We strive to be responsive
Affordable Housing
We are all God’s children. We strive to be responsive to God’s call to share what we have, to help one another with kindness and love.
We are responding to the housing crisis around us that has left many unable to afford a home or the supports they require to live in community with others.
We are founding members of the Waterloo Region Alliance to End Homelessness. Learn more here.
Podcasts & Blog Posts
In part 2 of Adam's conversation with David Alton of SDCC we dig deeper into what it means to re-frame our ideas of 'risk', and what allyship can look like by challenging unjust housing systems. David also challenges us to think about who is profiting from homelessness and why they think waterloo region just might be exceptional in its approach to housing.
As we kick off season 3 Adam is joined by David Alton of Social Development Centre of Waterloo region. In Part 1 of our 2-part conversation, David shares their experiences as a facilitator of lived expertise for SDCC going from working on housing in a city like Toronto with the backing of google, to transitioning to grassroots work and emphasizing community dialogue and lived expertise. David shares their insight on what the wealth and influence of a big tech company can’t do and why corporate top-down approaches won’t work without real community engagement.
We’re joined this week by housing systems engineer Kirsten Wright as zoom out and look at housing on a systemic level. Adam and Kirsten discuss the emergence of the “Sharing Economy” and how a more inter-dependent society can transform housing for the better. We also look at the underside of this development, and the ways in which large corporations exploit a sharing economy to create a deeper divide in wealth and housing
This week we're joined for the second part of our 2-part conversation with Dan Driedger of Beyond Housing, as we get deeper into how Beyond Housing manages to stay financially sustainable while also building affordable housing. We also chat about what it means to create community fabric, and the stories of success Dan has seen amidst the challenges of the current state of housing.
On this week's episode, we begin part one or a two-part conversation with Dan Driedger the director of Beyond Housing (formerly called Menno Homes). We hear how and why he went from a successful career in the for-profit industrial sector to a full-time role working for an Affordable Housing non-profit. Adam and Dan discuss Beyond Housing's work supporting the unseen victims of the housing crisis.
To open Season 2 of Trinity and The Hub’s Digital Ministry project “The Winter is Coming” Affordable housing podcast, Adam sat down for an in-person interview with Kitchener Centre MP Mike Morrice to find out. Mike and Adam discuss what the public needs from politicians for tangible progress in affordable housing, and how the public can press politicians to act now for housing justice for all. We also chat about the ‘legislated poverty’ that holds many of our neighbours, particularly those with disabilities, trapped below the poverty line, and how the system isn’t broken: it was built this way.
On a chilly December morning, twelve energetic members of Trinity and Forest Hill met at Food4Kids to package food hampers. Over two hours, we packaged….
In November 2024, the markets were up allowing Trinity’s Legacy II to grant an additional $100,000 to support its Outreach Mission of Affordable and Supportive Housing. The Ad Hoc committee recommended to the Board, the following grants:
$50,000 to the Food Bank of Waterloo Region
$50,000 to oneROOF Youth Services
Please add your voice to tell your local municipal leaders that you appreciate their stand in support of the Charter of Human Rights. Tell your mayor and council: “Do not trample over the human rights of our neighbours. There is a better way.” Here’s a link to send that message:
Dear Premier Ford,
During the Pandemic you and your colleagues followed the research and lead from the front – not from the politicized sidelines. We need you to follow the research now.
‘Word on the street’ two potentially fatal overdoses were reversed at the CTS in Kitchener in a span of only five hours this week alone. If the facility was closed, and the proposed HART Hub precluded supervised consumption with wrap around services – including wound care, mental health supports, and referral to recovery services – those two people would likely have died, alone.
Please reverse the decision to close all CTS in the Province of Ontario.
It has been almost three years since the beginning of Trinity’s partnership with the Waterloo Region Community Foundation (WRCF) and what a successful and mutually beneficial partnership it has been! In that time, Cathy Baer and Barb Hill have volunteered on the WRCF’s Community Grants committee, John Fraser has volunteered on WRCF’s Financial Review committee and Dave Rutherford has volunteered on the Due Diligence committee. Trinity United Church has featured prominently in WRCF’s press releases.
Saturday, March 9th • 4:00-6:00 pm
Ray of Hope • 659 King St. E
Entrance at back of building off Stirling Lane
Free and open to the public
More and more people in our community can't access housing.
If this concerns you, join us for a community dialogue; bringing together service organizations, developers, individuals with lived expertise, political representatives, and members of the public, to explore the issues and systemic solutions.
read Katherine Bitzer’s presentation at the Sunday Worship service on January 21, 2024
As winter continues to rear it's head many of our neighbours are struggling more than ever with housing. Your Trinity U.C. and The Hub Digital Ministry team is ready to launch Season 2 of our Affordable Housing Podcast "Winter is Coming".
Our ongoing commitment
Our Ad Hoc Affordable Housing Committee helped focus our mission on supportive affordable housing initiatives.
During 2021 $200,000 was distributed among five local agencies to assist in their work in this area.
Resources
Region of Waterloo (ROW)
KWCF (Kitchener Waterloo Community Foundation
Vital Signs® is a community-driven data program that is led nationally by Community Foundations of Canada, and locally by community foundations across Canada – including Kitchener Waterloo Community Foundation (KWCF).
Indwell Projects: St. Mark's & St. Peter's
This week Waterloo Regional Councilor and former mayor Rob Deutschmann joins Adam to give his perspective on the use of lawsuits against encampments and the Ford government wielding legislative power to attack people in poverty instead of attacking poverty itself. Rob also talks about why he won’t join those who call for the destruction of more encampments, and why Doug Ford’s decision to shut down consumption sites make neighborhoods less safe, and healthcare weaker.