Winter is Coming: A Housing Justice Podcast

“The intersections of being LGBTQ+ and living on the streets” As we close season 3 we’re joined by Rev. Evan Smith. Evan shares his story of living on the streets of Toronto, the homeless community who supported them, and what it was like to watch the abandoned building you were living be torn down while your belongings were still inside. Evan also shares how the intersection of LGBTQIA+ youth and...

“SHOW & the need for Federal Social Housing” This week we’re joined by Brian Paul who shares the amazing work being done by his team at Supportive Housing of Waterloo (SHOW). Brian chats about the need for the federal government to help dispel myths about homelessness, and to return to being in the business of creating social housing stock to create more affordable housing across the country....

“A Better Tent City” This week we break down the story of one of the shining examples of Housing Justice in KW. Former city planner Jeff Willmer shares the history of A Better Tent City, and how this self-organized tiny home community came to be as an independent and grassroots response to homelessness in the city. Jeff shares how a few ordinary citizens took an idea, some land and an unwillingnes...

“Tiny Homes, Relationships + Restorative Justice” This week we’re joined by Jay Straus the Transitional Housing Lead at the Working Centre and Site Lead for the Tiny Home Shelter on Erb’s Road, Waterloo. Jay shares his own personal experiences of being homeless, and how he came to the be with The Working Centre. He also shares how ‘The Cabins’ transitions 20% of their residents to more permanent h...

“Faith, Harm Reduction & Housing Justice” As we begin the second half of season 3, Rev. Michiko Bown-Kai joins us to chat about the role of faith and justice and unpacks how churches can engage with politics by understanding it as “how we order our relationships”. Michiko also shares their insights on harm reduction and where we go next in a province that seems to be moving backwards when it c...

Busting myths about CTS Sites + Addiction As we begin the final 5 episodes of season 3 we invite Gemma Ricker to return after her first episode in season 1 to expand on what it looks like to evolve our understanding of addiction, safe supply and to bust a few myths about CTS sites. Gemma offers the perspective of a "regular, everyday citizen" in the two years since she has left front-line work, an...

Innovating how we help people As season 3 continues we sit down with Tony D'Amato Stortz, Author of "A Home of their Own: A Guide to Building a Tiny Homes Community", and principal founder of Better Street, whose team has launched 143 Tiny Homes in the past year. Tony shares his candid thoughts on how empathy and helping people can meet innovation not just in the tiny home communities he's helped...

Why destroying encampments and closing CTS sites will never work   This week Waterloo Regional Councilor and former mayor Rob Deutschmann joins Adam to give his perspective on the use of lawsuits against encampments and the Ford government wielding legislative power to attack people in poverty instead of attacking poverty itself. Rob also talks about why he won’t join those who call for the destru...

Who is profiting off homelessness? In part 2 of Adam's conversation with David Alton of SDCC we dig deeper into what it means to re-frame our ideas of 'risk', and what allyship can look like by challenging unjust housing systems. David also challenges us to think about who is profiting from homelessness and why they think waterloo region just might be exceptional in it's approach to housing.  Foll...

Why can’t big tech companies fix housing? As we kick off season 3 Adam is joined by David Alton of Social Development Centre of Waterloo region. In Part 1 of our 2-part conversation, David shares their experiences as a facilitator of lived expertise for SDCC going from working on housing in a city like Toronto with the backing of Google, to transitioning to grassroots work and emphasizing communit...

Why have synthetic drugs changed housing supports forever?   In part 2 of our conversation with House of Friendship Executive Director John Neufeld, Adam and John discuss the historic change that synthetic drugs have had on combatting poverty and homelessness. John also shares his outlook for 2024 and the challenges of reminding legislators that although Winter is Coming, housing injustice does no...

How can youth groups and young people lead to change?   This week Adam is joined for part 1 of our conversation with House of Friendship Executive Director John Neufeld. John shares the role that youth groups and mentorship played in developing his passion for housing justice, poverty reduction, and creating spaces of belonging. John graciously points the spotlight back onto The Hub and Trinity Ch...

How do we create permanently affordable public housing again?   We’re joined once again this week by housing systems engineer Kirsten Wright as we continue to zoom out and look at housing on a systemic level. Adam and Kirsten discuss the need for legislators, cities, and provinces to embrace experimentation when it comes to finding solutions for housing. We also confront the question of public hou...

How do Amazon & Uber undermine affordable housing? We’re joined this week by housing systems engineer Kirsten Wright as zoom out and look at housing on a systemic level. Adam and Kirsten discuss the emergence of the “Sharing Economy” and how a more interdependent society can transform housing for the better. We also look at the underside of this development, and how large corporations exploit...

Can Developers Build Cheaper Housing? This week we're joined for the second part of our 2-part conversation with Dan Driedger of Beyond Housing, as we get deeper into how Beyond Housing manages to stay financially sustainable while also building affordable housing. We also chat about what it means to create community fabric, and the stories of success Dan has seen amidst the challenges of the curr...

Who are the unseen victims of the housing crisis? On this week's episode, we begin part one of a two-part conversation with Dan Driedger the director of Beyond Housing (formerly called Menno Homes). We hear how and why he went from a successful career in the for-profit industrial sector to a full-time role working for an Affordable Housing non-profit. Adam and Dan discuss Beyond Housing's work sup...

Can Politicians change housing overnight? To open Season 2 of our podcast, we sat down for an in-person interview with Kitchener Centre MP Mike Morrice to find out. Mike and Adam discuss what the public needs from politicians for tangible progress in affordable housing, and how the public can press politicians to act now for housing justice for all. We also chat about the ‘legislated poverty’ that...

When I was hungry did you feed me? When I was thirsty, did you gave me drink? When I had no place to stay, did you shelter me? It’s these words of Jesus that inspired our affordable housing podcast “Winter is Coming” With winter returning so is our podcast where, in Season 2, we continue to ask how we go from housing crisis to housing justice? We'll hear from frontline workers, developers, politic...

In our final episode of Season 1, Adam sits down with  Leah Logan of Indwell. As Waterloo's regional manager for affordable housing developer Indwell, Leah has been working at many ends of the spectrum. From design and development to forging relationships with neighbourhoods and local residents, many of whom are not initially sold on the idea of affordable housing in their communities.  Leah talks...

This week we are joined by co-founder and director of The Working Centre Joe Mancini. For over 40 years Joe and his partner Stephanie and countless Working Centre staff and volunteers have been combatting poverty in Kitchener-Waterloo and carrying out "common work" as the antidote to the kind of bureaucracy that maintains poverty and housing injustice. Adam and Joe talk about how the pandemic has...

How can local churches help move us from Housing Crisis to Housing Justice? And how can they go from learning to action? This week Adam is joined by affordable housing advocate Cathy Baer to explore those questions. Cathy is a member of Trinity United Church in Kitchener, and long before Trinity helped make this podcast possible, they were advocating for and supporting affordable housing with thei...

This week Adam is joined by Katherine Bitzer.20 years ago Katherine started a 6-month contract with the Working Centre in Kitchener and with no end in sight she remains as committed as ever to working to address the housing crisis. A member of Trinity United Church's affordable housing committee, Katherine discusses our neighbour in encampments, and the proof that the Working Centre exemplifies; t...

We're back from our Holiday break with our newest episode! This week Adam sits down with author, pastor, and world-renowned global justice advocate Danielle Strickland to talk about her story, changing how we do life together and the epidemic of loneliness. We also find out about her work with IMBY Homes, and how it's so it's using tiny homes to change housing forever. Follow Danielle's work: http...

On this week's episode, Adam connects with friend, Hub community member, and supportive housing worker Gemma Ricker to talk about her past time at the Working Centre's University Avenue Supporting Housing project. We talk about how supportive housing differs from emergency shelters, and the intersection of housing justice, safe supply, and the opioid crisis. Follow our work: www.instagram.com/hubs...

Election season has come and gone but winter is still coming for our neighbours who have been targeted by housing injustice. This week Adam is joined by systems design engineer Kirsten Wright as we start to explore how our entire system of housing can be transformed to take us from housing crisis to housing justice. We also explore how we forge a path towards cities invested in community wealth, a...