Resources

We collect a variety of resources, tools and training programs on a wide range on topics that focus on supporting our most vulnerable communities.

Care for Creation Guide

Many parish communities have been looking for ways in which they can be better stewards of creation. Our friends in the Diocese of Ottawa have put together a comprehensive guide for parishes to reduce waste, build fellowship and minimize their impact on the environment. Available in English and French.

• Guide for Parishes – Care for Creation (002)
• Soin de la création – Guide pour les paroisses
  
  

Truth and Reconciliation Commission

Reconciliation is a cornerstone of the Catholic faith. We must continue to learn, listen and support our First Nations, Métis and Inuit brothers and sisters. A first step in accomplishing this is developing a thorough understanding of and commitment to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report. Below you can find the report’s Calls to Action. You can read the full report and explore supporting materials at the TRC website.

TRC Calls to Action English

An important part of understanding and appreciating our Indigenous communities, is acknowledging their stewardship of the land we call home. Land Acknowledgements are an important practice that are becoming part of our collective consciousness. There is still much more work to be done however. If you are hosting an event, or meeting within your parish or your community, consider learning more about the land on which you are standing, and acknowledging those who have cared for it. You can learn more about Land Acknowledgements through the below websites:

• Native Land: native-land.ca
• Canadian Association of University Teachers: Caut.ca
• Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres: www.ofifc.org
  
  

Give Us A Chance to Succeed, Voices From the Margins

In April of 2016 the Diocese of Hamilton in partnership with HOPE (Hamilton Organizing for Poverty Elimination) hosted a three day Social Audit. These audits are done once every five years around the province with the support of a provincial, multi-faith advocacy group called ISARC (Inter-faith Social Assistance Reform Coalition). The audit is meant to take a snap-shot of how our communities are impacted by our social assistance programs and where we are falling short. This information is then compiled and used to inform provincial policy and advocacy efforts.

The audits are modelled after United Nations hearings in which those with lived-experience come to share their story with a group of listeners who bare witness, ask questions, and use their influence in their communities to further initiate change. Over the course of three days, those with a diverse lived-experience in poverty and on social assistance came to share their experience to a number of community leaders including Bishop Douglas Crosby, City Councillor Aidan Johnson, Academic Co-ordinator for Journalism at Mohawk College, Sue Prestedge and Director of Clinical Programs and Urgent Care at St. Joseph’s Hospital Carolyn Gosse, among others.
The report compiled from this audit provides an important look at what it is like for those who live under the poverty line within our communities. You can read the full report below.

Social Audit Report Hamilton 2016

A Brief Flowering of Hope: Life after Ontario’s Basic Income Pilot 

Sixteen Hamilton residents described their experiences living in poverty and being in the Ontario Basic Income Pilot Project. The pilot gave them hope and the opportunity to improve their lives. With steady, modestly higher incomes, they could eat better, buy clothes and medicine, socialize more and participate more in their communities. Their physical and mental health improved and as it did, many took steps to permanently improve their lives, through education, better accommodation or paying down debts.

A Brief Flowering of Hope