Canada urgently needs a national housing plan – millions of Canadians are calling for one, and the United Nations has added its voice. The best national housing plan is built from the community up – a plan that identifies local housing and homelessness needs across the country, and pinpoints effective local housing and homeless initiatives that deserve support. Building from the community up allows us to identify the resources needed to support a comprehensive national housing plan – including funding, legislation, programs and services. You can help build a national housing and homelessness plan from the community up by helping to build a national housing and homelessness map of Canada. The Wellesley Institute has launched this work and you can find the map here. The Canadian housing e-map is one part of the Wellesley Institute’s state of the nation’s housing 2009 initiative.
To start the process, we’ve seeded the map with a few dozen initiatives from across the country. Now we’re asking you to add your own information. At the bottom of the page, you’ll find a link to “add your resource or organization to the Canadian Housing Map here”. Click on the link and you’ll find a simple on-line form. Fill out the details and make sure to include a postal code (that’s how the map stores information). Tell us about an advocacy group that is campaigning to end homelessness and/or work for better homes; or about a housing or homelessness project, or a program or service, that is making a difference in your community. There’s no limit on the number of entries – the map will grow as we hear more from you. The more information that you can supply, the better, including web links. Only one item per form, but submit as many different forms as you like. Join the campaign to build a national housing plan from the community up by adding your housing and homelessness info to the national map!