Tax Clinic Scoop 2019

May 17 2019

Free Tax Clinics Our tax clinic team completed 420 returns this March and April, and processed 2016 and 2017 returns which was offered only by a few clinics. Extraordinary accomplishment by 8 extraordinary volunteers working evenings and weekends for 8 weeks.  The volunteers also responded to over 100 T1 adjustments, assessment notices & inquires, including CPP applications, and electricity bill relief. There are many ways in which we can improve the process for the next tax season internally and we hope to provide valuable feedback together with other tax clinics in the region towards greater supports to the volunteer run clinics from the federal government in the future. 

Viewpoints on Poverty

May 8 2019

Viewpoints on PovertyThe community will have a chance to continue Exploring Life in the Margins conversations. 'Viewpoints on Poverty' is an inclusive evening for discussion and discovery on the theme of nonviolence and poverty elimination. Join us together with Alliance Against Poverty and the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council in exploring our experiences, dreams, fears too, and creating unique perspectives that go beyond life in the margins. We are all responsible for our own living in the margins and at the Social Development Centre, we also dream of a more unified perspective across different socio-economic groups in Waterloo Region when it comes to poverty elimination. 

Do No Harm! ALIVe Open Letter

| Filed under:
May 7 2019

ALIVEAwareness of Low Income Voices group (ALIVe) has been around since2000 and its role is to bring a positive voice of people with experience of poverty to the public.  Faced with the affordable housing crisis and talking to a number of leaders and decision-makers, the group has sent an open letter to all the provincial and municipal elected officials. They are asking that in every decision made, politicians remember not only who will benefit, but also what problems may be created for the people in place; remember what community will be disrupted to provide space for a new community; how current actions can benefit everyone in the community and not just those who might move in. And, above all, they are asking that whatever politicians do, they strive to do no harm!

Summer Jobs 2019

May 5 2019

Summer Jobs 2019Community Information, Social Development, Neighbourhood Engagement, are you truly passionate to learn and serve the community in these fields of practice? These positions are open to youth between 15 and 30 years who are facing barriers to employment or professional development. Thy offer exposure to a broad range of activities and social issues, as well as opportunities to take initiative and test different ways of doing things. Candidates are invited to apply by May 24th including a resume and a cover letter stating the position you are applying to, why you are interested in that position and how your studies, experience and skills make you a good candidate.

Take a Deep Breath!

Apr 23 2019

Lifelong EngagementDeep Breathing sessions for activits started in April 20109: Living on low income takes its toll, so does being a social justice activist. Mental and physical stress comes with concerns about income, housing, food, care-giving to family members and friends, advocacy... This leads to many health problems, including inefficient breathing, the one thing we actually can control.

Traynor-Fairway Crossing a Priority Project

Apr 17 2019

Crossing five years afterWe are in April 2019, almost a year after the Rally of July 2018 in the midst of the municipal pre-election campaign, and still waiting for concrete work being done at the crossing. The train testing has been on for over 6 months and people's lives put at risk every day. Read more from a community advocate James Howe about the struggles and the patience of the residents in Traynor-Vanier. More about our work in this neighbourhood can be found at the Neighbourood Connections page. 

Empowerment of Ethno-cultural Groups

Apr 10 2019

Empowerment of Ethnocultural Groups After the Waterloo Region Multicultural Connections Forum, organized in November 2018, together with the Immigration Partnership and the WR Volunteer Action Centre, we followed up on the top priority that the representatives of cultural communities shared: Empowerment of Ethno-cultural Groups. The empowerment includes: access to resources (funding, space, information, communication and mentoring); mutual understanding (common spaces and activities, dialogue building); equity (anti-racism, removal of barriers for participation and representation in decision-making).

Neighbourhood Connections

| Filed under:
Mar 27 2019

Cherry ParkThe Neighbourhood Connections Award has had a deep impact in neighbourhoods across Kitchener. Festival of Neighbourhoods, in itself, seemingly a simple approach, has contributed enormously in building close and loose ties among people in our community. They are our lifeline of access to information and opportunities. However, the Neighbourhood Connections Award, introduced in 2000 by Social Development Centre, helps us work through equity issues to build community capacity. Read about this unique process, welcomed by the Victoria Park neighbourhood in 2019, and more in our March E-Neighbour.

Being a Tenant in 2019?

| Filed under:
Mar 17 2019

Being a Tenant in 2019?

Renters Educating and Networking Together are hosting an open meeting to support tenants to share their experiences and to learn from each other. With the support of the WR Community Legal Services dedicated staff and the Social Development Centre WR community developers, we can voice the concerns in the changing context of provincial legislation and municipal housing strategies. Tuesday, April 9th, 6pm to 8pm at St John Church in downtown Kitchener. Entrance on Duke Street. RSVP admin@waterlooregion.org or 519-579-3800.

Activating Energy and Ideas

| Filed under:
Mar 14 2019

Activating Energy and Ideas“Civic Hub is a collaborative and inclusive space, 
where grassroots innovation and advocacy is anchored,
where faces go with names, and
where energy and ideas are activated.”  

Civic Hub enthusiasts adopted the vision for the Civic Hub on March 11th meeting. We hope to ensure collaboration on longterm solutions to social and economic challenges in the region through a common mandate: grassroots capacity building, sharing of resources and skills, streamlining promotion and recruitment for social justice advocacy, building opportunities for true inclusion and dialogue across diversity.