A special review panel has outlined how federal housing policies are failing women, trans, two-spirit and gender-diverse people. Housing Minister Gregor Robertson now has 120 days to respond. Particularly interesting is the Neha (“our way” in Mohawk) report summarizing what the panel heard during its consultations.
- Some participants criticized goals based on “adequate” housing as falling short of their vision of housing that “allows us to thrive, not just survive by the skin of our teeth.” “Thriving includes good neighbourhoods.
- Homes need to have enough space to welcome visits and overnight guests.
- Communal spaces aren’t luxuries but lifelines where people “breathe, connect and build community.”
- Indigenous people need culturally rooted spaces that integrate Indigenous worldviews, healing practices and community connections into their homes.
- Accessibility remains a huge challenge, as does the mismatch of incomes and rents.
Read a summary and access the full reports here: https://womenshomelessness.ca/nehareportrelease/