{"id":6085,"date":"2017-06-28T08:00:28","date_gmt":"2017-06-28T12:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/communityfirst\/?p=6085"},"modified":"2017-06-23T13:50:27","modified_gmt":"2017-06-23T17:50:27","slug":"humans-of-cfice-mike-bulthuis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/communityfirst\/2017\/humans-of-cfice-mike-bulthuis\/","title":{"rendered":"Humans of CFICE: Mike Bulthuis"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Kira Locken, CFICE Volunteer<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>When it comes to the\u00a0issue of homelessness, Mike Bulthuis<\/a> understands his career path as working at the intersection of three things: policy, research, and community practice.<\/p>\n

Currently the director of\u00a0<\/em>the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness’s\u00a0<\/em>Making the Shift Youth Homelessness Social Innovation Lab<\/a>, Bulthuis became involved with the issue of homelessness while working on policy development for a\u00a0National Homeless Strategy in\u00a0the Canadian Federal Government.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I was drawn to that because of my interest in social policy and a welfare state but also these notions of building cities where everybody feels a sense of belonging and welcome,\u201d said Bulthuis of applying for his job with the government.<\/p>\n

Bulthuis eventually moved from working in the government to non-profit organizations. He became the executive director of the Alliance to End Homelessness Ottawa<\/a>\u00a0(ATEH) in October 2013.<\/p>\n

The mission of the Alliance reflected Bulthuis\u2019 idea of intersecting policy, research and community practice in that its mission is to eradicate homelessness by informing, supporting, and conducting research with\u00a0community partners.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s important is that those three things are always speaking to one another…within a community context,\u201d said Bulthuis.<\/p>\n

<\/u>Work with CFICE<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"Mike<\/a>

Mike Bulthuis presents on homelessness.<\/p><\/div>\n

Bulthuis became involved with CFICE while at ATEH. Through the partnership between CFICE and ATEH, Bulthuis became a community co-lead for the Tools for Community-First Community Campus Partnerships<\/a> Working Group.<\/p>\n

The purpose of this working group is to create a Community-Campus Engagement\u00a0Toolkit for community-based organizations which would assist them in establishing and sustaining relationships with post-secondary institutions. ATEH\u00a0became involved with CFICE, said Bulthuis, because the research and community components of their work align with the goal of the toolkit.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat the Alliance was really interested in was supporting the community to develop a greater capacity to do their work better, and obviously research is really helpful for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Youth Homelessness Social Innovation Lab<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In April 2017, Bulthuis left ATEH\u00a0to become the director of the\u00a0<\/em>Making the Shift Youth Homelessness Social Innovation Lab<\/a>. The lab was created through of a partnership between A Way Home Canada<\/a>, the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness<\/a>, and the MaRS Centre for Impact Investing<\/a>, along with other community partners.<\/p>\n

The Lab consists of multiple demonstration projects hosted by community organizations across Canada that aim to support homeless youth towards housing stability. Bulthuis\u2019 team works to support these projects by researching and evaluating their effectiveness and overall impact.<\/p>\n

There are two main aims of this research, said Bulthuis: To inform policies that allow these projects to occur, and to develop resources for other communities.<\/p>\n

For more information on Bulthuis’ work or youth homelessness, please check out the links below!<\/p>\n

Youth Homelessness Social Innovation Lab: <\/strong>http:\/\/homelesshub.ca\/content\/making-shift-youth-homelessness-social-innovation-lab<\/a><\/p>\n

Alliance to End Homelessness\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n