How to Survive a Family Reunion
Working in the homelessness sector is not for everyone. It shouldn’t be; it’s too important. And in reality, if this work was easy, it wouldn’t draw the incredibly talented and committed people it does. The sector would instead be filled with people just filling jobs.
And as hard as this work has always been, it’s never been harder than it is in this very moment. Every community is feeling it. Every shelter, every street outreach program, every drop-in centre, every supportive housing program — everyone is feeling it. And on top of it all, winter is coming (it always does).
I was doing a workshop recently on hope and, ever since, have been thinking a lot about what keeps me feeling so hopeful when it would be just as easy to give up and move on. What I’ve realized is that the hope that keeps me going comes from two main sources.
The first comes from the absolute privilege I have in this work of getting to travel across our great country and meet incredible people — both those working in this sector and those currently surviving an experience of homelessness. It’s strange how work that is so exhausting can be so filling at the very same time.
The second comes from the relentless innovation and perseverance that I am lucky enough to be surrounded by on a daily basis. The creation of new approaches that, when fully implemented, will see more people move to recovering from the experience of chronic homelessness — and not just survive it — is so damn exciting that, even when it feels hopeless, it’s impossible not to be excited about what’s coming next.
Both of those sources of hope are going to converge into one amazing week at the end of this month at the CAEH Conference in Montreal. I’ll get to see so many of the truly inspiring people who continue to show up for work every day and, together, we’ll explore some of those emerging practices. Even though I’m secretly a huge introvert and the idea of spending three days and nights being “on” feels like a never-ending family reunion, I couldn’t be more excited to see everyone, share some ideas, and talk about what comes next.
OrgCode will have our largest team ever this year at CAEH. Like everyone else, we’re there to learn and fill our cups. In addition to that, we’ll be presenting sessions each day on topics we know can help move the needle, and we have a booth this year that will be filled with all kinds of new materials. Come by and hang out, grab some swag, and check out the very exciting stuff we have coming up in 2026.
If you’re attending CAEH in person this year, I’ll leave you with this piece of advice. If you’re planning to check out any of Iain’s sessions, go early. Not like a few minutes — that won’t cut it. Think back to when we were young and you had to camp out in line at the concert venue and wait until the box office opened to get tickets kind of early. Pack your favourite Mötley Crüe tour shirt and some snacks and get there early. You won’t regret it.