Social Development Centre Waterloo Region

New Date, New Name For Postponed Community Power Event

Following the postponement of our original event, Cutting Through Elections Noise Part 2, we have chosen a new date and name for the rescheduled event! Please join us on Tuesday, May 20, 2025 (7pm - 9pm) for Organizing Beyond Election Cycles - A Forum for Building Community Power. Let's gather as community organizers, advocates, and concerned citizens for a conversation on how the stories we hear and the stories we tell one another can either help maintain the status quo - or inspire hope and action for a more just and compassionate world.

RSVP today to reserve your spot

After two snap elections in 2025 and local political developments that left many of us reeling, it's clear we need to organize beyond election cycles and build our local community power to enable the futures we want. Will you join us on May 20? (Wondering why the original event was postponed? Read more here.)

SDC Joins Coalition Calling on Province to Rescind Bill 6

Rescind Bill 6 - Encampment Justice Coalition Graphic 1

SDC is honoured to join 60+ organizations working across Ontario to form the Encampment Justice Coalition. Together, we’ve written to Ontario's Premier asking his government to rescind Bill 6, the Safer Municipalities Act.

Ontario's homelessness crisis is out of control. Something needs to be done — but it shouldn’t include punishing people forced to live in encampments. They have nowhere else to go. Bill 6, taken directly from failed American policy, won’t make anyone any less homeless. Keep reading to see how you or your organization can join the coalition.

Summer Job Posting: F/T Community Organiser

Are you looking for a summer job opportunity that combines community engagement, administration, and media support? SDC is hiring a Community Organiser who'll work closely with the Civic Hub Program Coordinator to support over 50 grassroots groups in the region, many led by equity-deserving communities!

$17.20 per hour
35 hours/week
14-16 weeks contract
Age requirement: 15-30 yrs. of age
Flexible schedule that includes evening and weekend hours
Application deadline: May 11, 2025

If interested, have a look at our job posting and apply by May 11, 2025!

POSTPONED: Cutting Through Elections Noise, Part 2

Social Development Centre WR has made the difficult decision to postpone our event, Cutting Through Elections Noise: A Forum for Builidng Community Power (Part 2), which was scheduled to take place on Wednesday, April 23 (7pm - 9pm). To all those who already RSVPd: we're so disappointed that we won't be seeing you this Wednesday. And we apologize for the inconvenience caused by this last-minute change.

REDIRECTING OUR ATTENTION TO AN URGENT LOCAL ISSUE

Our hope with the Apr. 23 event was to build on the success of our last pre-election event (which took place in February just before the snap provincial election). But this date now conflicts with a Region of Waterloo Council meeting where Councillors will be reviewing a new bylaw that may require unhoused community members to vacate the 100 Victoria St. homeless encampment by Dec. 2025. Keeping reading for more info about SDC's concerns and next steps...

SDC Pre-Election Event To Focus On Community Power

The last-minute annoucement of a provincial election has left many of us reeling. And there's a growing sense that our governments and political processes don't work for us.

But what if we can turn our collective anxiety into something productive? That is our hope with "Cutting Through the Noise: A Forum for Building Community Power." Happening Feb. 21 (7-9pm), the event will create a space for us all to catch our breath, acknowledge our worries, and practise building local collective power in the face of systems that fail us.

Only together can we create the futures we want. Grassroots organizers, community groups, and residents from across Waterloo Region are welcome. Please RSVP today and share widely.

REVISED JOB Posting: F/T Financial Coordinator

Feb 14 2025

Are you looking to apply your bookkeeping and fund accounting experience to initiatives that advance social justice in Waterloo Region? Join our team as a full-time Financial Coordinator!

Check out our revised job posting with a new hourly rate ($32/hour), competitive benefits, and more. In your capacity as SDC's Financial Coordinator, you'll work with our Executive Director and Board Treasurer to manage day-to-day accounting and bookkeeping responsibilities. This includes bookkeeping, financial management, and reporting for a number of fiscal partnership with our grassroots partner organizations through our Shared Platform.

Review the revised job posting, share in your networks, and apply by February 28, 2025.

Petition: Ask Kitchener Council for a Renoviction By-Law

Renoviction Bylaw Petition Alert (Jan 2025) Renovictions are a massive tool of displacement in Kitchener. They are a tool wielded by landlords, often illegally, to maximize their profits by moving rent-controlled tenants out of their homes. But once these tenants are displaced, they often become exposed to the risk of homelessness as rents elsewhere have skyrocketed beyond their reach. You can help fight this trend - sign our petition asking Kitchener City Council to establish a renoviction by-law.

> Sign the Petition
> Read About Our Tenant Organizing Work in The Record

SDC Office Closed Dec. 23/2024 - Jan. 3/2025

The SDC office will be closed and our team will be taking a break between Monday, December 23, 2024 and Friday, January 3, 2025. We will be back at work the week of Monday, January 6, 2025, but our response times may be a little slower than usual as we catch up after the break and dedicate some time to planning for the year ahead. We wish you well over the next couple of weeks and will see you in the new year.

SDC Stands With Community Groups Against Safer Municipalities Act

SDC is extremely concerned that the Safer Municipalities Act tabled by Premier Ford seeks to punish people for being homeless instead of providing the safeguards and supports they actually need: housing, rent control, income security, and a continuum of mental health and addiction support for those who need it.

We stand with local community groups opposing this legislation, which came after weeks of escalating efforts to criminalize people who are unhoused. Keep reading to learn how you can show your solidarity, and to view a timeline of events surrounding this legislation.

SDC Statement on Opposition to Notwithstanding Clause

SDC is encouraged that a growing group of local Councillors is voicing their opposition to the 15 Ontario mayors requesting the use of the notwithstanding clause, a powerful constitutional tool that can override the Charter-protected rights of unhoused community members living in encampments – and we call on all elected officials in Waterloo Region to join this principled action.