Vancouver – Premier John Horgan and the Hon. Selina Robinson, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, kicked off the 26th annual Housing Central Conference, where more than 1,500 housing stakeholders will be gathering to discuss homelessness and housing affordability, Indigenous housing, the opioid epidemic and more.
Presented by BC Non-Profit Housing (BCNPHA) in partnership with the Co-operative Housing Federation of BC (CHF BC) and the Aboriginal Housing Management Association (AHMA), the conference draws on the growing enthusiasm among all levels of government, the community housing sector and the public to solve B.C.’s housing affordability crisis.
“The Housing Central Conference is an outstanding opportunity for housing providers to hear directly from government leaders and decision-makers about how to leverage the historic investments we’re seeing in the sector to deliver new, innovative solutions for people experiencing homelessness and families struggling to find an affordable home,” said Jill Atkey, CEO of BCNPHA. “Members of the community housing sector will also be able to hear truly inspiring stories from our keynotes, and learn the latest in best practices from the extensive line-up of education sessions.”
“With significant funding flowing from the province through the new Building BC: Community Housing Fund and the promise of more to follow from the National Housing Strategy, it’s an exciting time for the co-op and non-profit housing sectors,” said Thom Armstrong, Executive Director of CHF BC and the Community Land Trust. “This conference is a huge opportunity for the key players in the community housing sector to forge the partnerships we’ll need to tackle and ultimately overcome the affordable housing crisis.”
“We are in exciting times – B.C. has always been a leader when it comes to housing,” said Margaret Pfoh, CEO of AHMA. “This latest move, under Premier Horgan and Minister Robinson, to extend the 1,750-unit Indigenous RFP to all our people, regardless of where they live is another fine example of B.C.’s leadership.”
SUNDAY, NOV. 18
* Hon. John Horgan, Premier of B.C.
* Hon. Selina Robinson, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing
* Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart
* Tracee McDaniel, transgender and social justice advocate
* Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development
MONDAY, NOV. 19
* Eddy Robinson, Indigenous artist and advocate
* Vijay Gupta, Street Symphony founder and TED Senior Fellow
* Evan Siddall, CMHC President and CEO
TUESDAY, NOV. 20
* Bill Baker, BB&Co Strategic Storytelling founder
* Dr. Paul Kershaw, Generation Squeeze founder
* Linda Nazareth, author and economist, Macdonald-Laurier Institute
ABOUT THE CONFERENCE
The Housing Central Conference features more than 140 education sessions for housing executives and frontline staff, as well as stakeholders ranging from government representatives and staff to researchers, policy analysts and more. Delegates can focus their learning on education themes such as:
* Homelessness – Collaborative Community Planning; Homelessness: Research to Action; From NIMBY to Neighbour; Reducing Harm: Managed Alcohol Program
* Trauma, addictions and the opioid crisis – A Dialogue on Addiction and Harm Reduction; Tooling Up to Prevent Overdose; Trauma-Informed Care
* Indigenous housing – Building Indigenous Relationships Without the Ask; Indigenous Housing Partnerships; Housing & Indigenous Youth Aging Out of Care; Thought Leaders’ Dialogue: Reconciliation in Housing
* New Developments – Modular Applications for Social Housing; Municipal Land Use Planning Tools; Projects Transforming Affordable Housing; Finding the Money in Government Agencies
