Nov 10th, 2022

Meet June

June loves to cook, so when she moved to 160 Charlotte nine years ago, she wanted to help better her community.

Over the years, she has cooked for holiday celebrations and regular meals to help bring residents together. June said before the pandemic, she used to put together weekly lunches with a soup, sandwich, or hot dog for $3 and would make dinners such as meatloaf or shepherd’s pie for $5.

“If people couldn’t pay, we would just give them the food,” she said, adding that the smile on residents’ faces makes the work worthwhile.

Now, June says she makes meals monthly. She and other community volunteers also host holiday meals. She is working with Frederic, her Community Developer, to try and provide meals more than once a month.

“It helps break up the isolation and gets people out,” she said.

She is also working to establish a Tenant Circle – a formal group of tenant leaders who help organize community events, raise funds for community improvement projects and submit Community Capital Fund applications. For June, it’s a great place to live; she said there is a lot of support available for the senior residents – such as Aging in Place.

This summer, two garden swings were installed in the back garden thanks to an application June helped fill out. They also added a dart board in the lounge.

June was born and raised in Ottawa and is the middle child of nine children. She is also a grandmother to 13 grandchildren, so she is no stranger to helping.

“I need to be needed,” she said.