Earlier this year, the Pan-Canadian Voice for Women’s Housing launched a new campaign, to strengthen and amplify the voices of women and gender-diverse people who have direct experience of inadequate housing. The goal of the campaign is straightforward: arm people who are living at the frontlines of the housing crisis with the knowledge and tools they need to be effective advocates for better housing for households led by women and gender-diverse people across Canada.

We kicked off the campaign with a series of online, candid conversations focused on defining the challenges, identifying solutions, and connecting these solutions with decision-makers.

In our Reality Check, we learned ––

• There’s a housing crisis in almost every community in this country.
• Women, girls and gender-diverse people are disproportionately suffering the harmful consequences of the housing crisis but their experiences are not visible to many decision-makers.
• This is an issue for all orders of government and we need coordinated intergovernmental action.

We went on to navigate power and hear why the voices of people with lived expertise are so important for decision-makers to hear. In our final session, we received some sage wisdom from activists whose work has opened doors and delivered safe, affordable, homes for women, their children and gender-diverse people.

Close to 200 people joined us to hear from activists, academics, elected officials, and decision-makers from coast-to-coast-to-coast about why elevating the voices of women and gender-diverse people is essential work for all of us who care about ensuring everyone has a safe, affordable and appropriate place to call home.

These recorded conversations are here for your reference and to inspire you to use your voice for change!

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