchair accessible buses on some routes, however, they are having difficulty finding out which buses on the schedule will be wheelchair accessible. What was recommended: For OC Transpo wheelchair buses, have a symbol on the schedule indicating which buses are accessible. Have the Information Line people informed about which buses are accessible. Put a sticker on fare boxes on buses to remind passengers that there will be schedule changes soon, or have drivers announce upcoming schedule changes. 2) Physical aspects of information provision - The woman with a visual impairment experienced many barriers in accessing information. She particularly has a problem with OC Transpo information. What was recommended: signs and printed information must be in large letters with contrasting colours (black and white is always best). Buses need to come to a full stop at stops so that she can read the numbers. Need better colours for the bus numbers (the green and orange numbers on the new buses are very difficult to see). Phone numbers for bus schedules posted on bus stops need to be in larger letters. 3) Physical obstacles - Obstacles which made it hard for some women to access sidewalks included: bikes chained to signposts, bikes ridden on sidewalks, low hanging tree branches, sloping sidewalks, snow and ice. The new buses which are meant to accommodate wheelchairs are too narrow for some chairs. What was recommended: pass a by-law prohibiting locking bikes to signs. 4) By-law enforcement - Women acknowledged that there are many by-laws that are meant to deal with obstacles they face but they feel these by-laws are not fully enforced. This includes by-laws prohibiting bikes on sidewalks and by-laws protecting handicapped parking spaces. What was recommended: more officers cracking down on people who break by-laws. 5) Falling through the cracks - A large number of the services that these women need to access (ODSP, ADP, home support, Essential Health and Social Support) have criteria individuals must meet in order to qualify. Many women did not qualify for things they felt they ought to be able to access. One woman is taking ODSP to court for refusing services. Another woman was refused ODSP because she attends university part-time. This woman had also been approved to receive an electric wheelchair from Essential Health and Social Supports, however, they denied her the wheelchair because she is not in an accessible apartment because EH and SS had not yet found her one yet. 6) Long waits for assistive devices - One woman had to wait a very long time to get her accessible computer. another woman described the lengthy process she has to go through to get a new seat cushion for her wheelchair: 6 - 8 months to get to the seating clinic, 5 - 9 months for assessment, approval and delivery. In the meantime, she's worried about getting pressure sores. 7) Inefficiencies in Paratranspo services - long wait times, inefficient use of buses (sending two buses to take two clients from the same building to nearly the same destination at the same time.) What was recommended: Paratranspo should be run by disabled persons for disabled persons. 8) Parking by-laws - One woman runs an aromatherapy and massage business out of her home in Sandy Hill. Her clients are there for sessions of 2 to 3 hours but only 1 hour parking is allowed in Sandy Hill, so clients have to go move their cars in the middle of a session which is disruptive. There is also not enough parking available in Sandy Hill. Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 60

What was recommended: Give business people parking permits that they can give to their customers. 9) Equipment at employment centres - Difficult for low-vision or blind individuals to access computers at employment centres. What was recommended: get large monitors with voice for the visually impaired. 10) Service providers - Having to talk to different service workers all the time can be a barrier because the new service worker does not know the woman's situation. Also, women felt the "it's not my job" attitude of some municipal employees can be a barrier. One woman had a particularly negative experience with Essential Health and Social Supports worker. There is a number to call at night if you need to go to the hospital. This woman called that number and asked to have a taxi to take her to the General Hospital because that is where her specialists are. The worker refused, saying they would only send a taxi to take her to the Civic. So the woman called the non-emergency number for the ambulance and talked to the supervisor about her situation. The ambulance supervisor phoned the Essential Health and Social Supports worker who phoned the woman. The worker called the woman a "manipulative female dog." When she asked for the worker's name, the worker refused to give it. What was recommended: Service providers need to be better educated as to " how women's experience of violence creates barriers to accessing certain services." It was also suggested that the City provide a centralised ombudsperson's office which would have the power to advocate on behalf of clients whenever problems occur in any of the programs or services. 10) Drivers of low-floor buses - Two women had had negative experiences trying to access low-floor buses. In both cases the bus driver told them that they should be using Paratranspo rather than the regular bus service. In one case the woman was actually slapped by another passenger and the driver refused to step in. In the other case the woman needed assistance with her walker in getting on the bus. These incidents took place during the Paratranspo strike.

Clustering: These women wanted to see more clustering in terms of information provision. They would like to have a section of every city facility dedicated to providing information about other city services. The focus group coordinator suggested that OC Transpo buses and drivers could also be used to circulate information about municipal services. "When you hear the words, 'it's not my job,' wouldn't it be nice if they could continue and say 'but, let me access the screen, okay, here's what you're looking for, that number is...'"

Internet: Negative responses to services provision by internet. Women couldn't afford internet access, found it difficult to use computers, didn't have time to use computers at the library, could not use the monitors at the library.

Summary: Because of their disabilities, these women are dependent upon accessing a number of services. Their ability to access these services depends upon how other people (medical profession, municipal workers, members of the public) define them. Each service has a set of criteria that they must meet in order to access those services. Municipal workers (and to a lesser extent the medical profession) are the ones who determine whether they meet the criteria or not. Prejudice and harassment from municipal workers and members of the public can impose Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 61 barriers to access. Physical aspects of service provision can also be a large challenge to these women. Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 62

Focus Group M3 Topic: Mobility Services Date: May 26, 2001 Location: City Hall Number of participants: 5 Recruiting Organisation(s): Lowertown Community Resource Centre and individual recruiting Recruiting criteria: Women of colour (age 19-40) lone parent and working low and middle income Anglophone, living in Ottawa East Participant characteristics: These women had all immigrated to Canada from East Africa, the Middle East and the West Indies. They had all lived in Ottawa for at least 5 years, three women had lived in Ottawa for more than 10 years. One woman was in her early 30s, three women were in their late 30s or early 40s, one woman was over 43. They were all single mothers. Four had paid employment. Four took the bus more than three times a week.

Services discussed: OC Transpo, parking metres, traffic lights, sidewalks, parks

Helpers: 1) Bus drivers - Women reported that most bus drivers are considerate, friendly and helpful. One woman mentioned that they usually help her with her stroller. 2) Transitway bus routes - One woman selected her residential location to be close to the transitway because the 95 is a very good, easy and fast service. 3) OC Transpo information phone services - Women found both the automated phon schedule system and the Information Line extremely helpful. 4) Bus service - People liked the bus service overall, especially in comparison to the bus service they had in their countries of origin. One woman found that her local bus service was good -- #2, #18 and #7. They found that using the bus is cheaper and easier than having a car, especially in the winter. 5) Park and Ride - One woman loved the Park and Ride and thought there should be more. She also thought it would be fine to check for bus passes.

Barriers and What Women Recommended: 1) Physical obstructions - One woman was temporarily on crutches; uneven paths, and cobblestone paths were difficult for her, as were the stairs to get on the buses were difficult for her. 2) Crowded buses - At rush hours the buses are too packed, making it uncomfortable to take the bus. Moreover, one woman reported having trouble situating herself on crowded buses in such a way that she did not impede other passengers. What was recommended: Put more buses on around schools. One woman recommended that once seats are filled, drivers do not stop to take on more passengers. 3) Didn't know about Transecure - Only one woman knew about the "one stop night stop" and the other aspects of the Transecure program. What was recommended: put pamphlets about Transecure in the pamphlet boxes on buses. Put a recorded announcement about Transecure on the automated phone schedule lines. Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 63

4) Other passengers on buses - One woman had been sworn at by other passengers on the bus for bringing a stroller on. Another woman was upset that passengers put their dirty feet on seats and tear the upholstery. Another woman did not like the bad language used by people on the bus. Another woman did not like that people ate on the bus and got the bus messy. What was recommended: If someone uses a bad word they should be kicked off the bus. In general better enforcement of rules. 5) Bus shelters and stations - Two women, do not use the elevators at certain transitway stops because of how dirty and smelly they are. She also finds the seats on buses are sometimes dirty. Another woman complained about people smoking in the shelters and OC Transpo not doing anything about it. Another woman said that the bus shelter in her neighbourhood gets broken 2 or 3 times a year. Also, she often has to wait at a bus stop that backs on a Hydro field and there is no shelter, it's very cold in the Winter. What was recommended: Clean elevators. Prevent people from dirtying and tearing the seats. Have OC representatives go around and stop people from smoking in the shelters. Build shelters out of unbreakable glass. Also, every stop should have a shelter. In Winter have something to warm children up in the shelters. In general enforcing more rules. 6) Bus design - Women had a number of problems with bus design. What was recommended: One woman wanted bigger seats and wider exits for overweight people (the bar at the exits of some of the buses was an obstacle for her.) The ridges between seats are impractical in Winter when everyone has big coats. The new buses did not have enough seats, and the seats that you have to step up to are uncomfortable and other seats some women’s feet do not touch the floor. Have more single seats on buses, which would give more room for strollers. 7) Priority seating - Women felt that the priority seating did not work. That it was a problem for strollers because it was also an entranceway. They knew many mothers who did not take the bus because they felt it was not safe. What was recommended: Have a designated area for moms with children. Maybe have it like on a paratranspo bus "designated just for mom where she can lock he door and sit there with her children." 8) Bus fares - Every woman had something to say about the price of taking the bus. One woman found the bus fares too high. Another woman said she hoped that the fares did not increase again. Still another woman pointed out that bus passes in Ottawa are more expensive than they are on the Quebec side. One woman's daughter is 11 but looks old for her age, sometimes, when she forgets her ID, she walks instead of taking the bus to avoid being harassed for paying the children's fee. What was recommended: Have a family bus fare rate. Children should not have to pay until they are old enough to take the bus on their own: 12 years old. 9) Bus drivers - One woman objected to bus drivers pulling away when people were running to catch it and sometimes even knocking on the bus. Another woman, who was new to Ottawa, frequently asked bus drivers to let her know when her stop came. Often they let her know too late. She thought it might be due to racial discrimination since she knew many people of colour to whom this had happened. Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 64

What was recommended: "So I recommend the bus driver wait for the people because that is a business thing, a customer." Someone also recommended sensitivity training for drivers. 10) Buses not keeping to their schedule - One woman complained that local buses in Westboro did not stick to their schedule but were always 5 minutes early or 10 minutes late. 11) Weekend bus service - Too long a wait, 45 minutes. What was recommended: More frequent bus service on weekends. 12) Local routes - are not as accessible as transitway routes. What was recommended: To have a "Circle Line" for the transitway, making it easier for everyone to use the transitway. 13) Traffic Lights - Two women mentioned that some traffic lights are not long enough for pedestrians. One woman had problems crossing quickly enough because of a knee injury, the other woman's parents had difficulty crossing fast enough. Another woman wanted them to enforce the law against jay-walking for people's safety. 14) Parking downtown - A lot of parking metres downtown are only for 1 hour which is not enough time if you have an appointment. The parking lots are too expensive. What was recommended: Should be able to have 1, 2 or 3 hour parking at metres downtown. 15) Public forums - One woman wanted more public forums where the City listened to people's ideas about services. 16) By-law enforcement in parks - One woman was afraid of uncontrolled dogs in parks.

Clustering: Two suggestions were made. First, to have employment centres close to transitway stops. Currently there is an employment centre at St. Laurent Shopping Centre which has good access to the transitway but they are planning to move it to Beacon Hill which is not a major station. Second, to have access to a free phone at the One Stop Night Stop so that you can call for information or if you are in distress.

Internet: One woman had actually accessed the City's web-site with her children as part of their school assignment. These women felt, however, that not everyone has a computer and that libraries did not allow you enough time on their computers. They had learned about municipal services, such as Rack and Roll, from television and thought that medium to be the best way of reaching people. Phone would also be useful. One woman had tried to access information about bike paths using the phone but could not get a satisfactory answer to her question.

Summary: While the topic of this focus group was municipal mobility services, the discussion centred on OC Transpo, an indication of how central this service is to these single mothers. A number of the barriers they experienced in accessing OC Transpo involved negotiating the service with children: the cost, and the problem of strollers. These women were also concerned about the hygiene of buses and the negative behaviour of other passengers. The desire for more enforcement of rules on buses and elsewhere came up a number of times. Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 65

Focus Group M4 Topic: Mobility Services Date: May 28, 2001 Location: Lowertown Community Resource Centre Number of Participants: 11 Recruiting Organisation(s): Lowertown Community Resource Centre Recruiting Criteria: Women who are elders (65-75) middle and low income, white, francophone living in Orleans/Gloucester, middle-income Participant Characteristics: All women were born in Canada and were Francophone. Nine live alone, while two live with a family member. Six were between 60 and 65, two were between 66 and 76 and three were between 77 and 81. Six reported being in good health. Five take the bus at least 3 times a week and five drive at least 3 times a week. They live in Vanier, Gloucester and the downtown area.

Services discussed: OC Transpo, Paratranspo, sidewalks, snow removal, traffic lights, bike paths.

Helpers: 1) Bus drivers - These women found bus drivers to be nice in general. One woman likes bus drivers to be tidy in appearance. Another woman likes bus drivers who are able to give her information.

Barriers and What Women Recommended: 1) Bus drivers go too fast - Most women reported that a barrier to their using the bus was that bus drivers pull away before passengers are safely seated. "I had an accident once, a car cut in front of the bus and I fell completely and they had to call an ambulance." Women also reported that buses went through yellow and red traffic lights because of their hurry. Also because of their hurry, bus drivers did not stop close enough to the curb, making it difficult to step into the bus. What was recommended: Bus drivers should have more patience. Schedules should be relaxed so that they can wait for people to sit down. 2) Paratranspo - One woman had to take Paratranspo when recovering from surgery, she booked it two days in advance but it never showed up. A couple of women reported that Paratranspo is badly organised, that they will take several buses to bring people from the same place to the same place. Several women found Paratranspo too expensive. One woman witnessed a client of Paratranspo fall on the sidewalk, the driver did not get out to assist her. What was recommended: Re-organise Paratranspo so that it is more efficiently used. Give priority to doctors' appointments over shopping. 3) Bus routes - one woman's sister does not use the bus because "it takes her around the whole city before dropping her off." 4) Bus drivers who cannot speak French - Two women brought up bus drivers who don't speak French as barriers. What was recommended: Bus drivers should be bilingual. Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 66

5) Bus design - A few women had trouble with the size of the step up onto buses. Although buses can be lowered, one woman reported that bus drivers only did this for "people who are really handicapped." The step up is made even more of a problem by bus drivers stopping far from the curb. Others couldn't read the red numbers on new buses. One woman wanted all buses to have numbers on the back so you could tell if you missed the bus. 6) Dirty buses - One woman was concerned that garbage builds up along the bottom of the bus windows where the hot air comes out. She felt this was unhygienic. What was recommended: Clean buses more often. 7) Didn't Know About Transecure - These women had not heard about Transecure. What was recommended: Put pamphlets in schools and community centres, not just on buses because not everyone rides buses. Put information on television. 8) Other Service Users - People walking bikes and people on skateboards on sidewalks pose a barrier to these women. One woman was harassed by a "deranged person" on the bus, the bus driver did nothing. One woman felt that there was "a lack of discipline" on buses in general. People putting bikes on bus bike-racks took too much time. Strollers on buses posed a barrier. People get off at the front of the bus. People jay walk which is dangerous. Cars do not give right of way to pedestrians at crossings. What was recommended: No skateboards on sidewalks. Mothers should fold up their strollers and carry their children in their arms when they board buses. Drivers should tell people to go to the back of the bus more often. More enforcement of traffic and pedestrian by-laws. 9) Sidewalks not cleaned in Winter - When sidewalks and bus stops are not cleaned quickly and completely during winter, this poses a barrier for a number of these women. One woman fell on the sidewalk in winter once and no one stopped to help her. What was recommended: clean off sidewalks. 10) Bike paths unsafe - Bicycle paths do not have enough surveillance, they are isolated and people could hide in the brush that surrounds them. Need to have more bike paths, maybe next to roads, so that bikes do not have to be on the road. 11) Crossing street - One woman felt that because bus drivers are always in a rush, they run through traffic lights, especially through the intersection at Charlotte and Rideau.

Clustering: The focus group coordinator suggested that OC Transpo service and community centres be linked together. Women felt that the service to community centres was already good. Not so good to the Bruyere Centre, however. One woman suggested linking bike paths and safety and security.

Internet: These women did not see the internet as a useful tool for themselves. Television was considered the best way to provide information. Someone suggested the French station on Rogers.

Summary: The concerns of these women regarding the speed of bus drivers highlights the tension between the desire for fast service and the need for safe service. Hurried drivers put these women at risk in their access to buses. Other service users also pose barriers to these women with their strollers, bags and behaviour. Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 67

Appendix D Focus Group Plan/ Timeline - Winter 2001

[Duration of focus group - 90 - 120 minutes]

1. Introduction - explain purpose of research and set ground rules (ie. confidentiality etc..) 5 minutes

2. Start intro ice breaker exercise - to get info on diversity we would have previously gotten from questionnaires (Buses/Cabooses Exercise) 10 minutes

3. Begin with first 3 questions: • Please introduce yourself and tell us how you made your way to our focus group tonight (ie. by foot, by public transit, car, etc..). • When you look at these services/programs (on the flipchart) what words/feelings immediately come to mind? • From your experience, could you tell me what worked when accessing this service/program. What did not work when accessing this service/program? 15 minute s Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 68

4. Use interactive exercise to ask our Key research questions -explain exercise - 2 minutes

-split up into pairs to answer questions - 10 minutes

- come together and place answers on drawing

- ask each group re: details to explain answers

• How does your use of these services/programs help you in your daily activities, including your ability to access other services/programs? • How does your use of these services/programs make your daily activities more difficult, including your ability to access other services/programs? • Describe how your inability to access some of these services/programs gets in the way of your daily activities , including your ability to access other municipal services? • Some of you have spoken about how accessing these services/programs helps you by allowing you to be more independent, making you feel more secure and overall improving your quality of life..etc....Some of you have also spoken about how an inability to access the services/programs (state) you need can present you with many challenges. What are the biggest things which get in your way and so prevent you from accessing these services/programs? (ie. money, location, language, technology, fear, traveling with children, partners, no access to private car etc..) For example, are any of the following barriers to accessing these services: money, space, comfort level, language etc..

45 minutes

5. Ask question #7 •What changes are necessary for you to get access to these services/programs?

10 minutes

6. Ask Question #8 • On a whole, what does improved access to services/programs really mean to you?

10 minutes Making the New City of Ottawa Work for Women - Appendices 69

7. Ask Question # 9 • What services/programs can you imagine accessing/being grouped together at the same location? (ie: recreation, child care and employment) For example, would grouping child care, recreational and employment services/programs help you to access these services better? 10 minutes

8. Ask technology question • Today, just as the City of Ottawa is thinking of different ways of grouping municipal services/programs together, it is also developing new ways of accessing information on municipal services. How do you like the idea of accessing information on these services using the internet and other technologies (phone/video etc..) ? Do you think these new technologies would improve or reduce your access? 10 minutes

9. Final Summary Question - Oral Summary of Key Questions and “big ideas” emerging from discussion followed by the “Insurance Question” • Our purpose for tonight’s discussion was to help us better understand what is working and what is getting in the way for women who want to access services/programs in the City of Ottawa . This information is necessary so that accurate recommendations can be made to improve women’s access to these services. Tonight we have learnt...... Have we missed anything?

5 minutes

Total: 120 minutes