As a young man, Scott Barry was accepted into a Master of Social Work program at the University of Toronto based on his experience working at a halfway house in his hometown of Montreal. He never imagined the future that lay ahead in Toronto and where social work would lead him.
One of his university roommates suggested they share an apartment in an historic housing complex on the east side of the Don Valley. The young housing manager, fellow CHFT lifetime member, Alexandra Wilson – or AW as Scott calls her – was working hard to turn the complex into a co-op. In time, another of the staff, Peter Tabuns, now a long-time MPP for the area, left his position and Scott took over. Scott helped AW turn this complex into Bain Co-op, sparking a long career in housing, much of it related to co-ops.
From Bain, Barry worked at Main-Gerrard Co-op and then became the first manager at Woodsworth Co-op on the Esplanade where Scott’s eagle eye and love for numbers uncovered $1 million in deficiencies left by the builders. With a reputation now for being a finance guy and having a feel for people too – remember the MSW and the half-way house experience – Scott was a shoo-in for other co-op positions. He moved to Neill Wycik, a student housing co-op suffering revenue loss from summer vacancy. Scott resolved this by building up the hotel side of the operation and by adding units to the existing structure. He recalls spending a lot of time at Neill Wycik learning from the maintenance person too.
With building maintenance and development experience added to his growing repertoire of skills, when CHFT was looking for a replacement ED with Alexandra Wilson’s departure, CHFT senior staffer, Tom Clement, saw Scott was the perfect choice and the board agreed with his recommendation. It was 1987 and Toronto’s construction industry was suffering but with co-op development programs still available, Barry starting a partnership with former co-oper, Mitch Cohen, at Daniels Corporation. Barry continued the development work at the helm of CHFT until the cancellation of the federal program in 1993. He saw the organization would be better suited to a leader whose strength was on the member service side and so he stepped aside. At his recommendation, the board promoted Tom Clement to Executive Director.
In the thirty years since, Scott has maintained close ties to CHFT as he’s worked in the broader housing sector, first as a consultant, often in the supportive housing sector where he put his talents regarding maintenance to work, and then ultimately for the YWCA where he was the manager for six years until 2015. His Y work reignited his social work passion giving him new appreciation for the significant domestic violence many women face and the lack of supports they face. Scott came out of retirement briefly in 2017 to manage a transition in the office at City Park Co-op.
In retirement, Scott is a full-time carer to his wife, Colleen, whom he met nearly 40 years ago – she worked on the hotel side of Neill Wycik when he was a manager there and as he left his position, she asked him out. Scott and Colleen live in Marketview Co-op in downtown Toronto. Just another story of a domestic partnership forming and staying in a co-op!
CHFT named Scott Barry a lifetime member in 2003.
