Lausanne World Pulse – Perspectives Articles – StreetLevel 2006: Changing the Course of Homelessness in Canada

By Timothy Huff and Julia Goodhew
May 2006

From 29 March to 1 April 2006 nearly 350 individuals, representing some seventy organizations from across Canada gathered at the Westin Hotel in downtown Ottawa, Canada, to participate in StreetLevel 2006, a conference for people who are passionately engaged in finding solutions to poverty and homelessness

Participants represented ministries and agencies of all sizes from around the nation. Frontline workers, agency leaders, board members and church representatives, who daily serve God’s people on the streets, gathered to resource, network, challenge one another and seek inspiration. The gathering also included both those who serve in public life and those who serve in the dark and lonely streets of Canada. Some were seasoned in street ministry; others came seeking to learn how best to come alongside, befriend and minister to the homeless and street-involved members of their communities.

The conference was presented by the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada’s, a group which includes fourteen significant Christian organizations committed to working National Roundtable on Poverty and Homelessness among poor and/or homeless youth and adults.

History of StreetLevel
This was the third StreetLevel conference. StreetLevel was initially born of a vision to bring together street workers from across Canada. The mandate of StreetLevel in its early days was to “affirm the dignity and significance of those serving Christ among his people on the streets of Canada. The conference will bring together street workers for theological reflection, resource sharing and mutual encouragement.”

The first conference, which held the theme “You Are Not Alone,” was held in April 1994 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Rick Tobias, president and CEO of Yonge Street Mission served as chair. This first conference drew 250 delegates together, and was noted by Christian Week, a bi-weekly Christian national newspaper, as one of the most significant national Christian events in 1994. It featured many well-known speakers on street ministry and poverty issues, as well as renowned author and spiritual leader Father Henri Nouwen as the conference devotional speaker.

In October 1996 a second conference was held in Calgary, Alberta. For this event, Pat Nixon, executive director of the Mustard Seed Street Ministry served as chair. The theme of this conference was “Reclaiming the Future” and included the importance of giving hope and a future to those who call the streets of Canada their home.

Both conferences achieved their goal of nurturing and caring for the spiritual and emotional needs of frontline staff and volunteers. Both had a profound and lasting impact on the lives of those who were present.

A New Beginning
The most recent StreetLevel gathering was chaired by Tim Huff, director of Light Patrol and Homelessness Initiatives for Youth Unlimited (Toronto Youth For Christ). As with the first two conferences, delegates came to network with their peers, learn from one another and resource and be resourced.

The mandate of the National Roundtable on Poverty and Homelessness is “United Voice, Dynamic Response,” which was echoed clearly in the theme of the conference, “Truthtellers and Peacemakers.”