When Konica became an Arts and Business student at UWaterloo, she had a wide variety of co-op jobs, but her last one was working as a junior policy analyst for the Homeless Partnering Secretariat, the federal body responsible for homelessness policy. There, she became better educated about the complexities of the issues around homelessness and the specific populations affected.
Because Konica had long been concerned about women’s issues, she decided to join GreenHouse for the winter 2016 term with the intention of engaging in a project about women and homelessness, and the ways both populations are often marginalized in society.
For Konica, GreenHouse was an amazing experience, both in terms of being able to meet regularly with advisors who could help her think about her ideas, and also by being surrounded by other students whose passions inspired her to get more involved in the community.
At the same time, Konica learned that the first and most important stage of any social enterprise is the research stage. She spent the first half of her GreenHouse term getting to know the lay of the land: She volunteered at Circle of Friends, a Mennonite Central Committee program aiding people transitioning out of homelessness; she talked with local agencies such as Ray of Hope and The Working Centre to understand the existing services; she researched policies on homelessness in Waterloo Region; she held an informational interview with a social enterprise in Ottawa that provides skill development and employment to homeless people.
While her original intention was to establish a business that could help homeless women gain job skills, employment experience, and a stable income, she recognized that it was difficult to create a sustainable business that would accomplish this.
GreenHouse program coordinator Lexi Salt recognized that Wilfrid Laurier student Justin Chan had similar ideas and interests as Konica, and introduced them. The two recognized that they could work well together on the project Justin had started, a Facebook page called Homeless in Waterloo Region, inspired by the popular Humans of New York site.
Konica joined Justin in simple conversations with local homeless people, offering them water and sandwiches, but more importantly, an opportunity to be seen and heard in their own words as the site uses photos and stories to connect people in the Region of Waterloo with people experiencing homelessness in the community.
The Facebook site quickly garnered interest — to date it has 2,550 followers and continues to grow — but it also began to provide the transformation Konica and Justin had hoped for. One pivotal story involved a young female musician who ended up on the streets of Kitchener after a series of mistakes and accidents. Through the site, she was connected with people who offered her food, warm clothing, repair for her guitar, and even a place to stay.
Through her work with Circle of Friends, Konica learned that a big reason people end up back in shelters is a lack of community. She observes, “People want to help but they don’t know how. But friendship is what is truly valuable and it’s something everyone can offer.” To that end, Konica and Justin hope to set up Circle of Friends type support where community members walk alongside people by providing friendship to those whose stories are featured on the Homeless in Waterloo Region site.
While Konica plans to be part of this continuing project, she is also heading to law school at the University of Ottawa this fall, as a different response to the same challenge. Her experience with homeless people has inspired her to work to make legal services more accessible for all people:
“I have met so many people with a need for a lawyer, whether after an altercation with police while on the street or having to do with custody of their children, but who don’t have access to good legal representation. I want to be part of making justice available for all people.”