Supportive Housing of Waterloo (SHOW)

SHOW provides affordable housing units for those most in need in the Waterloo community as well as 24/7 wrap-around support for tenants. Operating from the belief that housing is a fundamental right and guided by the principles of “Housing First” and harm reduction, SHOW seeks to create a community where affordable housing and supports are available to all. 

Students working at Supportive Housing of Waterloo (SHOW) will work closely with the Executive Director (ED) and other SHOW staff. Students do a variety of supportive work including identifying granting agencies and completing grant applications, creating social media posts, and working on newsletters and content. They also might cover the reception office, plan special events for tenants, along with supporting fundraising events. There is also opportunity for students to propose and coordinate special interest projects as they relate to SHOW's mandate.

The Working Centre: St. John's Kitchen

St. John’s Kitchen is a gathering place for people in downtown Kitchener; its diverse community includes many people who are experiencing homelessness, at risk of homelessness, or street involved. At this dynamic community kitchen community inclusion is deep, harm reduction and trauma informed care are active practices of each day, and people come together in the spirit of respect and mutual support. St. John’s Kitchen includes a drop-in centre, showers, laundry facilities, harm reduction supports, medical care, a breakfast and hot lunch and a food bank.

Students working at St. John’s Kitchen work closely with the kitchen coordinator and outreach workers to welcome and support community members as they use shower and laundry facilities, access harm reduction supplies and health care. They also collaborate with place-based outreach workers and volunteers to create an environment of hospitality grounded in the philosophy of The Working Centre. Students participate in regular staff meetings, daily check ins, and debrief conversations at the end of each day.

Wisahkotewinowak Produce Garden

Wisahkotewinowak is an urban Indigenous garden collective building Land-based relationships across the Grand River Territory. “We are a group of Indigenous (First Nation and Métis) Peoples and settler-allies who also wear many hats as gardeners, researchers/academics, teachers/educators, students and life-long learners. We exist in relation with each other, the wider community and our non-human kin (the Land, plants, animals, and spirit) in the urban spaces we call home.  Collectively, we are Wisahkotewinowak (wisahk-tew-win-o-wak). This is a Métis word that means the first green shoots that come up from Mother Earth after a fire has gone through the land."

Students working with Wisahkotewinowak produce garden at the University of Waterloo Environmental Reserve participate in caring for the land through planting, weeding, watering and maintaining the garden. Produce grown is used for cooking and preserving workshops, contributed to the Indigenous Student Centre weekly soup and Bannock lunch, and contributes to a food basket program in collaboration with White Owl Native Ancestry Association.