Canadian Settlement Houses have a long history of being financially supported by United Way, historically known as Community Chest. ANH continues to receive an annual allocation from the United Way of the Lower Mainland, as well as from the City of Vancouver and funds for special projects from the federal and provincial governments.

Fund raising events conducted by boards and members and fees charges on sliding scale augment these sources.

 

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History of Neighbourhood Houses

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Neighbourhood Houses (NHs) trace their origin in the Settlement Movement that emerged in the late 1800. The Settlement Movement rose as a response to the dehumanizing conditions and the enormous increase in urban poverty created by the Industrial Revolution. The introduction of capitalism and urbanization deepened the gap between the rich and the poor, and worsened the living standards of the poor; squalid housing, illnesses, high crime, child labour, and unemployment were only some of the issues the poor faced at that time (Majewski, 1986; toynbeehall.org).

In London of 1884, Samuel Barnett and his wife, Henrietta, rejected the option of a parish in an affluent area and came to St. Judes in the East End of London, “the worst parish… inhabited mainly by a criminal population” (toynbeehall.org). The Barnetts new approach for helping the poor was to create change in the impoverished neighbourhoods by bringing the most privileged, the future elite, to live there. Joining the Barnetts, students and associates from Oxford University and the Church of England created the first settlement, intending to learn from the poor as much as to teach them, to receive as much as to give. The settlers’ goal was to eliminate class differences and to improve the quality of life of the poor; therefore the relation between the settlers and the residents was one of equality. The settlement provided opportunities for the independently wealthy to learn about the true nature of working class life and to translate intellectual ideas and distant philanthropy into immediate action. At the same time, settlements enabled lowerclass neighbours to experience the benefits of culture, education and civilization in the midst of their poverty.

This first settlement house was named after one of Samuel Barnett’s friends, Arnold Toynbee, who also moved into the slums but was not healthy and strong enough to survive living there. Toynbee Hall became a powerhouse of social reform and a training ground for young civil servants who later became key figures in the making of the welfare state such as, Clement Atlee, William Beveridge, and Kenneth Lindsay. As the first settlers came to learn more about the causes and effects of poverty, they became the pioneers of offering services such as literacy courses, legal advice, health clinics, translation services, youth and senior services, and more. Settlement houses sat the model for a comprehensive and integrated service delivery approach (Chaskin, Joseph & Chipenda-Dansokho, 1997), which recognizes the need to address a whole range of issues and circumstances affecting communities.

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