Learning from Lived Experience: Year One Project Summary

Beginning with a conversation between community partners in early 2024, our project aimed to connect with people across Halton Region who have been deeply impacted by the housing and affordability crisis. This includes those living in encampments, in community parks, or what we might refer to as “hidden homelessness” such as living out of a vehicle or couch surfing.

As a Participatory Action Research (PAR) project, this work takes on four main aims. First and foremost, we aim to empower people with lived experience with being unhoused through story sharing, community building, and research towards action to improve people’s lives. This has included establishing a team of Peer Researchers, or Lived Experts, who lend their own voice to advocate for others and participate in community conversations about the housing and affordability crisis. Second, we seek to increase the knowledge of service providers and decision makers about the human experience – and cost- of the housing crisis. This has meant sharing people’s stories unedited with decision makers, where consent was provided by the storyteller, and exploring solutions that lead to coordination of services and systems. Third, we work to improve community understandings of houselessness through engagement and education opportunities, like public speaking and educational events.

What we did:

              Together with members of the CDH team and Peer Researchers, we facilitated 9 story-sharing circles in community spaces across Halton, including shelters, community meals, and neighborhood centres. This is complimented by outreach visits to encampments, where we meet with residents to hear their stories and share community resources. We have connected with about 120 people experiencing being unhoused or those who have experience in the past, who generously shared insights and important lessons that we can collectively use to address barriers and systemic cracks.

Through monthly community gatherings, direct outreach, and reflective storytelling, these conversations elicited important insights about the housing crisis, navigating systems and services, and the human side of homelessness. Our Peer Researcher team helps to not only collect this important data but also process that knowledge through the lens of their own experience. This ensures that we are building understanding and action in a culturally aware and human-centred way.

From these insights we convened people from the broader community within our National Right to Housing Forum in November, where we explored themes and calls to action that we could take, individually and collectively. These included:

    -Unified messaging: developing a cohesive advocacy narrative

    -Coalition Action Plan: Prioritizing collaboration, inclusivity, research and data sharing among stakeholders

    -Focus on Systemic Change: Advocating for policies that address root causes of housing insecurity, such as wage stagnation, rent controls, and zoning reforms

   - Lived Experience Leadership: Create leadership opportunities for individuals with lived experience to co-design solutions and serve as community ambassadors.

    -Expand Engagement Channels: Use a mix of public forums, social media, and local networks to mobilize broad-based support for housing as a human right.

In February, we facilitated a Peer panel, entitled Peer Support, Co-Production and Meaningful Engagement with our community partners at Support House. This focused on peer support, co-production of services, and methods for meaningful engagement in areas related to housing, domestic violence, and service access. Our conversations in this forum highlighted the importance of storytelling as a connector, and how we might work towards helping others from a place of strength and giftedness while actively listening to understand before taking action to address barriers and inequities.

In March, we had the pleasure of convening at the Burlington Public Library for a guided walk and talk with our unhoused neighbors, who experienced homelessness in the surrounding neighborhoods. We gathered to listen and learn from voices of lived experience, and then explored local actions that we might take at the grassroots level to address the issue of housing affordability and access. We asked participants for any thoughts or insights they had during this event, and here are some of the responses:

    -Overall, the awareness I have towards our unhoused community. Specifically, their day-to-day life which I feel we are so unaware of.

    -Hidden housing

    -That its important for helping services to work together rather than in silos

    -I was amazed to hear about all the places Mike has lived over the years. So many tucked away places! I was also saddened to hear about all the places that lock up over night.

    -The good work and connections being made in our community and the need for a lot more of us to help

What we learned from voices of lived experience during this first year:

Use of language

Terms like “homeless” can be stigmatizing and place the responsibility for being unhoused solely on the shoulders of an individual. Instead, we refer to someone with this experience in relation to the housing and affordability crisis that is taking place across Canada. We focus on the gifts and strengths of an individual who is experiencing challenging circumstances, rather than define them by what’s missing. Doing so is inherently empowering and helps to generate opportunities for people to support one another and address challenges in their lives.

Short-, Medium-, and Long-Term Housing Need

An overwhelming sentiment that came up among Peers and other voices of lived experience was that while longer term housing planning was crucial, people also need help now. We cannot wait for long term housing solutions while in an emergency. People have advocated for diversified, accessible, and safe shelter spaces across Halton that could accommodate couples, pets, and children. More overnight shelters and warming centres distributed across the Region would help address this need for solutions in the immediate term. 

There is also a critical need for more geared-to-income housing for those who may not need supported or community housing but cannot afford market rent prices. We also heard that portable housing subsidies would make housing more accessible by ensuring people can access rental housing in a wider geographic area.

System Navigation

People consistently express the need for support in navigating our complex systems. Wherever someone falls on the housing continuum, there are services and systems to navigate. Peers shared that they had the hardest time navigating service networks and applications when they were in the greatest need of them. Folks shared that they experienced the greatest success in achieving their goals and desires when a supportive worker or peer helped them through the process.

Equal Footing with Decision-Makers

An overarching theme among these topics was the need for these conversations between voices of lived experience and decision makers to be on equal footing. As we learned early on in this work, trust is critical. Peers felt they needed opportunities to have dialogue with government officials and decision makers as equals – to be heard, have their voice matter, and for actions to be taken to address their concerns. This commitment must come from all three levels of government, with lived expertise having a seat at the table on a consistent basis.

A supported structure for peer support and co-production of solutions to the housing crisis is a critical part of social planning in Halton. Peers provide insights into the human side of social policy, including what it’s like to be without housing, the experience of navigating services and supports in the community, and the resilience of the human spirit. While they themselves experienced – or continue to experience – the most acute consequences of the housing crisis, the Peer Researchers and those who shared their stories share an overwhelming desire to help others, to be a voice for those without, and to lend their voices to the work of exploring solutions. In addition to providing opportunities for shared purpose and mutual support of the peer model, the collective wisdom of voices of lived experience provides meaningful insights into the human story of the housing crisis and generates solutions that are locally and culturally attuned.

In addition to facilitating these community events and learning from voices of lived experience across the region, we contributed what we heard and learned to Halton's upcoming 10 Year Comprehensive Housing Strategy for 2025-2035. This contribution focused on the themes listed above, and advocated for ongoing and sustained inclusion and consultation of lived experts in housing solutions. We also created professional videos that spotlights some of our Peer Researchers, who continue to engage the community and support others. You can find this video at our Learning from Lived Experience Initiative page, along with a more detailed description of our work to date through monthly project briefings.

Stay tuned for updates and insights as we head into our second year of this work! Check out our Research & Insights page, and the Voices of Lived Experience Initiative specifically, to stay in the loop on our ongoing work in the community.