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...

The lived experts we’ve been working with had flagged the closure of this encampment as a major concern when the Plan to End Chronic Homelessness was being developed in 2023/24 - and our staff and partners have been advocating for human rights-compliant approaches to encampment closures ever since.

SDC will therefore be delegating to Council that evening to share our learnings from people who are directly impacted. For reference, see:

1. Call to Action #19 on page 28 of the Lived Expertise Prototyping Report
2. Actions 1.2, 2.1, and 2.2 on pages 54-55 of the Region’s Plan to End Chronic Homelessness Report

CHOOSING A NEW DATE FOR OUR EVENT

Postponing our Apr. 23 event means we won’t be able to gather with you ahead of the federal election. However, our focus remains on building local community power that not only cuts through elections noise, but also transcends elections cycles. We hope to see you very soon and will notify you once a new date is confirmed!

HOW YOU CAN HELP IN THE MEANTIME

Join us at the Region of Waterloo Council meeting either in person or online on Wednesday, Apr. 23. Though the meeting will begin at 5:30pm, it appears Council will be in a closed session for the first 90 minutes and will reconvene with the public at 7pm. You can find the most up-to-date agenda/location, virtual meeting link, and a link/instructions for registering as a delegate here.

UPDATE FOLLOWING REGIONAL COUNCIL MEETING ON APR. 23, 2025

Regional Council voted overwhelmingly in favour of the by-law, with only one elected official opposed to the motion: Regional Councillor Pam Wolf from Cambridge, ON. This was a heartbreaking outcome and SDC stands in solidarity with the 40+ community members, researchers, and organizers who delegated that evening to implore Council to abandon the by-law, work with community, and take a more humane and collaborative approach to balancing the needs of encampment residents and the proposed transit hub that is to be built near the site of the 100 Victoria St. encampment in Kitchener. 

Hear David Alton, Lived Expertise Facilitator at SDC, speak with CBC Radio about our concerns: tinyurl.com/47unp4tt (May 7, 2025)

Watch a CBC video segment where encampment residents share their concerns: tinyurl.com/3b58ky76 (May 10, 2025)