Funded by the Metcalf Foundation, the purpose of the project is to support Toronto’s homelessness sector in a collective effort to hire, retain, and promote people with lived experience of homelessness; and to help organizations in the sector (including emergency shelters, respite centres, 24 hour drop-ins and COVID hotel programs) to be exemplary employers for these staff.

PROJECT ACTIVITIES

Year 1: Collaborative Research and Design

We will:

  • Study what has worked well in Toronto and around the world when employing people with lived experience of homelessness

  • Analyze evidence about how getting good jobs in the homelessness sector benefits people  who have experienced homelessness and the agencies that employ them

  • Conduct a needs assessment to describe the staffing needs in Toronto’s homelessness sector, and the current state of employment in the sector for people with lived experience of homelessness, including those employed as peer workers and in non-peer roles

Drawing on what we learn, we will recommend and/or develop tools, resources and strategies, including an evidence-based policy framework, that will better enable organizations to hire, retain, and promote people with lived experience of homelessness.

Year 2: Pilot Testing and Evaluation

At this stage of the process we will develop and test some of the tools, resources or strategies recommended in year one to make sure that they can be effectively applied to Toronto’s homelessness context. While the specifics will not be known until the end of Year 1, we anticipate some of the following as potential projects that could be rolled out during this time:

  • Develop and test a customized shelter worker training for people with lived experience

  • Develop and test transitional and/or customized job placements or job supports

  • Building networks to connect employment/training agencies with homelessness serving agencies  

FOR MORE INFORMATION

If you would like to learn more or get involved, we would be happy to hear from you. Please contact the Pipeline Project Coordinator, Gabriela Russek at grussek.tsn@gmail.com.

Click here for more information about the project’s goals and collaborators.