Скачать или смотреть Poverty Reduction Fall Forum | PART 2

On October 17, 2023, Waterloo Region Community Legal Services hosted the Poverty Reduction Fall Forum at the Kitchener Public Library.

The Poverty Reduction Fall Forum aimed at addressing topics regarding systemic issues that perpetuate the cycle of poverty and the criminalization of individuals living in poverty. The event brought together members of not-for-profit organizations, members of local grassroots organizations, front line workers, individuals with lived experience, policy makers, academics, and local community members.

In this video, hear from the second group of panelists as they discuss the role of advocacy in combating issues of poverty.

MODERATOR: ALEKSANDRA PETROVIC
Aleksandra Petrovic is the Executive Director at Social Development Centre Waterloo Region and has been working in social justice advocacy since 1997. Her work in Serbia, Ex-Yugoslavia, began in the area of women's political and economic rights, and in support of growing peace and the rainbow movements. Her work is dedicated to the creation of channels within municipal structures to include both non-profit and grassroots advocates in decision-making and implementation of strategies. The Social Development Centre is a charitable non-profit organization that supports community based initiatives, and promotes social research on displacement, homelessness, lived experience and anti-poverty in partnership with Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Waterloo.

MEGAN RUTTAN
Meg Ruttan is a grassroots organizer, working at the intersection of housing and climate justice. Most recently she has helped co-found the Waterloo Region chapter of ACORN, a low to moderate income union with a local focus on tenants' rights and direct action.

SARA ESCOBAR
Sara is a Social Justice Worker with over 25 years of experience, with a focus in street outreach and peer development. She is the new Homelessness and Housed Justice Navigator at the Justice Centre, hosted by CJI (Community Justice Initiatives) and is co-founder of Peregrine Outreach Waterloo Region. Throughout her years of supporting members of our community, she has witnessed how current decision-making practices and policies, when implemented without input from those with lived experience, cause harm to everyone in the community, not just those who are experiencing poverty and homelessness.

KAMIL AHMED
Kamil is the Community Mediation, Sulah, and Workplace & Training Coordinator at Community Justice Initiatives. He is a son, brother, friend, Muslim, immigrant, citizen, student, neighbor, volunteer and community organizer. He obtained a BA in Global Studies with Community Engagement from Wilfrid Laurier University. As the Coordinator to CJI’s Sulah Program, he works with and for the community to facilitate a restorative approach to hate crime and identity-based harm; an approach that offers opportunity to bridge divides, develop mutual understanding and enable capacity to build competent communities. As an advocate for mutual aid and decentralized approaches to care, he also spends his off-hours organizing Community Fridge KW. He enjoys practicing photography, hosting friends, visiting farmers markets and building playlists.

WREN WOMBWELL
wren is an Anti-Poverty, Anti-Capitalist, and Anti-Fascist community organizer based out of Downtown Kitchener. wren was arrested in May 2023 for their role in a demonstration against the fortressing of the island in Willow River Park. Working with FightBack KW and community members, wren maintained the Housing Now! Tent City on the island for nearly a year. FightBack KW continues to work with the Downtown Kitchener homeless community using a mutual aid framework.

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Waterloo Region Community Legal Services (WRCLS) is one of 76 community legal clinics across the province funded by Legal Aid Ontario. We serve the entire Waterloo Region including the cities of Kitchener, Waterloo, and Cambridge, and the townships of Wilmot, Wellesley, Woolwich, and North Dumfries. WRCLS has been serving the region since 1980. We provide free services to low-income individuals and families. Our services include providing legal information, legal support or advice and legal representation.

Contact us today for free legal advice!

Website: www.wrcls.ca
Web Contact Form: www.wrcls.ca/web-contact
Phone: 519-743-0254
Address: 450 Frederick Street, Unit 101, Kitchener, ON N2H 2P5

DISCLAIMER: The information provided in this video does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice. The content provided in this video is for general legal informational purposes only (2023).