Our Upstream Approach
Our upstream approach is distinct from responding to immediate and individual needs. Read our Collaborative Change Model and read our Activation framework to see how our collaborative upstream approaches work in action.
Community Identified Priority Areas
We co-created the new Collaborative Change Model with people with lived experience, community partners, leaders, and cross-sector representatives. Based on their guidance, we shifted our focus to two priorities: Affordable Housing & Homelessness, and Livable Income & Decent Work.
When everyone has a safe, affordable, and accessible place to call home, our whole community benefits. With the support of YIMBY advocates, we’ve already made real progress in our community.
Over the last 10 years, our work with community partners has made significant progress in advancing permanent supportive housing, a critical need for community members with complex needs experiencing homelessness.
Our community weather response helps people experiencing homelessness in Guelph and Wellington County by providing information on emergency locations during extreme cold or heat.
Our access guides connect individuals and service providers to essential community resources.
22% of households in our community are food insecure, while nearly 1 in 3 children in Ontario are food insecure. Food insecurity likely affects someone you know. Our food insecurity campaign highlights the ways that income security is a root cause solution to food insecurity.
Decent Work is a series of 3 audio plays created by people who have lived experience with low wage, precarious work. Each audio play shares a fictional story that is based on real work experiences and struggles.
Storied Lives: Shifting Perspectives on Poverty is a research project and podcast series that amplifies the experiences of people living with poverty through composite stories and expert commentary, encouraging the public to examine their assumptions about the causes of poverty and exploring intersectional experiences across Ontario and beyond.