Meet Guy Felicella—CAEH24 Keynote Speaker 

“When we look at homelessness … I’ve overcome a lot of obstacles in my life, but that was one that was a very physically and mentally punishing condition … All I really wanted to do was just have a place where I could shut the door, lock it, lie in my bed and just go to sleep and not worry.”  

Guy Felicella is a sought-after public speaker, educator, and policy reform advocate. He is also someone who has experienced homelessness, having spent nearly twenty years living within a two-block radius of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.  

Guy grew up in British Columbia in a middle-class family. At a young age, after experiencing childhood trauma, dealing with undiagnosed ADHD, and facing challenges at home and school, he fell into a devastating cycle of addiction, homelessness, gang involvement, and incarceration. After overdosing six times, surviving multiple mental and physical health challenges, Guy received the care and treatment he needed, and emerged as a housing-first, harm reduction and recovery advocate. 

Guy describes himself as someone who went from “homeless to homeowner”. Now he lives with his family in British Columbia, working with Vancouver Coastal Health and the B.C. Centre for Substance Use.  

But, above all, Guy is a remarkable storyteller. He shares his story—one of survival, of transformation, and of hope. He has presented to hundreds of schools, at national and international conferences, and was a featured TEDx speaker.  

“We as people have to do better, and be better, to support people and to give them the proper housing that they need, and the proper supports. And I think, man, if we could just do that, that is one of the most crippling unaddressed societal issues that we have in our society is that people don’t have a place to get some rest.”  

Guy Felicella will be featured as a Keynote Speaker at this year’s National Conference on Ending Homelessness – CAEH24 – held in Ottawa this fall. If there is something he hopes participants get out of his address it’s how our collective actions can have a lasting impact. 

“I think whatever position you are in, in your career or whatever influence you have, is that it’s important to use that influence to move, to make the changes in all our areas. You know, this is not just something that we’re going to a conference to do on that day. It’s what we’re going to do after that day that’s going to be of the most importance.” 

 Register Now: The National Conference on Ending Homelessness