Community Conversations Matter

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Aug 1 2013

Community conversations bring together community members, tell us new things about our community and the more involved a person is, the more integrated into their community they will feel. Festival of Neighbourhoods has partnered with Tamarack who sponsors the Community Conversations Award - join in and tell us about your neighbourhood.

Read the new Festival of Neighbourhoods blog to learn about a community conversation at the Courtland-Shelley 20th anniversary barbecue on June 3.

On a related note, Social Planning Council of Kitchener Waterloo's staff and board members had a conversation this past March about communities that was captured in the document, Seeking Community – Wonderful Wandering Wondering Conversations .

Poverty Free KW invites Minister McMeekin for a visit

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Jul 24 2013

Dear Minister McMeekin, We are following with interest and concern your informal 20-city tour on the Social Assistance Review Commission Report. We value this effort to validate what people think about the recommendations in this report and the process that has led to this point. We also invite you to come to Kitchener-Waterloo to hear about local contributions that have been made to the process to date.

Throughout all previous consultations, our message has been clear. It is time for action on the following: Raise the rates, Protect the well-being of people with disabilities, Reduce poverty for everyone.

Empowerment through Information

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Jul 19 2013

Social Planning Council Board members and staff got together on July 18 to talk about the work we are doing, and about the the directions we can go in the future. It was wonderful to hear how much commonality there was around what we bring to the community: Quality Information Services, Empowerment through Information, Advocacy at Individual and Community Level, Social Planning and Development, Incubator Infrastructure, Relationship Building in the Community, Inclusive of Everyone Who Comes through Our Door! Come to visit us and see what we mean.

20th Anniversary Special Neighbourhood Awards

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Jul 16 2013

We are celebrating the 20th year of the Festival of Neighbourhoods with special awards at the Festival Finale: The Mayor's Challenge, Tamarack Seeking Community Award, and Steadfast Neighbourhood Award. As always, the Ward Challenge is on! This year, you can track as activities appear on the interactive map of Kitchener Wards, and as well see what $10 000 grant winners have done in their neighbourhoods. Read more in the July edition of the E-Neighbour.

Local Information Support to Ontario Newcomers

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Jul 14 2013

The first workshop session of the Building Local Information Support to Ontario Newcomers Project (BLISON) has been launched in Kitchener on July 11, and facilitated both in-person and on line in Newmarket and Toronto. Social Planning Council is engaging its partners in strengthening local collaboration between the community information and settlement sectors under the lead of InformOntario, the Association of Community Information Centres of Ontario.

Social Planning Council of Kitchener-Waterloo Opens Doors

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Jun 28 2013

Opening Doors was a theme for the 46th Annual General Meeting of the Social Planning Council of Kitchener-Waterloo held on June 27. It was an occasion for the Board, staff and volunteers to share the highlights of the activities in 2012, and present the Annual Social Development Awards to five (5) partner agencies in recognition of their contributions to the community in partnership with the Social Planning Council: John Wilson on behalf of the ONPHA and the Housing Opens Doors project, Lynn Macaulay on behalf of the Housing and Homelessness Umbrella Group (HHUG), Elizabeth Clarke on behalf of the YWCA K-W, Janice Ouellette for the Festival of Neighbourhoods on behalf of the City of Kitchener, and Mark Hildebrand for the City of Kitchener.

Housing Opens Doors in Kitchener-Waterloo

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Jun 28 2013

We all know that affordable housing is a human right and a real solution to real problems. Open a door with us to make sure that investment in the future of Ontario is an investment in affordable housing too.

Ring the doorbell and come on in!

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Jun 26 2013

Join over 60,000 Ontarians and show support for affordable housing. Kitchener is the next stop for the Housing Opens Doors Ontario tour.

Thursday June 27th, 2013
9:00 am to 6:00 pm
Speakers at 12:30 pm
Kitchener City Hall Civic Square
(indoors in the rotunda in the event of rain)

Follow us on twitter #housingopensdoors and on facebook #housingopens.

Social Justice Tribunals of Ontario Consultations

Jun 16 2013

The Social Justice Tribunal of Ontario (SJTO) has invited community input on the new common rules of procedure and practice directions for the SJTO. Members of the Poverty Free KW Action Group have met to discuss whether the consultation process and time frame provided a meaningful opportunity for public feedback on the rules governing the legal process and representation before the STJO. Read the submission here.

Is The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disability Act (AODA) Meeting the Needs of People with Disabilities?

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Jun 12 2013

The Kitchener-Waterloo Disabilities and Human Rights Group has sent a letter to the Hon. Eric Hoskins, Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Employment, outlining their concerns with the AODA review process. The group has asked the provincial government to move forward with the independent review to assess whether the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disability Act is working effectively to meet the needs of Ontarians with disabilities.