learning together
Need for housing in First Nations, as with the rest of Canada has long been conceptualized as a problem either of supply or affordability. Learning Together creates community-specific needs assessment frameworks which move beyond measuring the number of units needed in a community to understanding the experience of housing need, and community member preferences in solutions. Recognizing that each community has specific housing goals, the survey is designed in collaboration with local partners to be congruent with local understandings of the role which housing plays within larger frameworks of community development and wellness. Survey responses act as the beginning of larger discussions within the community, hosted through workshops and sharing circles, discussing visions for meeting existing need and for understanding the impact on lived experience of existing needs. Need is conceptualized as attached to lived experience, and directly tied community-drive appropriate actions, allowing for interventions to be measured over time for effectiveness using community-developed indicators.