Engaging with Homeless Encampments through a Human Rights Lens

Homeless encampments in communities across Ontario are becoming more and more visible and municipalities across Ontario are trying to address the issues and needs of the encampments and the residents that live there. Join assistant professor Laura Pin and recent graduate Hannah McGurk to discuss the recommendations from their co-edited report “Homeless Encampments Through A Human Rights Lens”. Geeta Pathak from the Halton Housing Help Centre will engage with the report and share her experiences with these issues. The report emerged from a community-engaged research project with the Region of Waterloo and provides a comparison of encampment protocols among six municipalities.

Panel Member Biographies

Dr. Laura Pin is an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at Wilfrid Laurier University. Her research examines how social inequality intersects with policy-governance regimes and how political scientists can use community-engaged research to understand complex policy problems. Pin has produced reports for the National Housing Council and Employment and Social Development Canada, Currently, Pin is working on projects about civic engagement, housing policy, and municipal diversity and inclusion planning. She grew up in Hamilton, Ontario and was the first person in her family to attend university.

Hanna McGurk is a recent graduate of the Master of Applied Politics program at Wilfrid Laurier University. During her graduate degree, Hannah specialized in Canadian Housing Policy and co-authored an article on the regulation of unsheltered homelessness in Canada. Hannah’s research has been sought after by the Region of Waterloo, and other non-profit organizations such as the Canadian Observatory for Homelessness, the Right to National Housing Network, and Peterborough Drug Strategy. Hannah previously completed a double major in honours political science and honours sociology from Wilfrid Laurier University.

Geeta Pathak is a supervisor at Halton Housing Help Centre. Halton Housing Help Centre offers one-to-one support to individuals and families with complex housing needs. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Trent University.