During the last few days of October, Linda Dollard, Ray Burke and I were excited to represent the SSVP at the Canadian Association on Ending Homelessness’s National Conference entitled “lets end Homelessness together” amongst 2000 concerned activists and advocates in the space.
We were treated to powerful speeches from experts with lived experience Guy Felicella (pictured below) and activist film maker Mark Horvath, as well as interventions from elected officials from the city of Ottawa and the Honorable Sean Fraser, Federal minister of Housing.
Of the 250+ speakers on the schedule, the most engaging had to be those from the SSVP when Ray and I (a last-minute replacement for National Housing committee chair Garth Brown) delivered a presentation to a standing room only crowd of over 90 people about the new Trauma-induced Design built into Halifax’s upcoming “Ozanam Place” subsidized living complex. it gave us an unprecedented opportunity to describe all the great work that the SSVP does in Canada, and we were able to showcase the practical, varied and cutting-edge approaches we support those suffering from the housing crisis. The audience was highly engaged, we received excellent feedback and very relevant questions.
To inform you more on this key subject, we plan to hold a housing-focused webinar showcasing the multiple ways in which the SSVP makes an impact on the symptoms of poverty stemming from the Housing crisis.
Philippe Blain, Executive Director
Society of Saint Vincent de Paul Canada
