Subscribe to our Newsletter!

SUBSCRIBE to stay up to date with our activities, events, and upcoming research opportunities.

Or follow us on Twitter

 

Events

Intersectionality & Homelessness Speakers Panels

April 26, 2024 | 1:00pm – 4:00pm | Central Okanagan United Church, 721 Bernard Avenue, Kelowna

The Kelowna Homelessness Research Centre, MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions, and St. Michael’s Unity Health Toronto invite you to join us for and afternoon of Speakers Panels on Intersectionality & Homelessness on Friday, April 26, 2024 between 1:00pm and 4:00pm.

Attendees are welcome to join us in-person at the Central Okanagan United Church or virtually via Zoom. This is a free event, open to all community members, and will feature two different panels: one focusing on seniors and homelessness and the second focusing on 2SLGBTQIA+ and homelessness.

Light refreshments will be provided. Secure your free ticket here!

Panel Speakers

Seniors & Homelessness Panel

Carmen Rempel (Executive Director, Kelowna’s Gospel Mission): Carmen currently serves in the role of Executive Director at Kelowna’s Gospel Mission, a non-profit that provides emergency shelter, outreach, housing and low cost dental care. Carmen volunteers as a director at the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce and sits on the Uptown Business Association board as the Chamber representative. She is currently an MBA candidate and training for her first half-ironman. An adoptive mother of three teenagers Carmen is passionate about youth in care and setting up systems that work to support our communities most vulnerable.

 

Ian Gerbrandt (Executive Director, Seniors Outreach & Resource Centre): Ian is the Executive Director of the Seniors Outreach & Resource Centre, a local nonprofit organization that has provided social services for seniors and family caregivers in Kelowna & region for 35 years. Ian has managed social services for 25 years and served on Community Advisory Boards on Homelessness in Winnipeg, Kamloops, and Kelowna. Ian is a member of the Provincial Leadership Council for Community-Based Seniors Services. Ian lives in Kelowna with his wife, two teenage children and their beloved labradoodle. *Note, Shawna Forrest (Program Manager, Seniors Outreach & Resource Centre) will no longer be appearing on the panel.

 

Chris Danielsen (Senior with lived experience): Chris is an entrepreneur and self-made businessperson. Having formerly experienced homelessness and currently employed as a Housing First housing worker, Chris is extremely motivated to make a difference in the world by helping others help themselves. Chris is also a lived expertise advisor for a Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation-funded project aimed at building capacity for promising practices that support older people experiencing homelessness. Chris is also now going back to school in her senior years to become a trauma counsellor and hopefully to empower other people, to know it’s never to late to get back on your feet and to help others do the same.

 

2SLGBTQIA+ & Homelessness Panel

Bree Smith (Counsellor & Group Facilitator, This Space Belongs to You): Bree is a queer woman and practicing counsellor/social worker on the Syilx Okanagan territory where she has lived for four years. Originally from Anishinabe Algonquin territory, Bree has over ten years of experience working from a trauma-informed, anti-oppressive framework with folks from all walks of life. This experience includes time spent working with outreach services, transitional housing for youth and adults, housing first case management, supportive housing and community services for youth. She currently supports queer and trans identifying youth as a part time counsellor with This Space Belongs to You and works full time at a local treatment center for women in recovery from substance use. Bree is passionate about bringing awareness to social injustices and uplifting marginalized voices. In her spare time you can find her skiing, mountain biking, connecting with friends and taste testing all of the baked goods at our local cafes. *Note, Meaghan Duckett (Executive Director & Founder, This Space) will no longer be appearing on the panel.

 

Wilbur Turner (he/him/his, President, Advocacy Canada): Wilbur is the visionary founder and Chair of Advocacy Canada, bringing a lifetime of dedication and passion to the fight for 2SLGBTQIA+ equality. Deeply impacted by the social and political realities of the queer community, Wilbur ignited the creation of Advocacy Canada to empower voices and drive positive change. A proud resident of Kelowna, BC, on the unceded traditional lands of the syilx people, Wilbur identifies as gay and queer. His unwavering commitment to 2SLGBTQIA+ rights extends far beyond borders. He serves as the 2SLGBTQIA+ sector representative on Kelowna’s Community Advisory Board on Homelessness and is a founding member of the Senior Pride Network Canada. Wilbur’s leadership extends throughout the community. He previously served as president of the Kelowna Pride, Fierté Canada Pride, and Living Positive Resource Centre boards, and played a pivotal role in establishing Kelowna’s Etcetera 2SLGBTQ youth group. His diverse background encompasses leadership roles in various organizations, from large corporations to community-driven initiatives. Note, * Tonya Robitaille (Executive Director, Living Positive Resource Centre) will no longer be appearing on the panel.

 

Lazzy (they/them/their, Youth with lived experience): Hi, my name is Lazzy and I’m a 23 year old bigender person who grew up in the BC foster care system under MCFD. I am passionate about queer neurodivergent experiences growing up in care and in transitioning out of care, as well as mental health advocacy. I’m going back to school shortly and I hope to have a platform to speak to these issues on the level of advocacy, and help other queer neurodivergent youth navigate the confusing world of housing here in BC.

 

 

Past Events:

Kelowna Homelessness Research Centre Community Showcase & Roundtable (October 27, 2023)

  • After showcasing outcomes of research related to homelessness from the KHRC to date, we spent the day engaging in interactive discussions with people with living and lived experience of homelessness, community members, service providers, and other stakeholders. With student-led “research minutes”, and provider/practitioner spotlights in roundtable discussions that ask you to consider the difficult questions, this was an event to remember. If you were unable to attend or would like to refer back, the 2023 KHRC Research Showcase & Community Roundtable Summary Report is available.

 

Homelessness Research in the Okanagan: Pathways to solutions (January 18, 2022)

  • In 2018, the Kelowna Homelessness Research Collaborative (https://khrc.ok.ubc.ca/) was established to bring together homelessness researchers and community partners across the region. Numerous pathways to solutions are being applied. The presentation overviews the cause and solutions to homelessness in the region, and discusses research of current hopeful initiatives in Vernon and Kelowna. A recording is available through the Vernon All Saints Anglican Church’s YouTube Channel.

 

Homelessness Research in the Okanagan and Beyond (November 26, 2021)

  • In collaboration with the Institute for Healthy Living and Chronic Disease Prevention, members of the Kelowna Homelessness Research Collaborative (KHRC) overview local projects related to: 1) technology and homelessness, 2) homelessness in smaller communities, and 3) allyship in research. If you were unable to join the event on November 26th, a recording of the presentation is available on the IHLCDP YouTube channel here: Homelessness research in the Okanagan (and beyond)

 

2021 National Conference on Ending Homelessness (November 3 & 4, 2021 )

  • CAEH’s National Conference on Ending Homelessness (conference.caeh.ca) arms policy makers, funders, researchers, advocates, community leaders and front line workers with the inspiration, information, tools and training they need to end homelessness. KHRC Co-Investigators and our partners with the Lived Experience Circle on Homelessness presented on the following topics:
    1. Embedding authentic allyship into the research process (Kyleen Myrah, Kerry Rempel, Dorothy Goodeye, Stephanie Laing)
    1. Addressing Homelessness in Kelowna: Establishing Participatory Action Research Priorities (Kerry Rempel, Stephanie Laing, Sherry Landry)
    1. Lived Experience site visits, learnings and benefits (Sherry Landry, Stephanie Krehbiel)

 

Using Allyship to Enhance your Research Process with Marginalized Populations (May 4 & 13, 2021)

  • The Allyship in Research Toolkit provides researchers and practitioners with a framework to embed lived and living experience, and allyship, into their work. The toolkit describes ways to incorporate authentic participation into the entire research process or program development process, identifies strategies for engaging in a co-research/con-construction process, and outlines the benefits of practicing in this way (for more info on our Allyship work, see our KHRC Community Reports and Summaries page). An overview of the work on Allyship in Research was also recently promoted by the Homeless Hub, and was presented at the 2021 National Conference on Ending Homelessness.
    1. RIPE Conference – May 4th: Dr. Kyleen Myrah, Kerry Rempel and Stephanie Laing detailed their consultations with lived experience co-researchers and advisors on how to conduct authentic, ethical and community-engaged research with marginalized populations. This presentation was a part of Okanagan College’s fourth annual Research Innovation Partnerships Expo (RIPE).
    2. Enactus Canada National Exposition – May 13th: Dr. Kyleen Myrah and Stephanie Laing presented their findings at the Enactus Canada National Exposition, as part of the Faculty Advisor Research Fund Presentations sponsored by the John Dobson Foundation: VIDEO LINK, 54m 51s

 

The complex connections between homelessness and health inequities in BC (January 26, 2021)

  • Bringing together diverse voices, including researchers and community advocates, to discuss the intersectionality of homelessness and health inequities, and share what we all can do to help. The featured speakers included KHRC’s Dr. John Graham as moderator and Dr. Silvina Mema presenting.
  • YouTube Link
  • Alumni UBC lists resources shared during the webinar

 

Heads Up! Community Mental Health Virtual Summit – Session 3: Exploring Integrated Solutions for Substance Use & Homelessness (November 26, 2020)

  •  KHRC’s Dr. John Graham joined Wendy Stevens (Peer Operations Coordinator, Vancouver Coastal Health) in a discussion of Housing for All: Pioneering a Coordinated & Accessible System of Care (~2:17:41 in video linked below)
  • YouTube Link

 

Homelessness Vulnerabilities and Potential Mitigating Supports — Phase 3: Establishing Research Opportunities (October 20, 2020)

  • Phase Three brought together both researchers and potential sector partners to (1) present our research findings from Phases One and Two and (2) collaboratively identify future research projects that are relevant and responsive to the local community needs. See Resources for our Report from these findings.

 

Panel discussion: Social housing and homelessness (October 1, 2019)

  • David Saltman of the Okanagan Sustainability Leadership Council will moderate a panel discussion on social housing and homelessness.
    • Luke Stack, City Councillor, Kelowna
    • Gordon Lovegrove, UBC Okanagan, School of Engineering
    • Ken Chau, UBC Okanagan, School of Engineering
    • Kyleen Myrah, Okanagan College, School of Business
    • John Graham, UBC Okanagan, School of Social Work

 

Panel discussion on sustainability focusing on Indigenous and green housing (October 1, 2019)

  • After opening remarks by Mayor Colin Basran, UBCO Associate Professor Kevin Hanna, will moderate a panel discussion on sustainability focusing on Indigenous and green housing.
    • John Bass, UBC Vancouver, School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture
    • Jaimie Harris, Heiltsuk Nation
    • Brian Rippy, Okanagan College, Sustainable Construction Technology
    • Trevor Butler, Archineers

 

Canada’s National Housing Strategy: What it means for homeownership, renting and homelessness (September 30, 2019)

  • Keynote speaker David Hulchanski, professor of housing and community development at the University of Toronto, will discuss Canada’s National Housing Strategy. He will cover the strategy in detail, including how it affects homeownership, renting and homelessness.

 

Social Policy and Advocacy Committee Roundtable on Canada’s National Housing Crisis at the CASWE-ACFTS Annual Conference at the Congress by the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences (June 4, 2019)

  • John Graham and Stephanie Laing presented on the Kelowna Homelessness Research Collaborative.