Social Development Centre Waterloo Region

"Closing the Consumption and Treatment Services site did not end drug use in our community — it ended safety. It did not mark the end of drug use; it removed a health service that kept people alive."

These excerpts are from an Opinion piece that appeared in the Waterloo Region Record on April 9, 2026. You can read it in full at: tinyurl.com/4wzfnhnc.

This piece was informed by a Social Development Centre Waterloo Region project called “Holding Each Other Up: Stories and Solidarity for Harm Reduction." Co-facilitated by Leah Connor (a peer worker in our Eviction Prevention program) and Mauleek Bhatt (a member of SDC's Lived Expertise Roster), the project involved a series of community gatherings where people directly impacted by the closure of Safe Consumption Sites could share their stories, shift public perceptions, and advocate for policy changes that prioritize harm reduction.

Funding for “Holding Each Other Up: Stories and Solidarity for Harm Reduction" was provided through a People's Purse grant as part of the Region of Waterloo Plan to End Chronic Homelessness.

Kitchener's renoviction bylaw will be put to a final vote on Monday, April 13, 2026. This moment comes after years of sustained advocacy and organizing by local tenants, neighbourhood associations like Cedar Hills and Rainbow Row, community groups like ACORN, FightBack KW, and Kitchener Citizens for Liveable Development, and the peer workers in our Eviction Prevention program at SDC.

A renoviction bylaw will provide the additional oversight needed to deter bad-faith landlords from:
⛔ exploiting loopholes in the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA),
⛔ evicting tenants, and
⛔ depleting our affordable housing stock.

Although we're almost at the finish line, we recognize that misconceptions persist about the need for such a bylaw at the municipal level. We had the opportunity to challenge these during our most recent delegation to Kitchener City Council, and hope you'll take a moment to educate yourself, too.

👉 Swipe through to see common misconceptions + the facts we shared.

👊 Sign up as a delegate to show your support for this bylaw at Monday's Council meeting. (You can delegate online or in person; instructions and deadlines for signing up can be found on the City of Kitchener's website.)

Photo and video dump from a table read of "Overdose," a story co-developed by Outta Work Actors Inc. and Julian Ichim, an anti-poverty activist with the Alan Ryan People's Defense Brigade, and member of the Lived Expertise Roster at SDC.

This story was originally shared by Julian during a Kaleidoscope 2-minute Laboratory. Hosted by Outta Work Actors Inc., the laboratory is an experimental space that "transforms our local community’s diverse narratives into dramatic forms," as described by Artistic Director Heather Majaury. "It focuses on the lived experiences of real people...[and] often happens in non-conventional theatre spaces and social settings."

Those of us who got to participate in the table read were all asked to turn in our scripts at the end of the night. 👀 So these short video snippets are the only excerpts we can share for now...!

POSTPONED to April 23: Please see our updated event post for details!

If you’re curious or ready to take a new step into organizing with tenants in your building or neighbourhood, this teach-in is for you!

Co-led by Meg Walker (Tenant Organizing Lead .wr) and Lynn Intini (Community Organizer), this hands-on workshop will teach you the first steps on how to start a tenant association.

✅ practical insights and wisdom from organizers with over 10 years’ experience organizing in Waterloo Region
✅ workshop followed by discussion, Q&A and connecting
✅ open to all experiences and abilities
✅ light dinner provided

This event is the latest in our housing justice series presented in collaboration with with funding from UWaterloo Faculty of Health EDI-AR Seed Fund. We hope to see you there!

The search for our next Executive Director has begun. This is a rare opportunity to support and amplify a passionate team advancing equity, and addressing poverty and housing insecurity in our community.

Reporting to the Board of Directors, the Executive Director will provide organizational leadership and direction while creating the conditions for staff to do their best work.

📌Location: Kitchener, Ontario
📌Hours: Up to full-time hours (40hrs/wk)
📌Compensation: $35-$40 per hour
📌Learn More & Apply at:
tinyurl.com/ExecutiveDirector-SDC

You can help us find the right leader to advance a more equitable and inclusive Waterloo Region...

👉Please share widely.
👉Know someone in your network whose values and expertise align with this role? Please consider sharing this opportunity with them directly.

We recently chatted with whose book, “The Tenant Class,” argues our housing crisis is a class struggle most keenly understood, not by policymakers or academics, but by the tenant organizers fighting on the front lines to keep people housed.

The conversation took place between Ricardo and Meg Walker, our Tenant Organizing Lead .wr and ended with a Q&A. 👉 Swipe through for some of our favourite quotes and excerpts from the night, including an audience comment that affirmed why political education is so critical in the fight for safe, dignified housing for all.

A huge thank you to everyone who attended, and to and for including us a collaborator on this event.

Want to learn more about tenant organizing? Contact us!

📞 519-579-3800, x7
✉ [email protected]

And stay tuned for details on our next event on tenant rights...

⏰This conversation is happening at 5:30pm tonight. Here are 3 reasons why you should join us...

📌You've been meaning to read "The Tenant Class" by , but haven't yet had the chance...

🔎You're familiar with the book, and want to dig deeper into its themes...

🔥You're frustrated with how tenant protections are being systematically chipped away, and you want to do something about it...

💕You're looking for reasons to feel hopeful, and want to learn about tenant organizing success stories here in Waterloo Region and beyond...

For Meg, our Tenant Organizing Lead .wr her reasons are crystal clear: "Ricardo's book is in dialogue with the necessary and ongoing movement building for tenant rights and power. What resonated for me about the book is that we are facing a crisis rooted in settler colonialism. Who merits housing? Who benefits from the land we're on?"

So...will you join us? 👋
Register at link in bio!
wr is proud to be a part of this event in collaboration with

For years, evictions have been happening in ways that disproportionately affect vulnerable people. Now, with rental protections weakened further, more tenants will be pushed into homelessness unless communities demand better protections.

👉 Join our teach-in tonight (Feb. 25, 2026) at 5:30pm to learn directly from a member of our Eviction Prevention team about the impacts of Bill 60 and how you too can join local tenant organizing efforts in fighting Waterloo Region's eviction crisis.

Register now at tinyurl.com/bdh95zue

Presented in collaTextileh

npw at

The Eviction Prevention program .wr has existed since 2020 because tenants were already being displaced due to loopholes in the Residential Tenancies Act and barriers at the Landlord Tenant Board. Bill 60 widens those loopholes and puts more people at risk.

Join us for a virtual teach-in on Feb. 25 (5:30pm) to learn about the impacts of Bill 60 and the collective efforts needed to bring about stronger protections for tenants. Come and hear directly from our Tenant Organizing Lead, Meg Walker, who has been advocating for years alongside tenants resisting mass evictions and displacement in Waterloo Region.

📆 Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026
⏰ 5:30pm - 7pm
🔗 Register at tinyurl.com/bdh95zue

We're offering this teach-in in collaboration with as part of a series of events aimed at providing education on tenant rights and housing justice.

Bill 60 is having real impacts on tenants across Waterloo Region. Join our free virtual teach-in on Feb. 25, 2026 (5:30pm) to learn more about your rights and ask questions live.

📆 Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026 | 5:30pm - 7pm
🔗 Register at tinyurl.com/bdh95zue

Our thanks to our event partners at ❤️