This 10 ½ month project that was conducted in Kings County Nova Scotia addressed the homelessness and need for affordable housing issue by community education and engagement processes. Original research was conducted with 52 ‘first voice’ individuals who had experienced homelessness or substandard housing conditions. A network of service providers and volunteers collaborated to present a Forum, which was attended by representatives of a range of Kings County ‘communities of interest’. First voice experiences were heard at the Forum through key speakers, the presentation of the findings of the interviews, viewing of a locally produced video that documented their challenges, and through active participation throughout the Forum. Recommendations from all who attended the forum were developed to identify how to obtain more safe affordable housing in Kings County. Six Working Groups were formed to take action to implement the recommendations. It is suggested that this project differs from previous research-only projects in that through actively engaging communities, concrete action to create strategies to increase safe affordable housing may be a result of the project.
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