Transition from Homelessness - Community Discussion - "Supporting People"

In 2019, with funding provided by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), we established a Community Advisory Board consisting of individuals with lived experiences of homelessness, service providers and leaders in Kingston, Ontario. This Community Advisory Board worked together with researchers from Western University to conduct a stakeholder consultation with 51 individuals with lived experiences of homelessness, service providers and leaders in the Kingston community to identify the strengths and challenges of the current system of supports in the city, and how we can more effectively support individuals to thrive following the experience of homelessness.

During this community consultation meeting, we will discuss three of the recommendations developed by the Kingston Community Advisory Board that speak to "Supporting People":

Recommendation 3: We need more peer specialists and more lived experience expertise at the table

Recommendation 6: Support for independent living skills following homelessness needs to be more available 

Recommendation 8: Increase opportunity for meaningful activity as a means of community integration 

Attendees will join a facilitated discussion in small groups about each topic, and share their ideas about potential solutions in the Kingston community. The presenters will collect these ideas, and attendees will engage in a full-group discussion aimed at solutions for "Supporting People" within the city.

NOTE: This presentation would be of interest to community members living or working in Kingston or the surrounding areas, and who have an interest in improving the system of supports available for individuals during and after leaving homelessness.