Bridging Divides: Voices and Visions about Homelessness in Midsize Cities

Bridging divides and building perspectives through a dialogue on Homelessness, Public Safety, and Community Solutions

A powerful documentary featuring voices from diverse backgrounds. Discover new insights on homelessness and explore solutions to build safer, more inclusive communities.

Join our documentary screening and panel discussion. A brokered dialogue to discover insights and solutions to build safer, more inclusive communities. Watch our trailer below.

Watch Bridging Divides trailer here

Five individuals from diverse backgrounds were invited to participate in a Brokered Dialogue to share their perspectives about homelessness, public space and safety in their community. A brokered dialogue is a film making technique that brokers a series of conversations among people with different perspectives about a complex social issue to foster critical thinking.  Using a case study of three mid-size cities in Canada, the film features a conversation among two people with lived experience of homelessness and housing precarity, a service provider, business owner, and a member of law enforcement about the causes and consequences of homelessness, public safety, and ways forward.  The documentary provides a greater understanding about homelessness among diverse members of the community with the goal of helping to move towards positive, solutions-focused responses that help build feelings of safety and a sense of belonging for all.

Register for the Cambridge event

Register for the Brantford event

Register for the Guelph event

Supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, this event is a part of a collaborative project between University of Guelph, Wilfred Laurier University and York University.  Learn more about the orgins of this project.