"Housing and Health: Coming In from the Cold" will feature presentations from experts in the field, documentary clips, as well as an interactive discussion period. Admission is free, with refreshments and childcare provided.
Discussions will focus on the lack of adequate and affordable housing throughout Canadian cities, and the ways in which this shortcoming is felt by particular groups, such as Aboriginal people, newcomers and people with mental illnesses. Connections will be drawn between housing inadequacies and poor health.
Guest Speakers
Michael Shapcott, Director of Community Engagement at the Wellesley Institute of Toronto, is a leading expert in housing and homelessness issues. He has led initiatives relating to housing rights, social exclusion, poverty, urban health, and health equity, and has written many housing policy reports.
Marcia Thompson is the Homeless Project Site Coordinator for the Mental Health Commission of Canada's mental health and Aboriginal homelessness study. Along with much experience within the provincial government, especially relating to Aboriginal issues, Marcia also works with Manitoba Health and Healthy Living and Family Services and Housing.
Shauna Mackinnon, the director of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives - Manitoba, is the coordinator of the annual State of the Inner City report. In 2008, this report focused on housing in Winnipeg's inner city, and her local insights will greatly enrich this event.
"Housing and Health: Coming in from the Cold" is sponsored by the Public Health Agency of Canada and The University of Winnipeg Urban and Inner City Studies Department, with additional support from the Marsha Hanen Grant.
For more information contact Judith Harris at (204) 786-9445 or j.harris@uwinnipeg.ca
