HALIFAX, N.S. (October 25, 2023) — The Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness (CAEH) is holding its 2023 National Conference on Ending Homelessness in Halifax from November 8 to 10, welcoming over 1,600 people from across Canada. The conference is hosted in partnership with the Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre and United Way Halifax. This is the Alliance’s tenth conference and the first one held in Atlantic Canada.
“Homelessness is an urgent and growing problem in communities across the country, but we also know it is solvable,” said Tim Richter, President and CEO of the CAEH. “The fact that we’re expecting a record attendance of over 1,600 participants from across the country, tells me there’s a real hunger for solutions out there.”
“Delegates of the CAEH23 National Conference will be provided a platform to engage in important discussions with a national movement of individuals, organizations, and communities who work together to support efforts to end homelessness across the country,” said Mike Savage, Mayor of Halifax. “As a wealthy nation we must meet the demand to dramatically increase the supply of housing across the broad spectrum of affordability. In doing so, we must not lose focus on addressing the housing needs of people who are currently unhoused or at risk of losing their housing, a need that continues to grow.”
The National Conference on Ending Homelessness helps shift the dial on homelessness by mobilizing knowledge from across the country. Communities can learn from what is successful and unsuccessful from their peers and quickly implement what works to have a rapid impact in their own community. More than 85% of attendees at the 2022 conference said they would implement a change in their work based on knowledge or skills they gained at the conference.
“The causes of homelessness are varied and complex, and often times people need extra supports for the challenges they are facing. Much of our work centres around working with community to find ways to meet people’s unique needs and help them get on the path to being safely housed,” said the Honourable Trevor Boudreau, Minister of Community Services for Nova Scotia. “Homelessness is too big an issue for any one level of government or organization to take on. It will take all of us, looking out for our community members, coming together with new and innovative solutions and partnerships.”
“Together with our partner agencies, we are in a sea-change moment with respect to housing for people across the board. Based on our organizations’ shared commitment to equity, truth, and reconciliation, we recognize the CAEH Conference here in Halifax as an unprecedented opportunity. In co-chairing the local host committee, we hope it will create productive conversations, open minds, and lead to true shared commitment from all sectors and orders of governments to make change together,” said Sara Napier, President and CEO, United Way Halifax and Pam Glode Desrochers, Executive Director, Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre.
The conference includes six plenary sessions with impactful keynotes and more than 90 breakout sessions, with over 230 presentations in 16 different streams. In 2023, the conference will have a special focus on veterans, as the gathering begins on Indigenous Veterans Day, during Veterans Week.
For more information about the conference please visit the conference website at: https://conference.caeh.ca/