It’s A Way Home Canada’s 5th Anniversary! I’m in shock at how quickly time passes, but definitely in awe over the things that we can accomplish when we work together.  A Way Home is a coalition, and over the years the number of dedicated partners and funders has grown and grown. I would like to take this opportunity, however, to thank the original coalition members and funder for believing in the A Way Home vision and supporting us to make it happen. Thank you to the Catherine Donnelly Foundation, the National Learning Community on Youth Homelessness, the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association, the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness, the Canadian Alliance to End HomelessnessRaising the Roof and Egale Human Rights Trust. Thanks also to Eva’s for incubating this initiative that quickly became a global movement for change. Personally, it has been an honour to have all of your trust and support to lead A Way Home.

To celebrate our accomplishments to date, but also to shine a light on how much work we still have to do, the team and I (including the fantastic communications staff at the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness) put together an anniversary report, a social media campaign, and a short video. We’re excited to begin sharing these with you today. Though an anniversary is but a mere moment in time, it’s important to take pause and re-ground ourselves in the vision that all young people and their families will have what they need to thrive, and that no young person will ever find themselves mired in homelessness again.