(7-minute read)
November 2025
By Helen Reddy Katz, Family Care Advisor (Student Focus), Family Care Office/ Faculty Relocation Services, University of Toronto
Have you ever visited the Family Care Office? Has it been a while? Whether it’s been a few months or years since the last time you dropped by, you’re always welcome, and might notice a few changes.
If it’s been years since your last visit, our biggest change is location. During the renovations of the Koffler Student Services Centre, our permanent home, our office has been moved to the 6th floor (Suite 603) of 215 Huron Street, just north of College Street.
When you enter our space, you are invited to connect with a staff member, gather resources, use one of our student friendly spaces or peruse the library where U of T community and family members are invited to borrow books from the FCO library, or flip through them on-site. We also have a low shelf of children’s books, colouring supplies and toys to keep any accompanying children busy! Seating for both adults and children is available.
Beyond the library area, there are some more great places to explore. Our meeting room is sometimes used by staff, especially when meeting with multiple family members, but is also used to host community sessions. These include our new hybrid study hub for students every Thursday from 10am to 1pm and parent and caregiver lunch and connect sessions for staff and faculty. They are great opportunities to connect with other parents and caregivers, as well as the peer mentors and staff that run the sessions.
Past the meeting room, we offer two student study spaces, one open concept and one more traditional office style. Our office tends to be a calm and relaxing study-friendly place. Anyone who uses our study spaces is welcome to bring their own lunch or enjoy available tea and coffee. While we do welcome children to attend with you, the rooms can be small for keeping young children entertained. In those instances, we recommend also checking out the family study space at Robarts Library , and other great campus study spaces for use outside our office hours.
In our more private study space, we have our family closet; a small wardrobe stacked with seasonal clothes and family essentials. Community members are invited to peek inside and see what we have – if you’re in need of a particular item and don’t see it, don’t hesitate to ask and we’ll see if we can source it. Student families are also encouraged to venture over to the UTSU Student Commons next door (230 College Street) and check out their family cupboard initiative which focuses on stocking toys, household and hygiene items for all family members.
In the far corner of our space, we offer a newly updated infant feeding space, complete with a rocking chair, change table, feeding pillow and play pen. This space is available during our office hours (9:30 am-4:30 pm) for parents to feed their infants or express milk. Remember that it’s your right to feed your baby any time, anywhere, but if you prefer a private space, there are designated Infant-feeding Spaces available across all three campuses.
We’re really excited to invite more community members into the Family Care Office, to explore everything we have to offer. We are really proud of the space we’ve created and love spending time here; we hope you and your family will too!