City Building Podcast | 360 Degree City

Veterans Village Housing Lab: André Thivierge

September 14, 2023 in Community, Housing, Veterans Village

There are an estimated 617,800 veterans in Canada, representing approximately 1.7% of the population, yet as of 2020 point in time counts, 7% of Albertans experiencing homelessness self-identify as having served in the Canadian military. The Veterans Village Housing Lab, a Solutions Lab that is funded by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, was initiated this summer to find innovative, affordable housing solutions that explore issues of health and wellness, affordable financing, and communal living concepts in housing amongst Veterans, in hopes of addressing this disparity.

The first episode of the series begins to explore issues of transition, health and wellbeing, and partnerships in providing housing for Veterans experiencing housing insecurity with André Thivierge, of the City of Ottawa Veterans Task Force. André is a 30 year Canadian Armed Forces Veteran who retired in 2013, and is a co-founder and co-chair of the Veterans Task Force in Ottawa, where he works to enhance the programs and services available to Veterans and their families through the three pillars of health, housing, and transitioning to second careers.

Over the next four months, we are conducting user interviews, and community engagement sessions to understand the community’s perspective on emerging solutions. If you’re interested in participating or learning more about this work to support housing security with Canadian Veterans, drop us a note at yasushi.ohki@greenviolin.ca. We would love to hear from you!

Resources

The Seven Domains Of Well-Being: https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/about-vac/news-media/salute/2019-se/wellbeing

Veterans House Canada: https://www.veteranshousecanada.ca/

2SLGBTQ+ Seniors Housing Lab: Eric Storey

August 30, 2023 in 2SLGBTQ+ Seniors, Community, Housing

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How might we create innovative housing solutions that support the unique needs of 2SLGBTQ+ seniors, while proactively connecting these folks into the broader community?

This question is guiding the 2SLGBTQ+ Seniors Housing Lab, a Solutions Lab that is funded by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. These labs fuel bottom-up collaborative innovation by bringing diverse groups of people together to solve complex housing problems to help inform decision making at all levels. This lab was initiated by Green Violin, a community development company that delivers sustainable housing solutions, and our team here at Intelligent Futures, with the goal to explore issues of discrimination, ageism, and isolation in housing in collaboration with the 2SLGBTQ+ seniors community in Edmonton.

Today, we’ll begin to explore the complexity of the challenge at hand with Eric Storey of Edmonton Pride Seniors Group. Eric is actively engaged in the 2SLGBTQ+ seniors community in Edmonton, where he volunteers his time and experience as a social worker, a queer senior, and a passionate community member to advocate for the experiences and issues faced by seniors. Eric is an award-winning advocate and educator for his community, where he serves on the board of several seniors serving community organizations, supporting and connecting with other community minded individuals of all ages.

Over the fall, we are conducting user interviews, and community engagement sessions to understand the community’s perspective on emerging solutions. If you’re interested in participating, learning more, or sharing any non-traditional affordable housing models that you think might be relevant to the exploration of 2SLGBTQ+ Seniors housing, drop us a note at helen@intelligentfutures.ca. We would love to hear from you!

Resources

Edmonton Pride Seniors Group: Helping to create safe spaces in Edmonton for greater quality of life for older 2SLGBTQ+ residents – https://epsg.ca/

2SLGBTQ+: 2SLGBTQ+ is an acronym that stands for Two-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning, plus all other identities that make up sexual and gender diverse communities, who use other terminologies. This acronym and various associated terms are continually evolving as representation, and cultural understanding of these communities in Canada evolves over time. These definitions are only a starting point to understanding 2SLGBTQ+ identities and issues, and the most important thing is to be respectful of individuals, using the language that feels best to them.

The Wicked Problem

February 27, 2023 in Halal Housing Lab, Housing

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There is a significant need for affordable housing across Canada, particularly within the Muslim community. Currently, Muslims are the second largest and fastest growing group seeking affordable housing in Canada. However, the existing affordable housing model presents two major barriers to housing this population:

First, these families tend to be larger and require housing with 3+ bedrooms, which is hard to come by in the current housing stock.
Second, the community is struggling to build viable housing options due misalignment with conventional financing models, and Islamic financing principles.

Over the next number of months, our team will be exploring the following question:

How do we leverage civil society to design, build & sustain appropriate affordable housing for racialized and, multi-barriered communities?

This question is guiding the Halal Housing Lab, a Solutions Lab that is funded by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. The CMHC Solutions Lab program offers organizations with funding and expertise to help them solve complex housing problems, and explore new ways of making progress on a housing challenge. These labs fuel bottom-up collaborative innovation by bringing diverse groups of people together to solve complex housing problems for government’s consideration and help inform decision making at all levels. This lab was initiated by Islamic Family Social Services Association (IFSSA) in partnership with Another Way, SAS Architecture, Ask for a Better World, and Intelligent Futures (a CMHC-qualified innovation consultant that leads the Solutions Lab process design and delivery).

Today, we’ll begin to explore the complexity of the challenges that impact housing affordability for newcomer and Muslim families in Edmonton, Alberta, with the various lab partners. This episode is the first installment of the Halal Housing Lab Series, with future episodes zooming in to the focus areas of built form, programming, financing, and lived experience that will influence the lab process.

If know of any non-traditional affordable housing models that you think might be relevant to the exploration of Halal Housing, drop us a note at hello@360degree.city. We would love to hear about them!