Women Don't Do That (WDDT)

203: Fixing Systems, Not People: Rethinking Homelessness with Kaite Burkholder Harris


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Stephanie interviews Kaite Burkholder Harris, Executive Director at the Alliance to End Homelessness Ottawa and co-chair of the Ontario Alliance to End Homelessness. They discuss building a values-driven career, leading with purpose in burnout-heavy sectors, and balancing meaningful work with personal well-being as a parent of young children.

Kaite shares her path from frontline social work to systems-level change, explains why homelessness in Canada is solvable, and highlights the need to shift from emergency responses to Housing First and coordinated systems. She offers tangible ways to help—from saying hello to someone experiencing homelessness to supporting policies that make housing accessible—and reminds listeners that wellness is rooted in community, not just self-care.

Resources mentioned include the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness, the National Alliance to End Homelessness, and the Community Observatory on Homelessness.

Kaite Burkholder Harris is the Executive Director at the Alliance to End Homelessness Ottawa, and Co-Chair of the Ontario Alliance to End Homelessness.

Graduating with a Master’s of Public Health from the University of Toronto, Kaite went on to work at the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness with communities across the country as a System Planner in housing and homelessness. Kaite also served as a Policy Analyst with Reaching Home, the federal government’s Homelessness Partnering Strategy in 2019. In her role as the Executive Director at the Alliance to End homelessness Ottawa, Kaite advocates with every level of government and has become a leading voice in urging governments and communities for housing-focused solutions to ending homelessness.

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Women Don't Do That (WDDT)By Stephanie Mitton

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