ACF PARTNERSHIPS FOR GRASSROOTS ACTIVISM + OTHER RECENT GRANTS

Spotlight on Voices From the Street and Acorn.. scroll down to read about the two initiatives...

Listening to the voices from the street

Toronto’s Voices from the Street works with people who have lived experience with homelessness to inform and influence public decision-making at various levels, writes Becky McFarlane (Ontario Council of Alternative Business)

Homelessness can be the ultimate experience of disconnection – from community, resources, supports and virtually everything else that makes up ‘home.’  Toronto’s Voices from the Street helps counter this disconnection by providing training and leadership opportunities to people who have lived experience with homelessness.

Voices From the Street (VFTS) believes that poverty can make it difficult for people to act and work for change in their lives or in the lives of their communities. People in poverty often lack the financial resources to participate.  They may also have insufficient access to the skills and capacities common to policy planning and public decision-making processes.  In addition, they most likely have unequal access to the networks and systems that inform and influence public decision-making at various levels.

Through an intensive training program, VFTS attempts to counter this imbalance by providing the tools and resources that people who are experiencing poverty require to more adequately participate.  Further, it assists individuals to use their own experiences and stories as a way of educating and influencing those involved in change initiatives.  This training spans a wide spectrum, and includes concrete skills building opportunities (ex. public speaking workshops, media training, understanding public policy etc.) and leadership skills (diversity training, facilitation training, developing a personal narrative).

In June of 2007, VFTS produced 14 powerful new graduates.  While these brave individuals come from a wide spectrum of experiences, they share the often soul-crushing effects of poverty. With a keen desire to change the system, VFTS members are involved in a number of community initiatives and continue to speak with students, social service workers, government officials, medical professionals, and other marginalized people about their experiences with poverty and homelessness and how they feel the system needs to change.

With a desire for bigger and more profound change, VFTS will be focusing on how poor people can have a greater impact on government decision making and will continue to develop ways to enhance the policy skills and capacities of people experiencing poverty.

VFTS will be engaging a new group of participants in the Spring of 2008 and hopes to build on their current successes.  For more information about training opportunities, to book a speaker, or to learn more about the program, please visit us at www.voicesfromthestreet.ca http://www.voicesfromthestreet.ca or e-mail speakersbureau@bellnet.ca.

News coverage:

Poverty… from those who know (Carol Goar, Toronto Star)

Organizing…one citizen at a time

Acorn takes action to get decision-makers to make real changes,

writes Judy Duncan (ACORN National Director)

Toronto ACORN is the Toronto affiliate of ACORN Canada – one of the nation’s largest network of community organizations, with more than 10,000 low and moderate income members organized into 15 neighborhood chapters in 3 cities across Canada.  ACORN members come together to improve our communities, by tackling pressing concerns in our neighborhoods, cities and the country. Members choose what issues to address—from traffic problems or negligent landlords, to nationwide concerns such as the predatory payday lending industry and raising the minimum wage. We take action to get decision-makers to make real changes.

Toronto ACORN was founded in 2004 with the goal of representing and championing the interests of Ontario’s low and moderate-income urban communities on the critical issues of social and economic justice. We believe that transforming the conditions that adversely affect millions of Canadians can best be achieved with an active national membership – members deeply invested in their organization and focused clearly on lasting socio-economic change. In Toronto we now have over 7000 members in 7 chapters across Toronto.

Our structure has the neighbourhood chapter as its structural cornerstone; our organization is built organically by and for the membership. Our community organizers go door to door every day reaching hundreds of families per week.  All our chapters have democratically elected leadership chosen by our membership in the area.

The ACORN model is unique. We focus on meticulously mobilizing low- and moderate-income communities, door by door, phone call by phone call.  A key objective is cultivating new community leaders who run local meetings and workshops, and events. ACORN is grassroots organization, led by its members. In 2006 Toronto ACORN held 101 events with a total attendance of 1716. Our local, regional, and national boards are comprised of elected members from low and moderate income communities.  We don't just "do outreach" to low income communities, we are those communities.

Toronto ACORN has already spearheaded several highly effective campaigns.  Among these are reigning in the payday lending industry, and landlord licensing. Further, Toronto ACORN has participated in engaging coalitions such as the campaign to raise the minimum wage.  Toronto ACORN members have secured investment from negligent landlords in buildings from Scarborough to North York, to St James Town, highlighted by the victory of members from the Weston rd. community winning $250 000 in rent rebates in 2006.  Building on this victory, ACORN's tenants’ rights campaign expanded into efforts to license landlords in Toronto which is now  at the executive committee at city hall.

For more information about Acorn visit http://www.canada.acorn.org/

Other Recent ACF Grants:

Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation will research and communicate to expose the nature and extent of housing discrimination in Toronto.

Colour of Poverty Project aims to address the challenge of the ever-worsening exclusion of racialized groups from social and economic opportunities.

Atkinson Co-op will expand the capacity of residents to implement community-driven initiatives in Toronto's Alexandra Park neighbourhood.

Canadian Doctors for Medicare to provide a voice for Canadian doctors who believe in and support Canada's publicly funded system for physician and hospital care, and who categorically reject private insurance and direct payment for these medically necessary services.