Social Development Centre Waterloo Region

The concerns about Bill 23, the "More Homes Built Faster Act” continue to grow. Municipalities across Ontario have expressed deep reservations about its impact, especially right after the elections. Social Development Centre and other organizations in the province identified a range of concerns regarding measures that will actually prevent creation of the affordable hosuing we need. The Bill will: cut funding to municipal affordable housing programs (read more), reduce the amount of affordable housing new developments have to provide through inclusionary zoning, undermine programs that protect existing affordable housing and tenants rights, shift taxes from developers to ordinary households and municipal revenues. Read the letter to the Ontario Government that many organizations in Ontario are signing to ask the province to address these concerns. Please take a moment to sign the letter on behalf of your organization, and pass this along to your networks. Affordable housing is too important and we can't afford to get it wrong.

Can you marvel the perseverance of the initiative that started in 1994 and still finds ways to reinvent itself? One of its founders, John MacDonald says: “It’s about creating opportunities for each of us, by growing relations and understanding with everyone around us. When we reach out and meet others we create better conditions for each and all of us, and it has a multiplier effect. Propinquity may seem a silly word, but it’s a basic measure of quality in our neighbourhoods and in our daily lives. Simple actions and simple gatherings of strangers have proven and positive results.” Join the 29th Annual Celebration on November 20th at 1pm at the Kitchener City Hall with over 40 neighbourhoods coming together as Pros in Propinquity. We will unveil the Inclusion Award 2022 and have a number of $500 Welcome Back prizes to draw. You can register on www.festivalofneighbourhoods.ca.

Displacement in Kitchener’s Inner Suburbs: Experiences and perspectives from low-income tenants: A key aim of this report is to centre the experiences of low-income tenants, focusing on their day-to-day experiences and the knowledge that they have about changes in their buildings and wider communities. Too often, these voices are omitted from mainstream planning and policy debates. By assembling and amplifying these voices, we can shift beyond isolated stories and anecdotes in order to identify trends which shape the lives of communities that are rarely heard. We thank you University of Waterloo and City of Kitchener for their collaboration.

Research and Engagement Coordinator at the Civic Hub has joined our team in July - Lia Forma has experience in supporting the work of underserved communities, needs assessment studies, and connecting with a range of experiences in kind and compassionate ways. She is currently assembling an Advisory Group of community minded folks who are already with the Hub partner groups and some who are not, for the post-pandemic direction setting for the Hub and for the broader community of equity seeking groups and initiatives.