Organizations from across Canada, including the City of Victoria, are partnering to create Right to Home, a week of virtual film screenings and live panel discussions from coast to coast to coast about what’s working, what’s not, and what’s next, as we re-imagine the right to home during and beyond the pandemic.
COVID-19 has exposed the vulnerabilities in Canada’s housing and shelter systems. This is playing out on the ground in the City of Victoria and in cities across the country. As we rebuild our urban futures, we cannot risk going back to the way things were. If we take the right steps now, as a country, we can create transformative change.
Right to Home brings together the voices of those with boots on the ground, championing the right to housing across the country and around the world. From community organizers to institutional advocates, from politicians to people with lived experience of homelessness, every event provides a unique entry point to engage with one of the most pressing issues of this COVID time: the need – and the right – to a home.
The events take place from July 27th to 31st. All Right to Home events are virtual and free of charge. You can find more information about the events and panelists as well as register here.
Right To Home Documentaries
Attendees can register to watch the two feature documentaries, Us & Them and Push and will receive virtual access to watch any time throughout the week.
Us and Them is a powerful documentary composed of striking portraits of four extraordinary homeless individuals as they struggle with addictions. The film is directed by Krista Loughton and Jennifer Abbott. The story follows Loughton’s ten-year journey exploring the worlds of Dawnellda, Stan, Eddie and Karen, who she attempts to help. In the end, it is Loughton herself who is changed. Punctuated with First Nations wisdom, and Dr. Gabor Maté’s insight into the root causes of addiction, the film shows there is no difference between us and them.
Register to receive a streaming link for Us and Them. Watch the trailer.
Push is a documentary from award-winning director Fredrik Gertten, investigating why we can’t afford to live in our own cities anymore. Housing is a fundamental human right, a precondition to a safe and healthy life. But in cities all around the world, having a place to live is becoming more and more difficult. Who are the players and what are the factors that make housing one of today’s most pressing world issues?
Register to receive a streaming link for Push. Watch the trailer.
Right to Home is hosted by the Canadian Urban Institute (CUI) and The Shift in partnership with the Aboriginal Housing Management Association, Architecture & Design Film Festival, BC Non-Profit Housing Association, Big Wheel Community Foundation & Big Wheel Burger, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness, Canadian Housing & Renewal Association, Canadian Human Rights Commission, Canadian Observatory on Homelessness, Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation, City of Victoria, Co-Operative Housing Federation of Canada, Maytree, UDI Victoria.