Terrie, a member of the Ottawa community, has gone through quite a few uphill battles throughout her life that have affected the way she moves through the world. Though for some, these experiences may cause people to live life with a certain amount of bitterness, Terrie chooses every day to live life with compassion and does advocacy work for those with similar lived experiences to her own.

Terrie has experienced unstable housing throughout most of her life with ten years of that period being quite precarious. She has post anoxia, a form of brain damage, copes with various other disabilities, has a family history of depression and suspected childhood post-traumatic stress disorder. Despite these challenges, Terrie has managed her circumstances to the best of her ability while also raising three children, the two  with special needs and a  middle son, who was autistic and tragically passed away.

Throughout her life, Terrie has lived in both Ottawa and Toronto. She was raised mostly in the Toronto area and left home permanently at the age of 16. She was able to find assistance and community at the Community Health Centres in Ottawa, Ontario. Reflecting on her early experiences, she shared, “I was one of the first kids in Covenant House at the original location across from Allan Gardens”.  Terrie moved to Ottawa with her boyfriend at the time to try to live with her mother. When she realized it would not be suitable, she moved to a teen group home, the Youth Services Bureau group home in Ottawa. A counsellor there recommended she join Centretown Community Health Centre, as she was 17 and pregnant with her daughter. Terrie eventually switched to Sandy Hill Community Health Centre and remained a client for seven years before moving to South East Ottawa Community Health Centre. Approximately two years ago, Terrie returned to Centretown Community Health Centre.

Throughout her experience at Community Health Centres, Terrie shares she’s always loved “having a health team”. As her late son was autistic and needed assistance with toilet training, she appreciated the CHCs efforts to have weekly staff meetings to try to help her son. “I gave permission for the whole team to think of solutions. We went through a few different strategies to try and convince him to do toilet training”. Terrie also appreciated knowing other members of the team and the familiarity of seeing these people around the building as opposed to having her children be treated by new or different people.

Terrie started advocating for the precariously housed during one of her returns to Toronto. Though she never did experience homelessness on the street, Terrie did have firsthand experience living in rooming houses and shelters. She connected with people facing similar situations, and as someone who had the ability to read and understand the government messaging, wanted to help others understand policies impacting them. What solidified her commitment to advocacy came from attending a mom’s group at Bethany Home in Ottawa where she had briefly stayed during her pregnancy. This led to invitations to participate in advisory committees, which have now become official boards and groups.

As someone with her history, it was easy for Terrie to step into the role of advocate, working towards improving housing options for those precariously housed and even further, those with disabilities also looking for housing. Terrie feels that advocacy is important and expresses a belief that if you feel strongly about a cause and can provide support, you should. In her words, “It’s important to be an advocate because if you believe strongly in something, you should support it. I believe strongly that the voices of others who believe the way I do, the more we speak out, the more likely we are to get the outcome that we’re looking for.”

Based on her experiences, Terrie believes that it is important to appropriately compensate individuals participating on advocacy committees when possible. She believes that those seeking to help those in need that would work on certain committees should be compensated for providing their knowledge and insights. She suggests providing a thank-you gift, but also covering travel expenses and meals.

Terrie hopes that government officials and policymakers involve individuals with lived experiences in discussions that directly impact them. Many policymakers are often unaware of the current realities of those struggling with issues such as housing. Based on her experiences years ago, she raised concerns about issues during committee participation which led to positive changes on some projects.

Terrie encourages anyone reading this to engage in advocacy to the extent they feel comfortable. They can also donate to organizations that support their values such as those that advocate for safe housing.  Also significant is the importance of human connections. Acknowledging the struggles faced by the precariously housed by treating them with dignity and even with a friendly greeting can make a huge impact. She continues to be impassioned by her advocacy work which has led to partnership with The Alliance for Healthier Communities where she is recently elected Vice Chair of their Client & Community Research Partners committee and her work with Centretown Community Health Centre while still finding time to work and care for herself.

Thank you, Terrie, for sharing your experience and your dedication to advocacy work.