Homeless to Homes Knowledge Exchange

The event: "Homeless to Home: A Community Exchange" aims to bring forward the immense knowledge of those with experience of homelessness by developing a unique and inclusive community exchange.

The event, taking place on November 6 2008 in Toronto, will bring together people who have experienced homelessness and policy writers, researchers and service providers. The event is intended to invert the usual policy conference - where the "experts" at this forum will be people who have lived without permanent housing and the "active listeners" will be the policy makers, researcher and service providers.
There are many conferences where "experts" share their knowledge about homelessness and housing. The "experts" at this forum will be people who have lived without permanent housing and the "active listeners" will be policy makers, researchers and service providers.

A working group of formerly homeless youth, younger and older adults, facilitated by the project team, will develop innovative and accessible "exchange sessions" to dialogue and document best practices in housing and supports. Shortly after the event the team will produce useful tools that document and advocate for the best strategies and solutions put forward during the exchange, as determined by the formerly homeless working group. Approximately 80-100 individuals from in and around the GTA will be invited to attend.

The event will include an invitation to the premiere (at the Isabel Bader Theatre) of Home Safe - a documentary chronicling the Home Safe project led by Laura Sky and Cathy Crowe. Our partners at the Centre for Urban and Community Studies will host a second day symposium focused on family homelessness.

This initiative is led by NICE: a network of researchers, service providers and older adults who work toward getting information into the hands of those that can use it the most: the community and service providers. The project is funded by Homelessness Partnering Secretariat, Human Resources and Social Development Canada. Julia Janes and Michel Jones with the Institute for Life Course and Aging are the project staff.

Partners:
The Ontario Women's Health Network
Houselink
Canadian Association of Gerontology
Community Social Planning Council of Toronto
The Institute for Life Course and Aging
The Centre for Urban and Community Studies
Skyworks
Home Safe

HR Council releases Canada-wide not-for-profit survey
July 31, 2008

HR Council releases findings from Canada-wide surveys of nonprofit employers and employees (Ottawa - July 31, 2008) The HR Council for the Voluntary & Non-profit Sector (HR Council) is currently conducting a comprehensive Labour Force Study that will shape strategies to attract, develop and retain appropriately qualified people to work in the voluntary and non-profit sector. Today the HR Council released the Study's second report, presenting findings from its recent Canada-wide surveys of non-profit employers and employees.

Conducted on behalf of the HR Council by Ipsos Reid, the parallel surveys provide an overall national picture of paid employment in the sector. The Survey of Employers provides empirical evidence about the characteristics of organizations, their recruitment and retention practices and challenges, as well as their skills needs. The Survey of Employees provides new statistical information about the demographic characteristics of the people who work in the sector, what they find satisfying and dissatisfying about their jobs, and their plans and expectations for the future.

"With the results of these national surveys, we are building tangible evidence of the realities of paid employment in our sector," says HR Council Executive Director Lynne Toupin. "

The data collected in these national surveys will help lay the foundation for the development of strategies and plans to respond to those realities." The surveys are an integral part of the HR Council's Labour Force Study, a comprehensive look at paid employment in the sector leading to a first-ever labour force strategy for the sector.

The Study's third and final report, featuring recommendations shaped by the survey results and strengthened by input from sector stakeholders, will be published in March 2009.

The first two published reports from the Labour Force Study are available online on the HR Council's website at the following URL: http://www.hrcouncil.ca/projects/council-projects-sector.cfm