December 12, 2022
From October 16-21, the team was in Whitehorse, Yukon hosting conversations with individuals experiencing poverty and homelessness in partnership with the Yukon Anti Poverty Coalition and Voices Influencing Change, a group of lived/living experts who advocate on issues of poverty and homelessness. The conversations were part of their annual Poverty and Homelessness Action Week, with this year’s theme being “Healing Hearts, Building Relationships,” after a tragic year of overdose-related deaths in the community.
The team was able to host three community conversations, one with the Voices Influencing Change Group, another with people experiencing poverty in Whitehorse, and a final one with members of the Carcross Tagish First Nation. These conversations brought up similar themes as previous ones: the need for more welcoming supports in communities, affordable housing, culturally competent mental health and substance use programs, better transportation, and increased income supports. Cross-cutting all of what we heard, was the need to maintain dignity for those experiencing poverty and homelessness.
The team was honoured as well to participate in several community activities, including Whitehorse Connects which is a fair for people to access services, a hot meal, get a haircut, and have a picture taken. The team was sharing information about Campaign 2000 and to sign up individuals for the community conversations. The team presented on a panel “Unpacking Child and Family Poverty in the Yukon,” alongside several community-serving and First Nations organizations. The panel unpacked some themes and challenges in the Yukon context, including the data picture in the Yukon, as well as the unique self-governing First Nations and their agreements, how they help and where they are falling short, and the role of governments in delivering affordable housing.
The week also included several meetings with the media and with elected officials. The week started off with a press conference, officially launching the week’s activities and highlighting the importance of the week. Members of Voices Influencing Change spoke to some of the challenges related to substance use, the lack of affordable housing, and the importance of communities coming together to address these crises. The team spoke with the CBC both on television and on radio. They also presented to Whitehorse City Council along with provincial Ministers and provincial government staff, highlighting some of the key messages from communities including the importance of rapid action on housing, meaningfully engaging people with lived and living expertise in policy development, and trauma-informed care. The team shared updated statistics from the Safe at Home Society, which highlighted that 66 children did not have a safe place to sleep last week.