dan kellar
Kitchener, ON – On April 1st the local Homeless and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hub will begin operating, with provincial funding, with services which replace or build upon those offered by the current Consumption and Treatment Services site. Notably absent from the HART Hub spaces will be drug testing machines and supervised consumption of drugs, including overdose reversal, which are foundational to the harm reduction model of addictions support.
In August 2024 the Ontario government announced that it would be forcing the closure of the CTS site in downtown Kitchener on March 31st 2025.
This show features an interview with Tara Groves-Taylor, the CEO of Community Healthcaring Kitchener-Waterloo, the lead operator of Kitchener’s HART Hub. A statement from the Ministry of Health about the CTS closures that was sent to CKMS News is also included.
For more background on this issue, see the CKMS News interview with Kitchener’s CTS operator Sanguen Health Centre
dan kellar
Waterloo, ON – On March 3rd, the City of Waterloo voted to delay implementing inclusionary zoning bylaws which would have required developers to include some affordable units in any new condominium projects in areas around major transit stations. The new by-law, which was approved in June 2024 would have gone into force at the end of March and the decision to delay implementation follows a similar decision in December of last year by Kitchener’s council.
City staff presented a report to council which argued that tariffs from America, the federal government’s restrictions on international students and immigrants, fluctuating interest rates, and the low resale price of condos, are all creating uncertainties in the building market.
This show features audio from the council meeting and an interview with Lynn Intini, an eviction prevention and tenant organising worker at the Social development Centre of Waterloo Region. Intini discusses inclusionary zoning, the focus on investment driven developments, housing needs vs housing demand, and non-market solutions to the housing crisis.
dan kellar
Kitchener, ON – Ahead of the provincial election and in the midst of several overlapping social, environmental, and economic crises, the Social Development Centre of Waterloo Region is hosting the first in a series of community discussions centered on building local community power.
The first event, called Cutting Through the Noise: A Forum for Building Community Power, is happening on Friday February 21st. Describing the impetus to organise the event’s webpage reads “history has shown us that social change is possible”.
David Alton, the facilitator of the event told CKMS News “I don’t want any political party to think they just get the vote of people in waterloo region, they have to earn it”
This show features an interview with David Alton, the lived expertise program facilitator at the Social Development Centre of Waterloo Region, and the facilitator of this first event which runs from 7-9pm on Friday, February 21 St John the Evangelist Anglican Church, on Duke St in downtown Kitchener.
dan kellar Kitchener, ON – With hundreds of tenants in the city of Kitchener currently facing renoviction, local residents and housing advocates were pleading to city council on Monday night to fast-track by-laws to protect renters from “bad actor” landlords who use renovations as an excuse to evict tenants and increase rental prices.
While Kitchener council has previously asked city staff to report back in June on the feasibility and jurisdictional issues of a renoviction by-law, 11 delegates, all in favour of stronger protections, argued that the city already has enough information to create new rules. Toronto, London, and Hamilton have all approved renoviction by-laws with Hamilton’s being enacted at the start of this year.
Several delegates at the meeting are members of the grassroots advocacy group Waterloo Region ACORN, who has been organizing renters facing renoviction at several buildings including 250 Frederick St and 141 Borden Ave.
In the end, councillors voted for the status quo, and staff will still have until June to gather more information.
This show features audio from the February 10th council meeting, including delegates, city staff, and councillors.
dan kellar
Waterloo, ON – Waterloo city council voted unanimously to endorse the recent report from the Association of Municipalities of Ontario which found that more than 80,000 people were homes in Ontario in 2024, a rise of more than 25% since 2022.
Beyond the numbers, the report offers ideas to address homelessness by focusing on long-term housing instead of the go-to actions of creating temporary emergency shelters and promoting police backed enforcement of property laws. This show features audio from the January 27th meeting where councillor Vasic and mayor McCabe spoke about the findings in the report, and heard from staff member Sandy Little who created a summary of the report for council. Little notes that the conclusions and recommendations from the report are being investigated at the city and region.
dan kellar
Kitchener, ON – As daytime temperatures dipped below -20 degrees this week in Waterloo Region, anti-poverty advocates in Waterloo Region demanded action from municipal governments to open more indoor space for homeless community members. In response, the region teamed with local service providers to open a new 20 person emergency overnight warming space in Kitchener. A second emergency overnight warming space will open early next week in Cambridge.
This show features interviews with anti-poverty and housing advocate Regan Sunshine Brussé and councillor Jim Erb of the regional government. Brussé discusses the human rights approach to housing which the regional government adopted in the2024 Plan to End Chronic Homelessness and offers her thoughts on how to address the extreme cold this winter. Councillor Erb says the regional government and staff are working diligently to address the extreme cold, and he responds to ideas advocates have brought forward such as using Grand River Transit’s bus fleet or regional properties for emergency warming sites.
dan kellar
Kitchener, ON – As landlords continue to raise rental prices across the country, many are being left behind. According to rentals.ca, average rent in Canada has been increased by 25% since 2021. For some, the result is homelessness, and Waterloo Region is no exception – a recent report shows at least a 129% rise in chronic homelessness here since 2020.
“I knew I was going to be homeless at some point if I did not do something” says Pat Dunn, a widowed retiree now living in Peterborough. Dunn is the founder and the executive director of the non-profit organization Senior Women Living Together. Through subscriber generated profiles on their website, the organization finds matches for senior women, who then meet up to discuss living as housemates.
This show features an interview with Pat Dunn who discusses her own brush with homelessness and rising rent led her to helping others in the same situation. The organization is currently promoting their free service in Waterloo Region.
dan kellar
Kitchener, ON – Work on “Kitchener 2051“, the city’s next 25 year official plan has commenced, and staff have opened applications for residents who would like to work in a community working group who will provide guidance throughout the process.
In the press release, Rosa Bustamante, Kitchener’s Director of Planning and Housing Policy said “Kitchener 2051 is an opportunity to tackle these issues head-on, ask big questions, and prepare us for an uncertain future”. With work starting in the fall, the press release says the community working group will “exert real influence through their expertise and insights”.
This show features an interview with Natalie Goss, the policy and research manager for the City of Kitchener. Goss discusses the scope of “Kitchener 2051”, how the plan will be adapted as we move through dynamic social and ecological conditions, and how folks can get involved in shaping the city’s new 25 year official plan.
The Alliance for a Liveable Ontario has been petitioning Ontario’s progressive conservative MPPs for months to scrap Bill-185 and some proposed changes to the Provincial Planning Statement. On May 22nd they sent a letter to the premier highlighting 10 “key problems” with the Cutting Red Tape to Build More Homes Act and the PPS.
CKMS News spoke with founding member of the ALO,Mark Reusser. He discussed the coalition’s opposition to the government’s actions, and alternatives to address the housing availability and affordability crises, including specific effects for Waterloo Region.
While Bill-185 received Royal Assent on June 6th, Reusser told CKMS News that the ALO, which consists of 65 member organizations and over a thousand individuals, is “not giving up”, and will “continue to push for good planning.”
The provincial Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing did not respond to requests from CKMS News for comment on ALO’s analysis.
Tent fires have become a common occurrence in the winter at the Victoria Street encampment in Kitchener and a local housing advocacy group is helping find solutions.
FightBack KW, thinks it might have found an answer. The organization is building temporary sandbag structures that two people can live in and up to six can congregate in.
Fire is a problem because the tents used at the encampment were not designed for winter use. In order to survive the winter outside, people must insulate or warm their tents, which carries huge risks and can be a difficult balance to achieve.
FightBack KW is looking for community partnerships with relevant businesses to fund and help build the structures. The next build day that individuals are welcome to participate in is February 3, this Saturday from 11-dark.
Wren Wombwell of FightBack KW talked to CKMS News about the situation and the sandbag structures.
The debate over the future of the outdoor shelter at 1001 Erb’s Road was reignited at the Region of Waterloo Community and Health Services Committee on January 16.
The Region must either find a solution to the wastewater management problem at the site or move the shelter altogether before April 2025. While some councillors wanted staff to begin to work on a wind down plan, others thought it could wait.
The site, at 1001 Erb’s Rd, sits beside the landfill just west of the Wilmot line, making it primarily a concern for Wilmot Township.
Councillor and Wilmot mayor Natasha Salonen’s motion was a response to the admission at the November 7 Community and Health Services Committee meeting in which regional staff told council there was no plan in place for the shelter to draw to a close. Regardless, Councillor Salonen’s motion was defeated.
Tensions simmered when the topic of A Better Tent City (ABTC) came up at the last Waterloo Regional Council meeting of 2023. ABTC is tiny home community in Kitchener that currently houses 50 chronic homeless people.
On one side were those who supported the motion from Councillor and Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic which granted $236,390 for the next two years to ABTC. On the other side were those who said the grant was unfair and inequitable.
Several Councillors insisted the wording of Councillor Vrbanovic’s motion be removed as they felt it was insulting to staff. Another criticism arose because six other groups had been denied original funding but did not afterwards ask Council for money, some councillors felt this was unfair and inequitable
Despite the criticism, Council carried Councillor Vrbanovic’s motion granting ABTC $236,390 for the next two years
Cambridge – Joined by 4 city councilors on December 19th, Cambridge mayor Jan Liggett voted against a motion to investigate the plausibility building affordable housing in raised buildings above city owned parking lots.
The motion, brought forward by ward 7 councilor Scott Hamilton was supported by all the delegates who presented at the meeting including resident Matthew Rodgers, the advocacy groups “Citizens for Cambridge”, “For the City”, and “Waterloo Region Yes In My Backyard”, and as stated by councilor Earnshaw, the Cambridge Business Improvement Association was also on board.
Despite strong support for the motion from delegates, and the voting support of councilors Kimpson, Earnshaw, Roberts, and Hamilton, the motion was ultimately defeated, wIth Mayor Liggett suggesting churches should be converting their own parking lots for housing. Before calling the vote, Liggett stated that voting “no” does not mean that a councilor is against building affordable housing.
Waterloo – On Oct 30th ACORN, the grassroots social and economic justice organisation with chapters across the country, delivered over 400 tenant testimonials to federal liberal MPs including Waterloo’s Bardish Chagger. This action coincided with ACORN’s national housing spokesperson Tanya Bukart giving testimony to the National Housing Council’s review panel on the financialisation of purpose built rental housing. Bukart’s testimony highlighted the effects on renters created by the stress of living in a precarious housing market, which has been transformed over the past decades, into an investment industry with profit seeking constantly driving up housing and rental prices.
Today’s show features interviews with Acer Bonaparte, the chair of the Waterloo Region chapter of ACORN, and Mike Morrice, the Green Party MP for Kitchener Centre, who has been pressuring the government over the ongoing crisis in the affordability of housing in Canada since being elected in 2021. Additionally, Geordie Dent of The Federation of Metro Tenants’ Associations (FMTA), which advocates for better rights for tenants, adds comments on the financialisation of housing.
For the purposes of this review, the National Housing Council is using the Federal Housing Advocate’s definition of the financialization of housing which is “the growing dominance of financial actors in the housing sector, which is transforming the main function of housing from a place to live into a financial asset and a tool for investor profits.” The definition continues “These may include asset management companies, hedge funds, pension funds, private equity funds, real estate investment trusts (REITs), real estate operating companies and sovereign wealth funds.”
The National Housing Council, which refers to reports commissioned by The Federal Housing Advocate adds “The financialization of purpose-built rental housing has been linked to a range of negative impacts for renters, such as evictions, rising rents and reduced building services and maintenance.” On this point the National Right to Housing Network, a grassroots tenants rights organisation also focusing on the national panel explains “Financialization of housing refers to the treatment of housing primarily as a financial asset and tool for maximizing investor profit at the expense of human rights among tenants and tenancy-seeking individuals.”
The show focuses on the financialisation of the housing market, immediate steps which could be taken to start addressing the affordability crisis, and the longer term role of government in creating and maintaining an affordable and quality housing supply to meet the needs of growing populations.
Delegates representing housing advocacy organization A Better Tent City (ABTC) went to Region of Waterloo (ROW) council on Wednesday, November 7, asking for urgent help. The group was appealing a decision by the ROW housing department that determined ABTC did not fit the criteria for ROW funding.
ABTC has not yet received an explanation as to why it did not meet the criteria, and department officials have agreed to meet with the members of ABTC to explain later this month. Without additional and prompt financial support, the delegates warned, the project will not be able to continue.
The delegation included Jeff Willmer, Laura Hamilton, Marion Thomson Howell and Father Toby Collins. ABTC had asked for $236,000 under ROW housing provider funding scheme. This money would provide for dedicated staff to actively support residents to further stabilize their lives and obtain permanent housing.
Laura Hamilton described how the group began as a crisis response to unsafe living conditions and how it transitioned from an illegal unsanctioned encampment to a registered charity with community partners and over 100 volunteers. Despite these achievements, Marion Thomson Howell noted how demand is increasing, “One year ago today, we had approximately 65 people who came around on a regular basis looking for support. As of Thursday of last week, we had 96 and that number grows daily.”
When ROW Chair Karen Redman asked about volunteers, Hamilton described typical tasks and the increasing demands on volunteers. She also described how much of the success of ABTC comes down to one woman, Nadine Greene, and why that is problematic because it leads burnout for the volunteer and excessive dependence on one person, which is not good for the organization in the long run.
Councillor Berry Vrbanovic asked, beyond finances, what the main challenges for the group are and what supports are needed to confront these challenges. Father Collins answered by characterizing the struggles of the people who rely on ABTC are facing. He noted the people they take in are extremely unstable and they need to be stable before they can start to move beyond their struggles.
Councillors Rob Deutschmann and Chantal Huinink tried to understand why ABTC didn’t meet the Region’s criteria while Councillor Colleen James asked how they are funded, if there is any government support, and more about the request for additional staff. Father Collins explained the organization’s revenue streams, the financial short fall, and need for staff.
Council noted the excellent work ABTC is doing, but, and while they understood why the group had made the request, some councillors were unsure how to interpret the performance measures. Councillor Craig asked about turnover – or how many people move on into permanent housing — on average per year. Thomson Howell, Hamilton and Father Collins reiterated their approach, highlighting that they don’t have dedicated staff to help people move on to other housing, and that was why they had come to council.
Councillor Jan Ligget returned to the turnover number and expressed concern over what seemed like a low performance indicator. She asked the group to clarify how they will improve their scores. Delegates explained how they can increase transitions with the additional staff and when waiting lists for affordable housing are reduced.
No motions were put in place regarding A Better Tent City. The next Community and Health Services meeting on December 6.
Over the last few months there have been several rallies and multiple media stories on the group of tenants in the residential building at 267 Traynor Avenue in Kitchener, who have organized against an impending renoviction. Their building was recently purchased by a wealthy investor landlord who then issued N13 notices to at least 20 residents in the building and more in another on Ahrens St. in Kitchener
According to the 2023 Housing Hardship Report from the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario, almost half (46%) of renters in Ontario are concerned about their landlord wanting to evict them for some reason.
In Waterloo region, the Report notes that 37% of all tenant households are spending a third or more of their income on housing costs, and a person needs to make at least $24 an hour to afford a 1-bedroom apartment here.
Maribel Jagorin organized the tenants at 267 Traynor Ave., and she talked with CKMS about her situation and fight to save her home and prevent her own and her building’s renoviction.
CKMS news also talked with Jenaya Nixon, who up util recently was an outreach worker for the Eviction Prevention Program within the Social Development Centre. Jenaya was one of the initial supports for the Traynor Ave residents and she talked about how renovictions generally occur and how municipal and regional governments can play an important and meaningful role, regardless of the provincial and federal initiatives.
Information and support to access if you are facing a renoviction in Waterloo Region:
The Eviction Prevention Waterloo Region at the Social Development Centre:
https://www.waterlooregion.org/eviction-prevention-waterloo-region
Easy to access and up-to-date legal information specific to Ontario:
https://stepstojustice.ca/legal-topic/housing-law/eviction/
“These photos are very powerful. A lot of these photos are tied to some pretty intense experiences, especially if you were aware in April when there was a big wave of overdose deaths that were happening. These photos are taken in the midst of that crisis. It is reflecting the voices of people who are navigating intense experiences of displacement.”
“Waterloo Region had shelter capacity for less than half of the number of homeless people that we had in 2020, and we know the number is bigger now and there is a huge shelter capacity gap and we also know that shelters are not going to meet the needs of everyone.”
David Alton, the Facilitator Lived Expertise Working Group, Kitchener’s Housing Strategy of the Social Development Centre, talked to CKMS news about a photography exhibition, the value of using lived expertise, the scale of homelessness in the Region and the problems and consequences of not having accurate data, and the barriers between unsheltered and sheltered communities.
The Lived Expertise Working Group is a two-year pilot project hosted by the Social Development Centre in partnership with the City of Kitchener to advise on the implementation and monitoring of the Housing for All Strategy. The working group consists of twelve lived experts who have met twice a month from May 2022 and were expected to continue until April 2024, but the group’s second year of funding, worth up to $30,000, is up in the air because City Council did not like the Social Development Centre commenting on city actions at the Roos Island protests in April. City council delayed the vote on continuing to fund the second year of the Lived Expertise Working Group until the council meeting on August 28.
Falling through the cracks, a fundraiser and photography exhibit, will be held at the downtown Kitchener Public Library, at 85 Queen St, for one night only on Wednesday August 16 from 5-8 pm. The photographs, 16 in total, depict the meaningful ways unsheltered communities support one another, memorialize each other, and resist marginalization. The gallery opens at 5 and the presentations will start around 6.
The music on today’s show is called “Maple Music” by Godmode courtesy of by Expectantly Maple Music on YouTube.
You have been listening to CKMS News on 102.7FM, Radio Waterloo. This is MP Holmes, and thank you for tuning-in.
Listen to CKMS News – 2023-07-01 – Engage Barrie discusses Barrie City Council’s repressive agenda targeting homeless people:
By M.P. Holmes
The Barrie city Council tried to push anti-homeless legislation through at a meeting this week but backed down due to the strong country-wide backlash. The by-law would have prohibited both encampments and anyone from sharing food, water, tents or any other survival items with people experiencing homelessness on city property. I talked to Rob Romanek of EngageBarrie and he explained the basic situation.
In the end, and amid an outpouring of criticism from across the country, and once a local outreach centre agreed to stop handing out food and supplies along Barrie’s waterfront, and instead move their outreach to private property as suggested by city government, the local government withdrew the amendments, commenting that the bylaw amendments were “no longer necessary”. The mayor said the council sent the bylaw amendment back to city staff to amend wording that did not represent the council’s point of view.
If the bylaw had passed Council, it would have been challenged legally, surely citing the Superior court case of The Regional Municipality of Waterloo v. Persons Unknown and to be Ascertained, 2023 from earlier this year, in which the Superior Court rejected The Region of Waterloo’s plan to evict individuals encamped on Region-owned property (at Victoria and Weber). The Region argued that the people encamped were in breach of a local By-Law and the Charter of Rights did not apply in this case, but the Judge disagreed, finding that forcing homeless people to leave an encampment when there aren’t enough shelter spaces violates their rights to life, liberty and security of the person – all of which are protected in Section 7 of the Charter.
You can find more information about Engage Barrie on social media @engagebarrie, or on their website engagebarrie.org
This program is a part of the “Local Journalism Initiative” and is funded by the Community Radio Fund of Canada, Heritage Canada, and the CKMS Newsroom.
1 – City of Barrie backs down after threatening drastic measures against the homeless population
The Barrie city Council tried to push anti-homeless legislation through at a meeting this week but backed down due to the strong country-wide backlash. That backlash included presenting the legal precedent from the Superior Court case The Regional Municipality of Waterloo v. Persons Unknown and to be Ascertained, 2023, which blocked the eviction of people living at the Victoria and Weber encampment in Kitchener.
There is a clip from Rob Romanek of EngageBarrie
2 -GRT fares increasing as was decided by Regional Council in February
GRT fares are increasing on July 1, following an earlier budget decision by Regional Council who voted for the increase. The Cash fare will go up 14% to $3.75 per ride, a more expensive fare than nearly all other public transit in Ontario, including that of Toronto, Hamilton, London, and Guelph.
3 – Long standing health centres merge
Sanctuary Refugee Health Centre and Kitchener Downtown Community Health Centre have mergedand are now called Community Healthcaring Kitchener-Waterloo. There are two locations at both ends of the downtown core in Kitchener.
4 – Protest march against renoviction of more than 20 Kitchener residents from their homes
On June 19th, more than 50 people were at the protest and march to draw attention to Mississauga based investor landlord Mike Beer who has moved to renovict more than 20 Kitchener residents from their homes. Marching from the Fairway Ion station to 267 Traynor Ave, the protestors were welcomed by the neighbourhood.
There is clip from Maribel of ACORN.
This program is a part of the “Local Journalism Initiative” and is funded by the Community Radio Fund of Canada, Heritage Canada, and the CKMS Newsroom.
On June 4, the one-year anniversary of Doug Ford’s re-election in Ontario, thousands of people across the province came together for the Enough is Enough expo, march and rally.
In the Waterloo region, the demonstration was organized by the Waterloo Regional Labour Council and took place at Kitchener City Hall. The goal of the event was to draw attention to the cost-of-living crisis, the housing crisis and many other social, political and climate crises, and to show solidarity and exchange ideas.
After a little less than two hours, the expo closed up and the participants marched down King Street to rally outside Grand River Hospital where six speakers talked about the situation and what can be done about it.
The Grand River Environmental Network joined in the coalition building rally Enough is Enough! Photo by Trish Holmes.
Enough is Enough demo participants had style on lockdown. Photo by Trish Holmes.
On Friday May 26th, a month after the City of Kitchener closed public access to Roos Island in their effort to relocate people who had been living in an encampment on the island, a demonstration was held to remind the public that just because the tents are gone does not mean the housing crisis is over.
The Region of Waterloo currently has less than 250 emergency shelter beds, but there are more than 1,000 unsheltered community members, and this number is growing all the time.
In response, the Unhoused Experience: 24hr Challenge invited people to pitch tents for 24hours in the park, and despite a heavy presence from by-law and security, around 50 people participated in workshops and to listened to advocates and people who have experience being unhoused tell their stories.
We talked to organizers and participants about the housing and homelessness crisis and their 24 hour event.
This program is a part of the “Local Journalism Initiative” and is funded by the Community Radio Fund of Canada, Heritage Canada, and the CKMS Newsroom.
The housing crisis leads to more barriers for the marginalized individuals within our community. Residents are facing an affordable housing crisis in Waterloo region. The low income housing waitlist is almost 6 years until you are able to be offered a unit. Marginalized members of this community are struggling to find and maintain stable housing in this region.
On this episode of CKMS News, we interview Sandy Dietrich-Bell, CEO of OneROOF a youth shelter in Kitchener. Part 2 of the interview focuses on some solutions to the housing crisis and the barriers that youth face while trying to obtain stable housing.
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This program is a part of the “Local Journalism Initiative” grant project and is funded by the Community Radio Fund of Canada, the Government of Canada and the CKMS Newsroom.
Check out the archived versions of this program and other episodes on radiowaterloo.ca/news, and other stories commissioned under the Local Journalism Initiative at canada-info.ca
You can follow us on twitter @radiowaterloo. If you want to get in touch with comments, or ideas about stories to cover, email us at news@radiowaterloo.ca
The housing crisis leads to more barriers for the marginalized individuals within our community. Residents are facing an affordable housing crisis in Waterloo region. The low income housing waitlist is almost 6 years until you are able to be offered a unit. Marginalized members of this community are struggling to find and maintain stable housing in this region.
On this episode of CKMS News, we interview Sandy Dietrich-Bell, CEO of OneROOF a youth shelter in Kitchener. We discuss the barriers that marginalized members of our community face while trying to obtain stable housing as well as how the community can come together for a solution to this housing crisis.
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This program is a part of the “Local Journalism Initiative” grant project and is funded by the Community Radio Fund of Canada, the Government of Canada and the CKMS Newsroom.
Check out the archived versions of this program and other episodes on radiowaterloo.ca/news, and other stories commissioned under the Local Journalism Initiative at canada-info.ca
You can follow us on twitter @radiowaterloo. If you want to get in touch with comments, or ideas about stories to cover, email us at news@radiowaterloo.ca
Today’s Waterloo Region Weekly Roundup episode focuses on two weeks of discussions at Woolwich council regarding the possibility of A Better Tent City moving to a new proposed location on Spitzig Rd.
A Better Tent City is the community of residents currently housed in tiny homes at Lot 42 in Kitchener. They must find a new home by June 20th and have found a willing landlord through the Hamilton Diocese with their land on Spitzig Rd. Tune in to hear more about the proposal, thoughts from residents who support this and those who oppose it, and also the discussion among councillors.
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This program is a part of the “Local Journalism Initiative” grant program and is funded by the Community Radio Fund of Canada, the Government of Canada, and the CKMS Newsroom.
Check out the archived versions of this program and other episodes on radiowaterloo.ca/news., and other stories commissioned under the Local Journalism Initiative at canada-info.ca.
You can follow us on twitter @RadioWaterloo. If you want to get in touch with comments, or ideas about stories to cover, email us at news@radiowaterloo.ca
On today’s show are interviews with two different types of mutual aid and one interview with a charity.
The first interview is with the local chapter of Hockey Helps the Homeless, a long-standing charitable organization that raises money on behalf of local agencies.
The second interview is with Julie Sawatzky who started the 519 Community Collective during the dark days of the pandemic.
And finally, Father Toby Collins speaks about the affordable takeout dinner service started at St Mary’s Catholic Church in downtown Kitchener. Both last two are examples mutual aid within the community.
Each interview covers how the projects function, how they came to be, important initiatives, and ways to volunteer.
Used with permission from 519 Community Pantries.
This program is a part of the “Local Journalism Initiative” grant program and is funded by the Community Radio Fund of Canada, the Government of Canada, and the CKMS Newsroom. You can access the archives of this show on radiowaterloo.ca/news or on the national LJI website.
The music on today’s show has been ‘Fat Cartoon Jazz’ by Purple Planet Music .
The accompanying photograph was obtained from truthseeker08 on Pixabay.com.
