While the financial savings to taxpayers from cutting any or all of the City of Toronto’s grants to community groups is very small, the impact of the loss of that funding would be widespread. Recent research from the Wellesley Institute shows that strong and resilient community networks have a positive impact on individual and population […]
Archives for October 2011
Time for adult conversation about housing and homelessness indicators and measures
Canada is behind other countries in measuring the many dimensions of homelessness and precarious housing. This means it’s almost impossible to assess the scale of need, the appropriate resources that are required and to evaluate the impact of policy interventions. The Wellesley Institute commissioned housing policy expert Steve Pomeroy to start this critical conversation. Download: […]
Continue ReadingTime for adult conversation about housing and homelessness indicators and measures
Public Health, Priority Populations and Driving Health Equity Into Action
Public health have long been leaders in health equity strategy (see Sudbury’s Ten Promising Practices). One key direction has been working with local communities and those marginalized and vulnerable populations facing the most inequitable health outcomes or barriers to services and support. I spoke at an Ontario Public Health Association forum on how to engage […]
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Plan to sell-off TCHC homes an 'act of desperation'
As the board of Toronto Community Housing Company meets today to consider a plan to sell-off more than 700 of its homes, leading housing experts – including the Wellesley Institute’s Michael Shapcott – are urging the public housing board, and Toronto City Council, to consider better options. In an article in today’s Globe and Mail, […]
Continue ReadingPlan to sell-off TCHC homes an 'act of desperation'
One Conference, Two Declarations
“Civil society is fantastic in the sense that they push us” World Conference on Social Determinants of Health Rio de Janeiro, October 19-21, 2011 World Health Organization (WHO) Guest post by Margot Lettner With not one but two Declarations on the floor as the Conference closed, Marie-Paule Kieny, Assistant Director-General, WHO, described the […]
Minority Ontario government creates opportunity to bring in much-needed four-point housing plan
Michael Shapcott, Director of Housing The minority Liberal government voters elected on October 6 provides a political opportunity for Ontario to realize a long-overdue and much-needed four-point affordable housing plan. The province’s last two minority governments delivered robust housing initiatives: In 1975, the province’s first rent regulation and tenant protection laws, which grew more substantial […]
Local Collaborations to Advance Health Equity
Building broad local partnerships and collaborations among service providers, community agencies and residents is one vital part of driving health equity into action on the ground. I spoke to a tremendously interesting group coming together in the Jane-Humber area of north-west Toronto. I highlighted the experience and impact of the South East Toronto Organization, a […]
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It takes a province to end homelessness: Presentation notes
Yesterday I delivered the keynote presentation to the Newfoundland and Labrador Housing and Homelessness Network conference at Port Blandford on Oct. 26. In my presentation, I warned that the ongoing erosion of federal housing investments will cut vital funding that local groups across Newfoundland and Labrador require to develop effective housing solutions. Working together so […]
Continue ReadingIt takes a province to end homelessness: Presentation notes
Is your life 31 percent better than it was in 1994? Analyzing the Canadian Index of Well-Being
Since the 1940s, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has been the primary measure for how economies are performing. The trouble is that GDP is a blunt instrument. GDP is a composite index that tells us only how much an economy is producing – it is concerned only with growth and not the differences between good and […]
Housing, Homelessness, Income and Health: Presentation Notes
The Wellesley Institute’s Director of Housing and Innovation, Michael Shapcott, sets out the links between housing, homelessness, income and health and draws housing and homelessness lessons in this presentation to York University health policy students on October 19, 2011. York University Housing Presentation October 2011 View more presentations from Wellesley Institute. York University […]
Continue ReadingHousing, Homelessness, Income and Health: Presentation Notes