2024 CHEC Summer Institute Reflections

Two banners welcoming Institute participants to the first morning session. One banner reads: CHEC CCRL Summer Institute 2024 (sponsored by SSHRC, CMHC). The second banner reads: Faculty of Science, University of Alberta.

By Dr. Rachel Weldrick and Dr. Lena Rebecca Richardson

Rachel Weldrick, Co-investigator, CMHC-SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellow, Toronto Metropolitan University

Housing is a human right. Full stop. That was the theme of the 2024 CHEC Summer Institute.

The event, which brought together a diverse mix of thinkers, researchers, advocates, and practitioners, took place over the course of three days in Edmonton, Alberta. Primarily, the CHEC Summer Institute is intended to host representatives from the six nodes of the Collaborative Housing Research Network (of which the Aging in the Right Place Partnership is one), additional housing experts from beyond the Network, and emerging housing scholars. The Institute aims to educate and inspire this cohort of emerging scholars by sharing new research and innovations from across Canada and, in this case, Scotland. But my sense is that even the experts in the room left feeling energized and empowered to continue their work in the fields of housing and homelessness.

As a gerontologist studying housing and homelessness with the Aging in the Right Place Partnership, I am constantly thinking about the ways in which age intersects with housing needs. I was particularly interested to attend the Institute this summer to learn from those carrying out valuable work in the realms of encampment advocacy, housing sustainability, and housing affordability.

One panel in particular has stuck with me since returning from Edmonton. On the first morning of the Institute, events kicked off with a panel titled ‘Housing for People with Disabilities: The Ongoing Struggle for Inclusion and Independence’. Featuring both activists and academics, this panel poked holes in what we think we know about accessible and inclusive housing for people with disabilities. Mark Iantkow, a longtime disability advocate and educator, asked us: what does truly inclusive housing look like?

I reflected on this question for quite some time. Iantkow continued by pushing us to consider all the ways in which housing can be exclusionary for those living with disabilities. We often focus heavily on ensuring that housing is accessible for people with disabilities, but this mostly deals with the mechanics of rooms, doorways, steps, and built features within housing units and buildings. Where we fall short, Iantkow says, is by not designing housing that considers the social elements of access and inclusion for people with diverse physical, sensory, and/or cognitive disabilities. Iantkow and the other panelists reminded us that we have a long way to go. And that accessible housing alone is not always sufficient. We must continually work to ensure that housing is inclusive, affordable, and suitable for folks regardless of their trajectory or (dis)ability.

I left this session feeling a renewed energy for promoting social inclusion and integration in housing for older persons with diverse needs, including those with experiences of housing precarity and homelessness. As we age, the need to live in a place that meets us ‘where we’re at’ is critical. And this is what aging in the right place is all about.

Overall, the CHEC Summer Institute was a wonderful experience. From the walking tour of new housing projects in Edmonton’s downtown to the session on podcasting as a tool for housing scholarship, the Institute offered up a beautiful menu of ideas and perspectives. I boarded the plane home with a notebook full of reflections and brainstorming… ideas which I have brought back to my home in Hamilton to inform both my scholarship and community advocacy.

Lena Rebecca Richardson, Postdoctoral Fellow and Lead Project Coordinator

The wind blew me through the sunny Edmonton streets as I walked from the transit station to the University of Alberta on the first day of the 2024 CHEC Summer Institute (May 29-June 1, 2024). The Summer Institute was a whirlwind immersion in prairie weather and Canadian housing scholarship from an intergenerational array of passionate scholars and activists.

My PhD is in Arts Education and I have a longtime focus on work with older adults, but undertaking research on housing and homelessness is newer for me. I have become increasingly interested in this realm of scholarship since joining AIRP as a Postdoctoral Fellow/Lead Project Coordinator in 2023. My excitement about the research we are doing as part of AIRP made me eager to attend the Summer Institute this year.   

The Institute consisted of panel presentations, interactive workshops, a walking tour, and participating in a live podcast called Speaking Municipally. Over the course of three days, I learned more about the struggles across Canada with rising home prices which surpass other G-7 nations. We were also exposed to various conversations and research inquiries on the causes of the major housing shortages we are facing in Canada and the need for accessible, affordable housing for people with disabilities. We heard panel presentations about the homeless encampments in Edmonton, and the recent court case to attempt to preserve the right for persons experiencing homelessness to camp in the city. We also learned about podcasting as an approach to research and knowledge mobilization.  

In the AIRP Partnership in Year 5, one of the most pressing questions is around knowledge mobilization (KM) with policy-makers, decision-makers, and the broader public. An arts-based KM workshop led by Cynthia Belaskie spoke to those questions: what are creative and in/effective approaches to knowledge translation and mobilization that transcend our academic silos? In response to those questions, we created posters, clay figurines, and even a performance art piece (my background in and enjoyment of theatre got some play here). The KM workshop was fun and sparked further discussion of what actually works around KM and what resources are needed to make that KM happen. Creative thinking is key. Yet the question remains: what can further support this bridge between research and social and political change?

The time at the Institute flew by and I left a bit exhausted, windswept, and excited by new knowledge and questions. The walking tour, the podcasts, the panels and workshops, and the conversations with other attendees are still resonating. I came away with a deep appreciation of the dedication and creativity of scholars/activists/researchers working in the housing field across Canada and beyond. The care and commitment of the people who gathered at the Institute was palpable, and will continue to inspire my work here in BC.

Dr. Rachel Weldrick and Dr. Lena Rebecca Richardson

Thank you to Dr. Damian Collins, Bon Swanson, and the rest of the Community Housing Canada team for their planning efforts and hospitality.