On The Way Home

This week on the pod, we are joined by lived expert Kenn Bell who shares his life and housing journey with us from childhood to the present. He talks about how a family health challenge pushed the family out of their home, the challenges they faced, and how he's always found a way to give back now matter where he was in his cross country travels. Its an inspiring, hopeful and beautiful conversation, and one you won't want to miss Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Indwell- 50 years of building and providing affordable housing that transforms lives” – “This week on the pod we are joined by Indwell CEO Jeff Neven to talk about the inspiring and incredible work Indwell continues to lead in the affordable housing space. We touch on the history of Indwell, what makes Indwell unique in the space, some of the projects they've done, the partnerships they've made, what they are working on now, and what has to happen in the future in order to create the affordable housing our country desperately needs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Innovative ways to develop capital for the development of affordable housing” – “This week on the pod we speak with Suzanne Fazia, the Knowledge Lead at Tapestry Community Capital, on role of community bonds to help raise capital to build and acquire affordable housing. She shares some examples of Tapestry's past work, what they are working on now, and breaks down how the purchase of community bonds truly can work to support non-profits and charities in raising the capital they need to move their mission forward.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A conversation with CEO of Spotlight Development, Sherry Larjani” – “This week on the pod we are joined by Sherry Larjani, the inspirational CEO of Spotlight Development. We talk about how in 2019 she developed “Reina”, a project with Canada's first all-female development team to raise awareness of gender inequality in the industry and the many roles women can play, how Spotlight came to be, and her hopes for the future of Spotlight and it's role in developing affordable housing.”

On a special podcast this week, we are joined by experts Tim Richter(CAEH), Courtney Lockhart (CHFC), Carolyn Whitzman, Nick Gefucia (EllisDon Community Builders) and Andrew McKenzie (ONPHA) to talk about the recent budget dropped by the Federal Government with the biggest investment in housing since the 2nd World War. We talk about what they got right, what might have been missed, what has to happen next, and much, much more

We might not often think of Appraisers as an important part of keeping housing affordable, but they absolutely play a large part. Eric Tworo, President of the Ontario Association of the Appraisal Institute of Canada joins us on the pod to talk about the role appraisers play in housing, how they help to keep it affordable, what skills are involved and how there are unique pieces to appraising affordable housing, and lastly how the non-profit sector is a growth area for the profession moving forward.

Ian Arthur, President and COO of Nidus3D, a 3D builder home construction, joins us to talk about the technology, how it can help address our housing crisis, the challenges it might bring, the projects they have completed or are working on, and his hopes for the future with 3D printing technology in building affordable homes faster.

Ashley Travis, from the PEI Humane Society joins us to talk about the challenges in her province around housing vulnerable individuals whose families include pets. Current policy allows landlords to choose to not rent to individuals with pets, and this has resulted in more pets needing sheltering with the Humane society, and a traumatic separating of people from their pets. Ashley talks about what needs to happen to change this trend, and some of the pieces her organization is doing to support individuals going through this experience.

This week we are joined by Ray Sullivan the Executive Director of the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association, and Katie Maslechko, the CEO of Rental Protection Fund in BC. They along with two other partners, have come together to form a coalition called the “Canadian Housing Acquisition Fund”, or “Canadian Housing AF”. We talk about the need for acquiring affordable housing and not just building new, how in BC they've done a provincial version of this already with great success, and how the ask of $2.5 billion hopes to create 10,000 new affordable housing units over the next 2 years. It's one pod you don't want to miss!

Over the last 6 years, BC Housing has built more housing than any other government agency in Canada. Sara Goldvine, the Vice President of Equity and Corporate Affairs at BC Housing joins us to talk about this work, the challenges they face and how they overcome them (ie. NIMBYISM), and what the future looks like for the organization.

This week we are joined by housing experts Steffan Jones and Jolene Livingston, two of the leads in the newly formed Partners for Affordable Housing a long-term framework that works with non-profit providers, private, public and philanthropic partners seeking solutions to one of Canada's most pressing social crises to secure more funding, innovate and ideate, increase awareness, offer expertise, and help to share the risk in developing affordable housing.

This week we are thrilled to be joined by Andrea Reimer and Khulud Baig to talk about the Intersectional Feminist Housing Agenda. We chat about how it came about, why it's so important to have a gender lens on housing and homelessness, what their hopes are for the agenda, who their partners are and how others can get involved.

Housing and Homelessness consultant and researcher Nick Falvo joins us once again on the podcast to talk about his incredible open access text book covering all things housing and homelessness. We talk about how his early years in front line work inspired the text book, why it was important for it to be free and accessible to anyone interested, what's covered in the text, and much, much more. It's a conversation you won't want to miss!

This week I'm joined by Dr. Melanie Doucet to talk about her work leading the the Equitable Transitions to Adulthood and a Just Pandemic Recovery for Youth in Care project alongside the National Council of Youth in Care Advocates. We talk about how Dr. Doucet's lived experience has shaped her work and leadership, what she's learned so far with the project, and her hopes for policy reform in Child Welfare moving forward.

This week we talk with Joe Deschanes Smith, one of the founders of Trillium Housing, who has been working for over 10 years on a mortgage model that brings affordability and access to people wanting to own a home. We talk about Joe's journey through politics into the world of affordable housing, how he started up Trillium, what's happened so far, and his hopes for the future.

On this week's podcast, we are joined by Jen Taylor of Blue Sea Philanthropy and Dr.Darlene Sparks Washington from Portsmouth Volunteers for the Homeless to talk about the Coldest Night of the Year Event that is happening across North America on February 24th, 2024. We talk about the origins of the event, it's growth over the years and now into the U.S, how it's impacted Dr. Washington's charity, and the hopes for the future of CNOY

To create clarity, transparency and efficiency in the work of social service agencies and the police do together through their interactions in the community, the York Regional Police and social service organizations in York Region came together to create a memorandum of understanding that is shared with both staff and officers, ultimately resulting in better serving their most vulnerable across the Region. This week, we are joined by Detective, Tom Muir from the YRP and Alex Cheng, a Director at Blue Door, two of the leaders responsible for coordinating this effort. We chat about how the MOU came about, what the challenges were in putting it together, what their hopes are for it, the next steps, and how other organizations and police forces can reach out to do something similar in their communities.

Frequent On The Way Home guest John Fox, the Managing Partner at Robins Appleby joins us to discuss four new bills related to housing in Ontario that have passed in the last year and a half. We talk about the bills, both the positive and the challenges, and what suggestions John has moved forward that might create a larger impact around ending our housing crisis. As always, John is brilliant, fun and creative in his approach, and it's a conversation that you won't want to miss!

This week we are joined by Annie Hodgins, the Executive Director of the Canadian Centre for Housing Rights (CCHR). In this episode, we learn about Annie's journey into the work, what CCHR's focus and challenges are, and all about a new campaign called “Secure Homes for Renters” that looks to create change and impact in keeping people across the country in affordable rental housing for the foreseeable future.

Do Good Better. That's the title of Sam Watts book, which looks at taking the best intentions and turning them into the greatest impact. He's done exactly that in his work as CEO at Welcome Hall Mission, and we chat all about that as well as his work on the National Housing council and so much more. A great listen!

Imagine if you could reduce the costs of building affordable housing while reducing the carbon footprint of it at the same time. This week I'm joined by Gil Yaron, who is the Managing Director of Circular Innovation of Light House, an organization based in Vancouver working on advancing regenerative and circular practices in the built environment. Gil and I talk about how we can reuse buildings through relocation instead of demolition, and as well reuse building materials to increase the supply of affordable housing we so desperately need. A fascinating conversation about working differently to produce multiple wins with both affordable housing and climate change.

Robert Pradolin from Housing All Australians joins us this week on the pod to share his very successful model of engaging the private sector in repurposing vacant buildings for short-term affordable housing.

This week I'm joined by 3 inspiring leaders from Humane Canada, Sue, Andrea and Claire to talk about their impactful ACT Project that seeks to address systemic barriers for women with animals (companion, farmed, and service) experiencing gender-based violence, including affordable housing and shelter.

This week we are thrilled to have 3 guests on the podcast to talk about an amazing new opportunity from CMHC. Leah Cogan from CMHC's Innovation and Partnership division joins us to talk about a new funding opportunity to scale housing innovation across Canada. She is joined by Oren Singer the CEO and co-founder of Sparrow, and Jessica Long, the Manager of Education at the Canadian Centre for Housing Rights, two leaders from the sector who share the work they are doing in the sector that is impactful, innovative and scalable. It's an opportunity to learn more about the newest opportunity from CMHC, as well as receive great insight into some impactful work happening across the sector

For over 40 years Steve Pomeroy has been teaching, advising and consulting on Housing and Homelessness across Canada. He joins us on the pod this week dropping incredible insights on how we got into this crisis and paths forward out of it. It's a must listen.

This week on the pod we welcome Gracen Johnson from CMHC as we talk about "Level Up" the fifth round of the Housing Supply Challenge. We discuss the two streams, what a successful application could look like and what the hopes are for this round of the challenge. A great chance to learn about a exciting opportunity for new funding from CMHC!, take a listen!

What would happen if we provided youth experiencing homelessness with a monthly cash transfer to support them with housing and other costs of living? Executive Director of Point Source Youth, Larry Cohen joins us on this week's podcast to discuss his incredible work with agencies across the U.S. providing youth with cash transfers as a way to prevent homelessness.

This week are joined by the brilliant Carolyn Whitzman who talks about the impactful policy work she is doing, her new book titled “Clara at the Door with a Revolver: The Scandalous Black Suspect, the Exemplary White Son, and the Murder That Shocked Toronto” and her incredible journey into this field of work which has taken her across the world!

Can a blanket change someone's life? Gregory Ould from Blanket BC thinks so! Ould joins us on this week's podcast to talk about how a random encounter with a person experiencing homelessness changed his life and his sons life and inspired him to start Blanket BC, an organization that has provided hundreds of thousands of blankets over the last 18 years to those most in need.

Front line hero, musician, politician, academic, and live expert. Housing Advocate Leigh Bursey has worn all of those hats over the years and continues to be a strong voice and supporter to Canadians experiencing poverty and homelessness. He joins us on this week's pod to share his journey and wisdom in a podcast you don't want to miss!

The week on the pod we have special guests Nik Schruder and Charlie Aucoin to talk about CMHC's commitment to Climate change, and how organizations can apply to be part of the solution through the new Canada Greener Affordable Housing program

This week we are joined by Modupe, Nemoy and Cecile, three amazing team members from the Hogan's Alley Society in BC, to talk about their incredible research that they'll be presenting at the CAEH conference, around “Mitigating barriers to safe and affordable housing for Black Communities.”. We chat about how the project came together, what the key learnings were and what their hopes are for the research moving forward.

What part does design play in the acceptance of affordable housing in communities? Find out that and much more on this week's podcast as we are joined by Rebecca Siggner, Manager of Research at BC Housing.

This week on the pod we are joined by Alan Mulawshyn, the Deputy Executive Director of Veteran's House Canada, about the impactful work he and his team are doing so support veterans in need of housing and wrap around supports in the Ottawa area. He shares his journey into this work, insights into veteran's experiencing homelessness, and how Veteran's House Canada has continued to grow to meet the growing needs of Canada's veterans.

Libraries play an important role in community development, including supporting people experiencing homelessness. This week we are joined by Sarah Tarcea from the North Vancouver Library, to talk about the work they are doing to create access and support for Vancouver's most vulnerable

This week we talk to Tyler Meredith, a policy expert who helped to craft the 2019 and 2021 election platforms for the Liberal party. We talk about his journey into policy work, some of the work he is most proud of in his time in government, what needs to be done to move us forward out of this housing crisis, and a unique policy solution both he and Alan Broadbent put together that would be both cost effective and impactful in creating new deeply affordable housing

Listen in this week on the podcast, as we are joined by the brilliant Keir MacDonald, CEO of Coast Mental Health. He helps us to debunk some of the stigmas around mental health, why it's so important to have supportive and affordable housing options for people exiting healthcare or treatment, and what has to change in order for us to make serious progress in ending homelessness moving forward

Housing veteran Keith Gowans, CEO of Aloft Housing joins us on the pod to chat about the innovative housing solutions him and his team at Aloft have come up with, that provide an affordable, convenient and speedy way to create the housing Canadians desperately need.

In May 2023, researcher Nick Flavo and General Manager of the Canadian Chartered Institute of Housing, Mary Clarke organized a study tour of Housing professionals and individuals from policing in New York City, to explore programs and work being done around housing and preventing and ending homelessness. They join us to talk about the tour and the learnings from their time in NYC, as well as where future study tours might take place.

This week on the podcast we talked to lived expert, Al Wiebe, who shares his story of going from earning a six figure salary to living on the streets, the lessons he learned, and how he's since taken that experience forward to change things for the better through his radio show, training police officers and healthcare professionals, and through many conversations with politicians and housing professionals

We need tangible solutions to end the homelessness and housing crisis in Canada, and the recently released National Housing Accord is just that. Today I'm joined by Tim Richter, CEO of the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness and Michael Moffat Chief Executive at REALPAC to talk about how the accord came together, what it's all about, their hopes for the future and how we all can support the accord moving forward

This week on the pod we have Frank Berube from CMHC a on to chat with us about the new Housing Accelerator Fund. We'll chat about how it came about and what the hopes are for it moving forward. Take a listen!

Migrant farmers play a huge role in feeding the country, yet when it comes to providing them with housing, decency and dignity are nowhere to be found. Advocate and lived expert, Gabriel Allahdua, joins us on this week's pod to share his experience and to chat with us about why he's working hard to make sure migrant farmers can realize their right to dignified and acceptable housing and care.

Trigger warning** “The 2SLGBTQ+ community continues to be overrepresented in point-in-time counts across the nation that examine who might be experiencing homelessness. Although great strides have been made in creating awareness and recognizing the rights of the 2SLGBTQ+ community, recent events across Canada and the world have shown us, we still have far to go. This week on the podcast we are joined by Brian Middleton and Carl McLuhan, two retired teachers who have been together for almost 50 years, as we look back at their journey from coming out, to meeting, to keeping their relationship a secret for fear of losing their jobs, to why they've made a decision to make a gift to Blue Door's 2SLGBTQ+ program, “Inclusion” in their will. A fascinating and moving discussion you won't want to miss”

“Although there has been progress in creating awareness, education and support for the 2SLGBTQ+ community, over the last few years the community has been subject to increased amounts of hate and harassment across the US and Canada. Advocate and CEO and Principal Consultant at Ivy + Dean Consulting, Jacq Brasseur joins us on the pod to share their journey to advocacy, the current climate of push back, and what needs to change moving forward.”

We can't really have the conversation about ending homelessness if we don't look at income supports for our most vulnerable. Lee Stevens from Vibrant Communities Calgary joins me on the pod this week to talk about basic income, her research around it and her hopes for the future of income support in Canada.

This week I'm joined by two amazing and knowledgeable American advocates and researchers in Mallory VanMeeter and Jacqueline White. We chat about the importance of Family and Natural Supports in preventing youth homelessness and their recent collaboration on a report callled "Strengthening the Village." An eye opening conversation on youth homelessness you won't want to miss

Chef Cori Doern has worked tirelessly over the years to create equal access to good food through sharing knowledge about cooking, food, nutrition, and how to stretch your food dollar way further. With food insecurity at an all-time high, we talk about what drives her to create access to good food, how she's done it and what has to change moving forward. You don't want to miss it

How is homelessness being approached in New York City? We talk to the CEO of City Relief, Josiah Haken this week on the pod, around what homelessness looks like in NYC post pandemic, what strategies are being used to prevent and end it, and what has to happen in the near future to support their most vulnerable

This week we are joined by Gary Gladstone from Reena as we chat about how although many people experiencing homelessness have disabilities, funding remains elusive to meet their housing and support needs. We talk about the amazing work Reena has done to support adults with disabilities over the last 50 years and what will happen to put us on a better path.

Housing is on everyone's mind these days, and the top issue in Toronto, Canada's largest city's upcoming Mayoral election. This week on the pod, we bring together four amazing experts and ask the question, “If you were the Mayor, what would your housing platform be?”. You don't want to miss it as John Fox, Ene Underwood, Diana Chan McNally and Andrew McKenzie join me for a thought-provoking and entertaining conversation.