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No Fixed Address:

A Talk About Homelessness and Encampments
February 22, 2024


With the ever escalating housing crisis, a growing number of people are confronting the harsh realities of homelessness on a daily basis. Despite concerted efforts, community services and shelter spaces are struggling to keep pace with the surging demand, leaving many without access to even these temporary solutions due to their limited capacity.

Faced with this stark reality, individuals are compelled to forge their own paths to survival, resulting in an increasing presence of makeshift shelters and tents, as residents seek safety and refuge from the often unforgiving elements.

As we grapple with the pressing need for both short-term and long-term solutions to address the root causes of homelessness, the current plight of those living outdoors remains in a state of uncertainty. What do we know about the complexities concerning the root causes and approaches to homelessness and encampments?  What responses and measures can we enact to deal with the basic needs, care, and well-being of these people? What other approaches to this issue, and what steps are other municipalities taking to assist those dealing with homelessness and living in encampments?
"No Fixed Address", a virtual town hall held in February 2024, provides a sobering overview of the homelessness crisis. It was prepared and facilitated by Waterloo Regional Councillor Rob Deutschmann and included a diverse array of speakers, each contributing unique insights and perspectives on the issue.




​Guest speakers included:


  • ​Dr. Erin Dej, Associate Professor, Dept. of Criminology, Wilfrid Laurier University
  • Fiona York, ​​​​​​​​​CRAB Park Advocate, Vancouver, BC
  • Drew Hirschpold, Former CRAB Park Resident, Vancouver BC
  • Margaret Capes, Legal Education Coordinator, Community Law School - (Sarnia-Lambton)
  • Greg Nash​, ​​​​​​Director - Complex Urban Health, London Intercommunity Health Centre
  • ​Jaime Stief, Community Advocate, Waterloo Region, ON
  • Chantelle McDonald, Director of Service, London Cares Homeless Response Services
  • Kaite Burkholder Harris, Executive Director, Alliance to End Homelessness Ottawa 
  • Mike Lethby, Executive Director, Niagara Resource Service for Youth (The RAFT)
Explore all Guest Speakers


Media Publications


No fixed address: Panel discusses encampments, homelessness
​The Record News - February 24, 2024

No Fixed Address: A Talk About Homelessness and Encampments (1:11:33)
The Mike Farwell Show - February 21, 2024

​He was fighting to improve life for the unhoused, then he died at a tent encampment (Video below)
CBC News - February 12, 2024
​National response needed for encampment crisis, evictions must end: federal advocate
Cambridge Today - February 12, 2024

ROAD HOME: Views are mixed on whether homelessness can be solved 
New Market Today - January 29, 2024

​​By the numbers: Waterloo Region's unsheltered crisis in 2023
The Record News - January 3, 2024
​​How more homeless encampments in Ontario signal a housing crisis out of control
​
Global News - September 9, 2023​


Dennis Chantiloupe fell asleep and lost all his fingers to frostbite. As homelessness soars, more people are forced to risk a similar fate
Toronto Star - December 10, 2023
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Additional Information & Community Profiles


A National Protocol for Homeless Encampments in Canada
​
Make The Shift

Homeless Encampments: Municipal Engagement Guidance​
National Working Group on Homeless Encampments​


​Ontario Alliance to End Homelessness
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​​A Complex Exile: Homelessness, Exclusion, and a Call for Inclusion 
Homeless Hub

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Health & Homelessness-
Movement for Change
Turning up the volume: Life Stories of Displacement (Social Development Centre Waterloo Region)
  • Listen to the podcasts​

Digital Stories
​
Dufferin Lived Experience Collective

A National Strategy for Belonging - 
Strengthening Communities with their Voices and Gifts at the Centre

Tamarack Institute

Our City Starts With Home: Scaling Up Non-Profit Housing in Ottawa 
​
Report to Ottawa City Council April 2023

​Universal Declaration of Human Rights - United Nations​

Homeless encampments and your Human Rights Handout - The Shift
Upholding dignity and human rights: the Federal Housing Advocate’s review of homeless encampments - Final Report
The Office of the Federal Housing Advocate
​​​​
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda)

Canada.ca

Sustainable Development Goals Data Hub
Statistics Canada

What Is the Strategy? -  A Place to Call Home
National Housing Strategy
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About Reaching Home: Canada's Homelessness Strategy
Infrastructure Canada

​Union Co-operative (Waterloo)

Two Years of Shelter Diversion: Learnings and Lessons​
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Niagara Resource Service for Youth (RAFT) - (Niagara Falls)
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Make The Shift.org
  • ​Push: The Film
  • #PUSHBACK Talks (podcast series)

​Fact sheet 21: The Human Right to Adequate Housing - United Nations and the Rule of Law​​

Project Willow - "Don't tell them you're homeless" - YWCA - CJI - CMW
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London, ON
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Niagara Falls, ON
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Ottawa, ON
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Sarnia-Lambton, ON
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Vancouver, BC
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Waterloo Region, ON

​Virtual Series - View All Past Segments

​2024:
  • Searching for a Drug Strategy: Seeking a response to substance-related harms and the overdose crisis
  • ​No Fixed Address: A Talk About Homelessness & Encampments​
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  • Home
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      • Searching for a Drug Strategy >
        • Report: Searching for a Drug Strategy
      • No Fixed Address >
        • Guest Speakers - No Fixed Address
        • Footage: No Fixed Address >
          • Full Video - No Fixed Address: A Talk About Homelessness and Encampments
        • Report - No Fixed Address: A Talk About Homelessness and Encampments
    • 2023 Series >
      • The Epidemic of Gender Based Violence >
        • Guest Speakers - The Epidemic of Gender Based Violence
        • Event Footage - The Epidemic of Gender Based Violence
        • Report - The Epidemic of Gender Based Violence
      • Renoviction - Righting the Reno-Wrong >
        • Guest Speakers - Renoviction - Righting the Reno-Wrong
        • Footage & Reports - Renoviction - Righting the Reno-Wrong >
          • Report- Renoviction- Righting the Reno-Wrong
          • Summary - Renoviction: Righting the Reno-Wrong
      • The Drug Poisoning Crisis in Waterloo Region >
        • Guest Speakers - The Drug Poisoning Crisis in Waterloo Region
        • Event Video Footage and Reports - The Drug Poisoning Crisis in Waterloo Region
      • The "A" Word: Unnecessary or Unavoidable? >
        • Guest Speakers - The "A" Word: Unnecessary or Unavoidable?
        • Event Video Footage and Reports - The "A" Word: Unnecessary or Unavoidable? >
          • Report - The "A" Word: Unnecessary or Unavoidable?
          • Event Summary - The "A" Word: Unnecessary or Unavoidable? >
            • Event Summary - Amalgamation
      • Low Voter Turnout: Strengthening Participation In Local Democracy >
        • Guest Speakers - Low Voter Turnout: Strengthening Participation In Local Democracy
        • Event Video Footage and Reports - Low Voter Turnout: Strengthening Participation In Local Democracy >
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