MEDIA ADVISORY: Housing Leaders and Advocates Gather at Canada’s Largest Affordable Housing Conference to Discuss Policy and Solutions to the Housing and Homelessness Crisis
Hon. Selina Robinson will join 1,600+ delegates at Housing Central to explore strategies for (re)development, trauma and harm reduction, Indigenous housing, tenant engagement and relocation, inclusive housing, asset management and more.
VANCOUVER, BC (Nov. 12, 2019)
WHAT: BC Non-Profit Housing Association (BCNPHA), in partnership with the Co-operative Housing Federation of BC (CHF BC) and the Aboriginal Housing Management Association (AHMA), will host the Housing Central Conference Nov. 17 to 19, 2019 in Vancouver.
The conference draws more than 1,600 delegates to discuss today’s critical housing issues. Education themes include homelessness, Indigenous housing, the opioid epidemic/trauma and harm reduction, inclusive communities, YIMBY strategies, youth and seniors, forging innovative partnerships, asset management responses to climate change, (re)development/retrofit challenges, and more.
Non-profit housing providers and co-op members will have the opportunity to connect with government officials, developers, funders, researchers and policy-makers, as well as businesses serving the affordable housing sector.
Additional activities include: a virtual reality viewing of the National Film Board documentary Inside Insite; the second annual Art Expo, featuring works by professional artists and people with lived experience of homelessness; and, screenings of the documentary V6A followed by Q&A sessions with the filmmaker. On Saturday, Nov. 16, Housing Central hosts the Community Housing and Climate Change Café to discuss how housing policy can respond to climate change, as well as the Vancity Housing Impact Talks, featuring a screening of the film PUSH, followed by a panel discussion.
WHO: Keynote speakers will discuss a wide range of housing issues:
- Selina Robinson, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, who will address delegates on Sunday, Nov. 17, followed by a Q&A with BCNPHA, CHF BC and AHMA leadership and delegates.
- Shachi Kurl, Executive Director of the Angus Reid Institute, on the federal election results and how they will shape housing policy in the months and years to come.
- Senator Murray Sinclair, Chief Commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, on Indigenous housing issues across Canada.
- Mark Joseph, urban development professor, on building successful mixed-income affordable housing communities.
- Brian Goldman, ER doctor and CBC radio show host, on the power of kindness, compassion and empathy in our work.
- Jennifer Charlesworth, BC’s Representative for Children and Youth, moderates a panel discussion (including Katherine McParland from A Way Home Kamloops, Emily Jackson from the Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness and Jeska Slater of the Skookum Lab) on how to better serve youth leaving provincial care.
WHERE: Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre Hotel, 1088 Burrard St., Vancouver, B.C.
WHEN: Sunday, Nov. 17 to Tuesday, Nov. 19
Media are invited to attend. Photography and video recording are permitted for accredited media representatives (please check in at registration desk). For more details, please contact us at communications@bcnpha.ca.
Background:
- The Housing Central Conference is Canada’s largest affordable housing conference, with more than1,600 delegates, over 130 education sessions for frontline housing staff, board and executive leaders and asset management teams.
- Building capacity in the community housing sector is critical to leveraging opportunities arising from historic levels of provincial and federal funding for affordable housing.
- The conference provides a platform for stakeholders to connect with housing thought leaders and decision-makers to develop innovative solutions to the housing and homelessness crisis.
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MEDIA CONTACT:
Dean Pogas, Communications Director
604-363-6590 communications@bcnpha.ca
About BCNPHA
Formed 25 years ago, BC Non-Profit Housing Association (BCNPHA) is the provincial umbrella organization for the non-profit housing sector comprised of over 600 members, including non-profit housing societies, businesses, individuals, partners and stakeholders. Together, non-profit housing societies manage more than 60,000 units of long-term, affordable housing in over 2,500 buildings across the province.
About CHF BC
The Co-operative Housing Federation of BC (CHF BC) is a co-operative association made up of member housing co-ops and related organizations in British Columbia.
About AHMA
The Aboriginal Housing Management Association (AHMA) is a first-of-its-kind leading organization that leverages the collective impact of its membership to provide Urban, Rural, and Northern Indigenous housing for the province of British Columbia.