Powered by The Home Depot Canada Foundation, TradeWorx is a collaboration of 10 successful Canadian employment social enterprises helping bridge systemic gaps and prevent youth homelessness. TradeWorx partners provide youth at-risk of homelessness with the skills training needed to secure a long-term well-paying career in the trades, resulting in the ability to afford/retain housing. Learn more from today’s guests: Emily Rowe, Sheldon Pollett, and Emmy Kelly!

Your vote can end homelessness and housing need. That’s the core sentiment driving the national non-partisan campaign Vote Housing, which is designed to engage and mobilize Canadians to pledge to Vote Housing in the upcoming federal election. The people-powered campaign wants to see solutions to the homelessness and housing crisis on the upcoming ballot. We’re joined by Vote Housing’s Jeff Morrison, Executive Director of the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association, and Alex Nelson, who serves on the steering committees of both the Canadian Lived Experience Leadership Network and the Women’s National Housing and Homelessness Network.

Dr. Andrew Boozary is a passionate and brilliant social advocate who uses medicine to build equity into society. He is a primary care physician and ED of Population Health and Social Medicine at the University Health Network, where he is working to develop, evaluate and scale new models of healthcare delivery for patients with complex health and social needs. During this pandemic, Dr. Boozary also serves as co-lead of the Ontario Health Toronto Region COVID-19 Homelessness Response and is a member of the Canadian Medical Association’s Post-Pandemic Expert Advisory Group. He also leads UHN’s Social Medicine Program, which aims to improve health outcomes and defend human dignity by integrating a person’s social context into their care.

Daniel McCulloch is a Lecturer in Criminology and Social Policy at The Open University (UK). His research has explored aspects of homelessness such as the ways in which people experiencing homelessness talk about their experiences, as well as the ways in which their lives are discussed in government policy. In addition to this, he has also carried out research which examines the experiences of Deaf prisoners in the UK, and studies exploring research methods in the social sciences.

Cheyanne Ratnam is passionate about equity and developing inclusive and accessible spaces and processes. She joins On the Way Home and talks about being a first voice advocate and the groundbreaking work she is doing with the Ontario government to meaningfully change the aging out process of youth in care. Cheyanne has dedicated much of her time and expertise in child welfare and homelessness. She is the Co-founder/Executive Lead of the Ontario Children’s Advancement Coalition. She serves on the Board of the Children’s Aid Society of Toronto, she’s a member of the Equity and Inclusion Council of the Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada, among many others.

Criminalizing people experiencing homelessness is a tragic reality that must end. Erin Dej is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminology at Wilfrid Laurier University. She is a critical criminologist who has been doing research on homelessness for over a decade, focusing on how to create meaningful inclusion for people who have experienced homelessness, with the ultimate aim of preventing and ending homelessness in Canada. She recently published her first book, “A Complex Exile: Homelessness and Social Exclusion in Canada”.

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) recently announced $2 million in funding for the National Housing Strategy Demonstrations Initiative, for a 2021 open call competition for Community Land Trusts and Land Assembly solutions. Listen to CMHC’s Ramya, Carlos and Anne-Marie tell us about how to successfully apply and receive between $100,000 to $250,000 for a project. This On the Way Home episode was brought to you by the good people at the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

Nick Gefucia is a lawyer and Vice President of Affordable Housing with EllisDon Capital where he provides leadership to EllisDon’s dedicated national affordable housing team, EllisDon Community Builders. Nick is an experienced project development professional having led the commercial and legal aspects in a multitude of infrastructure and real estate transactions across Canada. We talk to Nick about how Community Builders is delivering affordable housing to folks and the gaps they’re trying to fill in the crisis.

Carole Saab is the CEO of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and a tireless champion for cities and communities–driving an ambitious vision for local government leadership in building a more sustainable, prosperous, and inclusive Canada. We talk to her about local governments across the country getting more involved in the housing crisis and advocating for real solutions.

Let’s talk about the Land Trust model! How can it help solve the housing affordability crisis? Hear from Melissa Estable, Manager of the Co-operative Housing Development with CHF Canada, and Joshua Bénard, VP of Real Estate Development with Habitat GTA and Board Member of Community Affordable Housing Solutions. Learn about Land Trusts as a solution and some amazing examples of where they’re working!