This week we talk with Joe Deschanes Smith, one of the founders of Trillium Housing, who has been working for over 10 years on a mortgage model that brings affordability and access to people wanting to own a home. We talk about Joe’s journey through politics into the world of affordable housing, how he started up Trillium, what’s happened so far, and his hopes for the future.

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On this week’s podcast, we are joined by Jen Taylor of Blue Sea Philanthropy and Dr.Darlene Sparks Washington from Portsmouth Volunteers for the Homeless to talk about the Coldest Night of the Year Event that is happening across North America on February 24th, 2024. We talk about the origins of the event, it’s growth over the years and now into the U.S, how it’s impacted Dr. Washington’s charity, and the hopes for the future of CNOY

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To create clarity, transparency and efficiency in the work of social service agencies and the police do together through their interactions in the community, the York Regional Police and social service organizations in York Region came together to create a memorandum of understanding that is shared with both staff and officers, ultimately resulting in better serving their most vulnerable across the Region. This week, we are joined by Detective, Tom Muir from the YRP and Alex Cheng, a Director at Blue Door, two of the leaders responsible for coordinating this effort. We chat about how the MOU came about, what the challenges were in putting it together, what their hopes are for it, the next steps, and how other organizations and police forces can reach out to do something similar in their communities.

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Frequent On The Way Home guest John Fox, the Managing Partner at Robins Appleby joins us to discuss four new bills related to housing in Ontario that have passed in the last year and a half. We talk about the bills, both the positive and the challenges, and what suggestions John has moved forward that might create a larger impact around ending our housing crisis. As always, John is brilliant, fun and creative in his approach, and it’s a conversation that you won’t want to miss!

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This week we are joined by Annie Hodgins, the Executive Director of the Canadian Centre for Housing Rights (CCHR). In this episode, we learn about Annie’s journey into the work, what CCHR's focus and challenges are, and all about a new campaign called “Secure Homes for Renters” that looks to create change and impact in keeping people across the country in affordable rental housing for the foreseeable future.

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Do Good Better. That’s the title of Sam Watts book, which looks at taking the best intentions and turning them into the greatest impact. He’s done exactly that in his work as CEO at Welcome Hall Mission, and we chat all about that as well as his work on the National Housing council and so much more. A great listen!

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Imagine if you could reduce the costs of building affordable housing while reducing the carbon footprint of it at the same time. This week I’m joined by Gil Yaron, who is the Managing Director of Circular Innovation of Light House, an organization based in Vancouver working on advancing regenerative and circular practices in the built environment. Gil and I talk about how we can reuse buildings through relocation instead of demolition, and as well reuse building materials to increase the supply of affordable housing we so desperately need. A fascinating conversation about working differently to produce multiple wins with both affordable housing and climate change.

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Robert Pradolin from Housing All Australians joins us this week on the pod to share his very successful model of engaging the private sector in repurposing vacant buildings for short-term affordable housing.

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This week I’m joined by 3 inspiring leaders from Humane Canada, Sue, Andrea and Claire to talk about their impactful ACT Project that seeks to address systemic barriers for women with animals (companion, farmed, and service) experiencing gender-based violence, including affordable housing and shelter.

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This week we are thrilled to have 3 guests on the podcast to talk about an amazing new opportunity from CMHC. Leah Cogan from CMHC’s Innovation and Partnership division joins us to talk about a new funding opportunity to scale housing innovation across Canada. She is joined by Oren Singer the CEO and co-founder of Sparrow, and Jessica Long, the Manager of Education at the Canadian Centre for Housing Rights, two leaders from the sector who share the work they are doing in the sector that is impactful, innovative and scalable. It’s an opportunity to learn more about the newest opportunity from CMHC, as well as receive great insight into some impactful work happening across the sector

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