Sponsored by: Direct Energy and RBC Foundation

Developed by Raising the Roof, www.sharedlearnings.org makes practical tools and information accessible to the frontline staff, managers and volunteers within the hundreds of organizations across Canada working to address homelessness in their communities.

This interactive site attracts a wide range of users, including direct service providers, advocacy groups, housing providers, social service planners and policy staff, faith groups, donors, academics, students, and members of the general public. Our aim is to (1) promote and share information across Canada about effective programs and policies to prevent and reduce homelessness and (2) facilitate networking between agencies, community organizations, and decision-makers.

Four types of tools are offered through this bilingual, one-stop information hub:

• Directory of Organizations
  
  A growing directory of organizations in the homelessness and social housing sectors in communities across Canada helps service providers, advocates and others concerned about homelessness to connect and share with one another.
  
  
• Profiles of Community Initiatives
  
  Examples of effective programs and approaches to addressing homelessness are featured to inform and inspire service providers, advocates and policy makers. While the profiles are not intended to be a comprehensive inventory, they are real life examples of strategies that front line practitioners have found to be effective when working with homeless and at-risk populations.
  
  
• Resources
  
  Practical "how-to" resources are offered on hot topics and emerging issues. Developed by front-line practitioners, each resource contains ideas for implementing effective strategies and lists additional sources of information.
  
  
• NEWS Section
  
  A monthly electronic bulletin, sponsored by Raising the Roof as part of the Housing Again partnership puts the spotlight on what people are doing to put housing back on the public agenda across Canada and around the world.
  

Future Directions

As the site continues to grow, Raising the Roof's goal is to further develop materials which represent the diversity within the homelessness sector (variety of needs and populations served, as well as diverse approaches to direct service, advocacy, policy work, capacity building, and partnership development). The aim is to have accessible information from all across regions of Canada, including materials from large and small, urban and rural, French, English, and multilingual communities.

Partners

The Shared Learnings site is a result of collaboration with the following:

Go to Sharedlearnings.org