We, leaders of different religious and spiritual communities in Edmonton and area, come together to express our shared commitment to eliminate homelessness in our community. We support the challenging goals of A Place to Call Home: Edmonton’s 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness.
Over the years, religious and spiritual communities have done much to meet the needs of men, women and children living in poverty in our community, and have often been leaders in helping to create affordable housing opportunities for those in need.This historical engagement provides a solid foundation for us to do even more both now and in the future.
The successful launch of Edmonton’s 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness provides an historic opportunity for us to move beyond previous short-term strategies of managing homelessness, and to commit to a long term goal of actually eliminating homelessness in our community. Leaders from government, business, community, faith, and social service sectors have come together in common cause to develop and launch Edmonton’s 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness. This shared commitment has been a major factor in the successes achieved so far in the six years of the Plan’s implementation.
Call to Action
We call upon leaders of all orders of government to continue their public leadership for Edmonton’s 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness, and to provide the necessary program funding in the years ahead so that the ambitious goal of eliminating homelessness can be truly realized.
We recognize that safe, stable, and affordable housing is a key part of this human thriving. Everyone needs a place that can truly be called home. Religious and spiritual communities and individual community members are present in every part of the city, and we commit to continue and expand our presence in neighbourhood and city wide homelessness and affordable housing initiatives.
We commit our own religious and spiritual communities to continue to support present initiatives, to find new and creative ways to take action in support of Edmonton’s 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness and address the issues of homelessness and affordable housing in our communities. We have prepared a Congregational Housing Action Guide to support and encourage our congregations in addressing these issues in an effective manner.
We invite everyone from all sectors of society in Edmonton to become part of this important initiative to eliminate homelessness by committing to learn more about the causes of homelessness in our city, and to participate in specific actions in support of our homeless brothers and sisters in a spirit of solidarity and mutual respect.
We call for our religious and spiritual communities to work together more closely and make a major contribution to the success of this Plan. Our religious and spiritual communities share important values: respect for human dignity, solidarity with those who are poor and vulnerable, and an affirmation of the importance of inclusive and welcoming communities where individuals and families can thrive.
First signed on March 17, 2011 and in a renewed commitment November 13, 2014 by the following signatories:
Bishop Jane Alexander Anglican Diocese of Edmonton
Elder Fred Campiou Indigenous Elders Cultural Resource Circle Society
Major Ron Cartmell The Salvation Army, Alberta and Northern Territories Division
Rev. Harry Currie Presbytery of Edmonton-Lakeland, Presbyterian Church in Canada
Avau Fast Zoroastrian Association of Edmonton
Rev. Dr. David J. Fekete Edmonton Interfaith Centre for Education and Action
Rev. Mervin Gallant Edmonton Presbytery, United Church of Canada
Balvant Gandhi Hindu Society of Alberta
Patti Hartnagel Edmonton Monthly Meeting, Religious Society of Friends
Pastor Bonnie Hodge Beulah Alliance Church
Prem Kalia International Buddhist Friends Association
Rev. Brian Kiely Unitarian Church of Edmonton
Bishop Larry Kochendorfer Synod of Alberta and the Territories, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada
Rev. Kevin Kraglund Edmonton and District Council of Churches
Bart Lambrecht Baha’i Assembly of Edmonton
Pastor Wayne McNeilly Evangel Pentecostal Assembly
Bishop David Motiuk Ukrainian Eparchy of Edmonton
Rev. John Pasma Covenant Christian Reformed Church
Bryan Peacock Moravian Church in Canada
Masood Peracha & Sofia Yaqub The Edmonton Council of Muslim Communities
Dr. Randy Randhawa Sikh Society of Alberta
Pam Reichenbach Strathcona Baptist Church
Rabbi Kliel Rose Beth Shalom Synagogue
Archbishop Richard Smith The Catholic Archdiocese of Edmonton
Rev. Rick VanDewark Edmonton Evangelical Ministerial Association
Interfaith Housing Initiative 