Ride for Refuge Recap

2025 Ride for Refuge ThermometerYou got us to $20,000 and beyond!

Whether you walked alongside us under the hot sun, biked the 10km route with your family and friends, volunteered your time, fundraised on our behalf, made a generous donation, or cheered us on from afar, we can't thank you enough.

Your support will allow us to continue building a community where policy decisions are guided by people’s lived experience, dignified housing is pursued relentlessly for all, and grassroots groups receive the support they deserve. 

A special thank you to the following individuals and organizations...

SDC at Waterloo Region Climate Fest

Photo collage of SDC at WR Climate Fest 2025We were honoured to be a part of Climate Action WR's inaugural Climate Fest on September 28, 2025, and we loved every bit of it! From connecting with festival goers at our community booth, to participating in the DJ'd bike ride by Cycle WR, to learning about the important climate initiatives happening across the Region.

We're firm believers that there can be no climate justice without housing justice, and we thank Climate Action WR for making space for these conversations. A vibrant future isn’t possible without safe, affordable, climate-resilient housing for all!

Lived Expert Story Featured at IMPACT Festival

The Canadian Dream x SDC Graphic (square)The real life story of one of our lived experts has inspired The Canadian Dream: A Forum Theatre Presentation, premiering at MT Space's 2025 IMPACT Festival!

Though "The Canadian Dream" is a fictionalized presentation, the story that inspired it was first shared by Mauleek Bhatt, an outreach worker and community advocate who is also a member of the lived expertise roster at SDC. 

Mauleek's story reflected their experience as a Canadian newcomer struggling to become a permanent resident while becoming homeless along the way...

SDC Meets with Federal Housing Advocate

Photo collage of SDC's lived experts meeting with Federal Housing AdvocateIn late September, Canada's Federal Housing Advocate made a visit to Waterloo Region to hear directly from people working on the ground to address the needs of unhoused residents.

Julian, Don, and Aaron from SDC's Lived Expertise Roster used the opportunity to share their stories, supported others at the 100 Vic encampment to do the same, and later joined a roundtable alongside grassroots groups like Unsheltered Campaign to discuss how the Federal Housing Advocate's Office can support their efforts. Keep reading for our takeaways from the day and *important updates.*

SDC Joins Organizations Opposing Bill C-2

Stop Bill C-2 GraphicSDC is concerned that the new Bill C-2 puts migrants and refugees at further risk during the housing and affordability crises in our communities, and sets the stage for:

  • mass surveillance of all Canadians
  • mass document cancellations, including existing work permits and study visas
  • asylum bans against refugees facing legitimate safety risks

SDC has joined more than 200 organizations in calling for the federal government to withdraw Bill C-2. Keep reading to see how you can help.

A Policy Win in the Fight Against Renovictions

Tenant Organizing Chat with Meg Walker, SDC (Aug 2025)Were you aware that entire buildings full of tenants are being evicted across Waterloo Region?

For years, this eviction crisis has been an invisible contributor to the very visible homelessness crisis we see in our communities. And throughout this time, tenants have been calling for legal protections that can deter bad-faith landlords and prevent mass displacement.

This past summer, the mayors and City Councils of Kitchener and Waterloo gave their staff approval to: (a) draft a renovictions bylaw in Kitchener; and (b) bring forward a framework for a draft renovation licensing bylaw in Waterloo.

To learn more about these victories, and the collective efforts that help produce them, click on the one-page graphic with reflections from our Tenant Organizing Lead, Megan Walker.

Gathering Lived Expert Input On The 100 Vic By-Law

Mike Farwell Show Profile PhotoWhen it was announced in Apr 2025 that the Region of Waterloo would be passing a bylaw to vacate the 100 Vic encampment in Kitchener, members of our Lived Expertise Engagement Project conducted interviews with 27 people living at the encampment to understand what they knew of the bylaw, how it impacted them, and what they wanted policy-makers to know.  

These interviews were conducted in our capacity as a core partner of the Region's Plan to End Chronic Homelessness, and as an organization funded by the Region to uplift the knowledge and input of people with lived experience of homelessness. The concerns raised by lived experts were shared with the Region, and also highlighted during an interview with the Facilitator our Lived Expertise Program, David Alton, on the Aug. 8 episode of The Mike Farwell Show. 

Connecting Waterloo Region's Community Hubs

Royalty-Free Image of Indigenous ArtSDC is honoured to embark on a new project of bringing together Waterloo Region's diverse community hubs to envision how they can amplify each other's impact through shared advocacy, collective leadership, and intentional resource-sharing. 

UPDATE: The project recruited a part-time Community Developer, Latasha Wilson in October 2025 to support this work. Keep reading for more on the project's goals and guiding values.

SDC on the United Voices Podcast

United Voices Podcast x SDC (Feb 2025)Did you know our team was on the United Voices podcast twice this year? The podcast provides a platform to highlight local issues and the work being done on the ground to address them.

1. Voices of Experience: Creating Inclusive Solutions (Feb 2025, Episode 6), a conversation about the role of lived expertise in driving solutions to homelessness, and the upstream work our peer workers in Eviction Prevention are doing to keep people housed.

2. Renovictions: Housing Insecurity in Our Community (Sept 2025, Episode 23), where we spoke about the growing number of people being displaced from their their homes due to "renovictions," and the policy changes needed to curb and reverse this trend. 

The Ride for Refuge is Back!

2025 Ride for Refuge SDC Poster (custom)SDC is thrilled to invite you to the 2025 Ride for Refuge, our annual fundraiser for hope, safety, and freedom. Last year's event saw 13 teams, 76 participants, and 188 donors raise a whopping $18,644! With your support, we're confident we can surpass those numbers and smash this year's $20,000 goal!

  1. Mark the date and time in your calendar - Saturday, Oct. 4 at 10am
  2. Sign up for the event, set a fundraising goal, and hit up your friends and family to support you with donations!
  3. Feeling competitve? Sign up as a team captain and recruit people to walk/ride and fundraise with you! 
  4. Can't make it to the event? No problem! You can still register to fundraise or make a donation to the team called "SDC Direct." 
Are you ready to RIDE with us?! Get yourself and your team signed up and let's make this our biggest RIDE yet! (Want to become a sponsor? Check out our sponsorship package!)