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Boyle Street Community Services has been supporting people experiencing homelessness and poverty since 1971. And for many of those years, it was operating out of a dilapidated facility on 101st Street and 105th Avenue.  

In late 2021, Boyle Street announced it was purchasing a new building a few blocks north of their original location and they were getting set to break ground on okimaw peyesew kamik, which is Cree for The King Thunderbird Centre.  

But what was supposed to be a rather straight forward move began facing major hurdles, first with building permit issues, then community backlash and that was only the beginning.   

On this episode, we speak with Jordan Reiniger, Executive Director of Boyle Street Community Services, to get an update on okimaw peyesew kamik and what’s next for Edmonton’s inner-city communities. 

Links:
Learn more about Boyle Street Community Services.
Learn more about the history of The King Thunderbird Centre.
Donate to the okimaw peyesew kamik (King Thunderbird Centre) endowment fund. All donations will be matched up to $45,000.

ECF Happenings:
Find out how to create an Endowment Fund of your own.
Read the latest on our blog.
See how ECF connects you with Edmonton’s community.
Check out some of the amazing funds our donors have created. 

ECF Grants:
* Click here to see all ECF Grants. 

Upcoming Student Awards:
* Click here to find details for all of our student awards! 

The Well Endowed Podcast is produced by Edmonton Community Foundation. 

Photo courtesy of Boyle Street Community Services.

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On this episode, our correspondent Theodora MacLeod introduces us to the very talented AV (Ann Vriend). We learn about the inner-city has shaped her music, and how one front-porch in the neighbourhood of McCauley has brought people together.

AV was a recipient of a 2022 Edmonton Artists’ Trust Fund Award. The Edmonton Artists’ Trust Fund (EATF) is a joint initiative of Edmonton Arts Council and Edmonton Community Foundation.

It invests in the creative community by supporting living and working expenses, allowing exceptional local artists to devote time to their artistic career. It also encourages artists to stay in the Edmonton community.

The EATF just celebrated their 25^th anniversary on November 20^th, when it awarded 25 new recipients for the award.

Links:
Hear more from AV and the Inner City.
Keep up with AV at her website.
Learn more about the Edmonton Artists’ Trust Fund (EATF).
Check out the 2023 recipients.

ECF Happenings:
Find out how to create an Endowment Fund of your own.
Read the latest on our blog.
See how ECF connects you with Edmonton’s community.
Check out some of the amazing funds our donors have created.

ECF Grants:
* Click here to see all ECF Grants.

Upcoming Student Awards:
* Click here to find details for all of our student awards!

The Well Endowed Podcast is produced by Edmonton Community Foundation.

Image for this episode is courtesy of AV (Ann Vriend).

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On this episode, we meet Eric Rice, Eric recently created the Edmonton Affordable Housing Maintenance Fund here at ECF, to support people experiencing housing or income insecurity.

Eric has been involved in housing and homelessness in various ways over the years. It is a complex and overwhelming issue, and the people experiencing houselessness are often met with stigmatization and judgement.

With an issue this big, it’s hard to know how we as individuals can make a difference. That’s one reason Eric began his fund, and why he continues to be active with organizations that are working to end homelessness.

Eric’s fund will launch on November 22^nd, at the film screening of “Push: The film – The Shift (make-the-shift.org)”, a new film from director Fredrik Gertten. The event will be hosted by the Edmonton Coalition on Housing and Homelessness. The film looks at how rising housing prices all over the world are creating cities that are too expensive to live in.

Links:
Sit in with the Edmonton Coalition on Housing and Homelessness (ECOHH).
Check out the film “Push”.
Get your tickets to attend the screening on Nov. 22nd.
Check out Alberta Street News – Alberta’s only street newspaper.
Watch “This Is Where We Live”.

Related Articles:

• Home Affordability Declined in September as Stress Test Hit New High,  by Penelope Graham, Ratehub.ca.
• Canadian Real Estate Prices Are Growing Over 10x The Rate of Incomes – Better Dwelling, by Stephen Punwasi, BetterDwelling 

ECF Happenings:
Find out how to create an Endowment Fund of your own.Read the latest on our blog.
See how ECF connects you with Edmonton’s community.
Check out some of the amazing funds our donors have created.

ECF Grants:
* Click here to see all ECF Grants.

Upcoming Student Awards:
* Click here to find details for all of our student awards!

The Well Endowed Podcast is produced by Edmonton Community Foundation.

Image for this episode provided by Lisa Pruden.

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On this episode, freelance producer Emily Rendell-Watson explores new innovations in local agriculture that could impact the future of food security in Edmonton. 

Food security is the topic for our 2023 Vital Signs report. Edmonton Community Foundation (ECF) and Edmonton Social Planning Council (ESPC) have partnered to create this report, and we’ve learned a lot about food in our city. 

In our previous episodes, we’ve talked about food security over the past 10 years and where we are today.  We also looked at how food is more than just basic survival – it brings communities together so we can thrive.  

Today, we look at how innovations like hydroponics and community growing could impact the future of food security. 

You can hear our previous episodes on food security in Edmonton here:
*Food Sustains Thriving Communities
* Hunger Happens Here

Vital Signs:
Register to attend the 2023 Vital Signs Launch: On-line or In-Person.
Read our  Vital Topics:
* Food Security in Our Time.
* Hunger Happens Here.
See the 2013 Vital Signs report on Edmonton Food Security

Links:
Learn more about PROOF – Identifying policy options to reduce household food insecurity (utoronto.ca)
Read their 2021 report: Household-Food-Insecurity-in-Canada-2021-PROOF.pdf (utoronto.ca)
Find out more about LFG Annual Event (ladyflowergardens.com).
Check out YTC GARDENS – Growing Together.

ECF Happenings:
Read the latest on our blog.
See how ECF connects you with Edmonton’s community.
Check out some of the amazing funds our donors have created.
Find out how to create an Endowment Fund of your own.

ECF Grants:
* Click here to see all ECF Grants.

Upcoming Student Awards:
* Click here to find details for all of our student awards!

The Well Endowed Podcast is produced by Edmonton Community Foundation.

Image for this episode is courtesy Kelly Mills of Lady Flower Gardens.

Transcripts by Karli Drew.