Mina Mawani, CEO, Dixon Hall –
When I first joined Dixon Hall, I was struck by the strength and spirit of Toronto’s Downtown East, a community that faces immense challenges yet meets them with compassion, resilience and hope. Every corner tells a story of people helping one another, neighbours looking out for each other, and organizations like ours working quietly but persistently to build a better tomorrow.
For more than 95 years, Dixon Hall has been a part of the Downtown East community. We began as a soup kitchen in 1929, and today are a multi-service agency offering housing, employment, settlement, children and youth, senior and community programs that reach thousands of residents every year.
Our mission is to create lasting solutions to fight social injustices, isolation and poverty in Toronto, to support individuals and families to thrive free of inequities. That means ensuring people not only have their basic needs met, but also have dignity, stability and support enabling them to move forward.
In the past year, our teams have provided more than 80,000 meals to those experiencing food insecurity. At 65 Dundas Street East, we took on daily operations for supportive housing for the first time in Dixon Hall’s history, stemming from our housing first philosophy to create housing that truly heals. Today, this site houses over 100 tenants; once fully completed, it will be home to more than 280 individuals supported through wraparound care, harm reduction and case management services.
Our Rooming House Project has also shown what’s possible when we combine safe housing with trauma-informed, consistent support. We’ve seen tenants reconnect with family, rebuild trust and reimagine their futures, proof that housing with care changes lives.
Beyond housing, Dixon Hall supports people across every stage of life. We help newcomers find belonging and opportunity through employment and settlement services. We invest in youth through mentoring, creative expression and leadership development at the Bill Graham Youth Centre.
Through our music school, we foster mentorship, confidence and creativity while nurturing musical talent. For many young people, it becomes a gateway to self-expression, connection and growing opportunities.
Partnering with the McMaster Institute for Research on Aging (MIRA), Dixon Hall is reimagining aging with dignity, empowering seniors to live with connection, purpose and joy. We’re strengthening our role in property management to support long-term housing, combining our community expertise with operational capacity to ensure housing remains safe, affordable and rooted in care.
However, like many non-profit organizations, we have limited funding. Much of our support is tied to specific programs, which means we often have fewer resources to invest in advocacy and outreach, the work that helps us inspire broader change.
These conversations are essential. That is why we deeply appreciate opportunities like this one in the bridge to add our voice to the conversation. Advocacy helps the public understand the complexities of homelessness, poverty and social isolation, and why they require sustained, collective solutions.
True progress happens when we come together – government, funders, community partners, residents and volunteers – to turn compassion into action. Every meal shared, every home built, every person employed represents that spirit of collaboration.
To me, Dixon Hall’s story is a story of possibility. It’s about believing that when we stand with community, when we listen, invest and act together, we can create change that lasts. We will continue to be rooted in community, creating pathways for hope. Every person in the Downtown East should have the chance not just to survive, but to thrive.
