Only Attending Afternoon Workshops

If you're only attending the afternoon workshops, then check this button and fill in your choices for the half-day.

Culture Shock

Housing co-ops are mission and values-driven. These concepts serve as guides to how co-ops develop. Two concepts that are central to how a housing co-op, like any organization, develops are systems thinking and a subset, strategic planning. This workshop will provide an understanding of the utility of these ideas. When applied to organizations, these concepts offer opportunities for continuous growth and perhaps most of all, and to avoid many of the counterproductive issues that can challenge co-op communities.

Through this workshop, housing co-ops can enhance empowerment to further positive change in their co-ops. Learn to go beyond individual behaviour and imagine your co-op as a system.

Facilitator: Larry Birckhead

Artificial Intelligence & Housing Co-ops: What Boards and Members Need to Know for Responsible Use

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly embedded in
everyday tools used by housing co-ops — from document creation and meeting support to communications and decision support. For boards and members, who share responsibility for governance and decision-making, this raises important questions about accuracy, fairness, accountability, and appropriate use within community based organizations.
This workshop provides a plain-language, non-technical introduction to AI designed specifically for housing co-op boards and members. Participants will learn what AI is (and what it is not), where it is already showing up in commonly used software, and how it may influence governance, oversight, and day-to-day co-op activities. Through practical examples and facilitated discussion, the session explores both opportunities and risks, with a strong emphasis on responsible use, human judgment, and shared accountability. Participants will consider how AIgenerated information can be helpful, where it can be misleading, and why transparency, clear boundaries, and human oversight matter.
Designed to support education and capacity-building, this workshop helps boards and members develop a shared understanding of AI and their collective role in guiding its use. By the end of the session, participants will feel more confident asking informed questions, setting expectations, and making thoughtful decisions about if and how AI tools should be used within their co-op communities.

Facilitator: Mike Klein

Strengthening Community through Communication

This workshop is more a strategic than skill-building session. It’s about understanding what’s needed in a communications tool kit, and the steps to develop the capacity to use these tools.
The Co-op standards of sound management, good governance, and principled leadership have in common the need for effective, honest, and open communication. All three of which lead to a healthy, co-op community.
During the workshop, participants will engage in a series of exercises designed
- To draw out a high level understanding of the role of communication in a healthy housing co-op.
- To determine the key barriers that can interfere with communication, and
help each other uncover factors and actions to reduce these barriers.
Participants will perform a self-assessment to prepare them to communicate well; i.e. define the content of their tool kit.
Participants will create an Action Plan to take with them, based on their discoveries and the suggestions arising from the exercises.

Facilitator: Carol Sutton & Lynn Corrigan

What derails the day: Lessons for Governance

Having professional co-op management handle the day-to-day operations of a housing co-op allows the board to focus on its governance responsibilities. But in practice, the line between management and governance can get blurred.
Management companies regularly encounter situations that begin as operational matters but can quickly raise governance questions for the board. How should these issues be handled? When does the board need to become involved? And how can boards and management work together without stepping into each other’s roles?

Listen to a panel of co-op management staff talk about common day-to-day challenges and how they can impact governance. Through practical examples and discussion, participants will look at how clear roles, good communication, and a strong board-management relationship can help co-ops navigate these situations effectively.
Participants will leave with a better understanding of where management ends and governance begins—and how boards and management can work together to support a well-run co-op.

Panelists: Lisa Berting, Liz Peters, Raman McIsaac
Moderator: Lindsey Murphy

Experiences of Aging in Place for older adults in Metro Vancouver co-ops

What is aging in place? It is the desire to stay in one's home for as long as possible. Today, 80% of Canadians over the age of 65 would like to age in place. However, for older adults this is not always feasible or safe. By 2050, the number of adults over the age of 65 will have risen by 50%. The confluence of our aging population and the need for both physical and social health support is a critical issue for all levels of government that must be addressed. Building more co-operative housing may be one supportive housing solution for dealing with this crisis.

The workshop will navigate the findings from the research project performed in partnership with CHF BC on how co-ops can support aging in place for older adults. Specifically, it will highlight the key insights of affordability, place-attachment and community, and the built environment for healthy aging in place. We would also like to highlight the importance of intergenerational knowledge sharing in and between co-ops and hope to have one of the participants speak to this.

This workshop is a knowledge mobilization and dissemination activity. The purpose of this workshop is multi-fold. It is to better inform more co-op members about aging in place (AIP). while hopefully also benefiting participants who are already AIP, are thinking about their future of AIP in co-ops or are working in the housing sector and have ideas on how to improve AIP in co-ops. It will be a platform to hear about our research but also to hear about others' experiences.

Facilitator: Claire Dreyfuss

Only Attending Morning Workshop

If you're only attending the morning sessions, then check this button and fill in your choices for the half-day.

In it Together: How to use Digital Filmmaking to Tell the Story of Your Co-op

How do we promote the co-op movement in the digital age? How do we preserve the stories that make our co-ops unique? How do we celebrate the people that brought our co-ops to life, and that make them the vibrant communities they are?

At a time when co-ops are often misunderstood (and sometimes even maligned) in the press and by the general public, and when support for our model depends on the caprices of ever-changing local, provincial and federal governments, the importance of demonstrating the value of co-op housing to the world has never been greater. The rise of cheap, accessible digital filmmaking tools can provide a powerful new means for sharing our movement with the world.

In this workshop, filmmakers Pat McClain and Benjamin Walsh (In It Together: Stories from Paloma Housing Co-op) will guide you through the basics of creating a visual narrative. We will cover structure and storytelling techniques, best practices for conducting interviews, and tips for keeping your film visually interesting. We will also discuss equipment (with an emphasis on inexpensive, free, and easily accessible options), editing software, and ways to distribute and share your film. You will leave with all the basic information you need to get started on making a film about why your co-op is unique and important.

Facilitator: Pat McClain & Ben Walsh

The Power of "No": Setting Limits, Staying Connected

You’ve been asked for something or to do something. Maybe you’ve already got too much going or the timing isn’t right, or it’s just not for you. There’s countless reasons to set limits. Many of us can set clear boundaries only in some situations or only with some people. Others might notice when we need to set a limit, but can’t quite act on it. Or maybe when we set a boundary, we feel uncomfortable or guilty or we may suddenly respond in anger. Some of us don’t notice we are at our limit until it’s too late. Setting clear limits enhances our connections. Too often people think that setting boundaries means refusing to do something, or being rigid or selfish. Sometimes setting boundaries feels uncomfortable, so it seems easier if we don’t set them. In fact, when we respectfully set clear boundaries and support ourselves in setting them, it feels good! Having healthy boundaries enhances our productivity and improves our relationships with one another. Learning Objectives At this introductory experiential workshop, you will 1) be able to describe 2 kinds and 3 functions of boundaries 2) have the chance to experience the relief of a) setting a clear boundary comfortably & b) having your boundary respected

Facilitator: Shayna Hornstein

Housing and the Care Continuum

We want seniors to be able to age in place in their co-ops for as long as they wish (and able to do so). However, there may be a time when looking at alternative options for housing becomes the reality. This workshop offers an overview of the wide range of alternative housing options available throughout BC. We will explore when it’s an appropriate time to look at other options, questions to consider such as how to afford making the change and how members can continue to age in place.

Facilitator: Ann Marie Carlson

Cutting through the Noise: Advocacy that Gets Heard

How do we engage with and influence decision-makers in an era of political and policy disruption?

In a time of global instability, economic uncertainty and increased polarization, organizations are grappling with responses by some governments across the country – austerity measures, cuts to jobs, shifts in narratives and priorities. Housing co-operatives play a vital role in driving public policy change and advancing efforts to combat the housing crisis. But in a time characterized by completing priorities, changing narratives, and shifting areas of focus, achieving change can be more challenging. How do you cut through the noise? How do you make an issue matter?

In this session, we’ll explore the changing reality of public affairs and the growing importance of strong government relations strategies, advocacy readiness and strategic engagement in an increasingly competitive and polarized political environment.

Participants will learn hands-on, practitioner-built strategies focus on doing advocacy, and understanding it. We’ll explore government relations fundamentals, campaign planning as a critical strategy for the current moment, and how to craft a strategic narrative, build support and demonstrate momentum, and leverage a variety of tools and tactics. Participants will share their experience and gain tangible insights to apply to their work in their own co-ops.

Facilitator: Hilltop Public Affairs