Want to learn more about the affordable housing crisis and how you can support housing advocacy in Toronto? On Wednesday, November 26, 2025, Nellie’s will be hosting our first Toronto Women In Action (TWA) – Housing Symposium, a one-day event centering the voices of women and gender-diverse people in advancing equitable access to affordable housing. The theme for this year’s event is “Breaking Barriers: Housing Access for Women and Gender-Diverse People”.
At the beginning of the day’s events, the Nellie’s team will release their position paper on the affordable housing crisis in Toronto. This paper was created based on focus group discussions, with support from The 519, the Native Women’s Resource Centre of Toronto, shelter residents, and our own Women on the Move group for women with disabilities. In collaboration with like-minded local organizations, the event will feature four different presentations, followed by a culminating panel discussion:
Indigenous Voices in Housing: Decolonizing housing systems and advancing Indigenous-led solutions
Speaker: Pamela Hart, Executive Director, Native Women’s Resource Centre of Toronto
Gender Diversity and Housing Security: Addressing safety, discrimination, and inclusion in shelters and long-term housing
Speakers: Martha Singh Jennings, Director, Housing Advocacy and Support Services, The 519
Robert Frederick, Manager, Housing Support Services, The 519
Disability and Housing Access: Overcoming barriers in design, accessibility, and policy
Speaker: Tamara Angeline Medford-Williams, Director of Black Community Initiatives, DAWN Canada
Gender-Based Violence and Housing: Safe homes as a foundation for recovery and independence
Speaker: Harmy Mendoza, Executive Director, WomanACT
Panel Discussion – Policy and Advocacy Solutions: How governments and communities can remove systemic barriers to affordable housing
Speakers: Diana Chan McNally, founder and Coordinator of the Ontario Coalition for the Rights of Homeless People
Donovan Hayden, Organizing Manager, ProgressToronto
Harmy Mendoza, Executive Director, WomanACT
We welcome community members, advocates, and allies who wish to learn, engage, and support housing advocacy. Together, we will center the lived experiences of women and gender-diverse individuals to drive meaningful change in affordable housing systems. Due to our limited capacity, registration is limited to a maximum of two staff members per organization.
Michelle Pang, TWA Housing Advocacy Coordinator at Nellie’s, is really proud of how this event will be a powerful culmination of the TWA program’s work this year, from starting their first housing advocacy working group, to hosting webinars for Nellie’s clients and community members. “We’re really empowering the women we’re working with, training them to be stronger, and teaching them more about housing rights and advocacy,” Michelle says. “And then once they have the knowledge, they won’t feel as vulnerable and they’ll be able to share their knowledge with others.”
Knowledge-sharing between social services organizations is also a key part of their work. As Michelle explains: “We are trying to find more ways to collaborate with other social services organizations, exchanging information and sharing resources. We can do so much more if we work together, so we are trying to collaborate with more organizations in similar fields to create a more meaningful impact.”
Please visit our event registration form to join us on Wednesday, November 26, 2025 at the Holiday Inn Toronto Downtown Centre. Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis. Due to our limited capacity, registration is limited to a maximum of two staff members per organization. You will receive a confirmation email once your spot has been secured.
If you have any questions, please contact:
Michelle Pang – TWA Housing Advocacy Coordinator | 416-333-0412 | mpang@nellies.org
Maya Bras – TWA Project Support Worker | 416-333-5505 | mbras@nellies.org