Best Seller Coming Up!

July 30th was Laurence Braun-Woodbury’s last day with the agency. Laurence was the Director of Housing and Support Services for almost three years. He loved the fulfilling work but got an offer that was just too good to pass up. Before he left, Laurence graciously wrote about why work with this agency in this sector has been so special and why, despite that, he made the difficult decision to leave. This is an inspiring example of how deeply held passions can come together and move us into new opportunities. Thank you, Laurence, for sharing this with us.

To the GSS Staff…

There is a part of me that will always regret leaving the George Spady Society. I first joined the agency as a crisis worker with what is now called the Health Services Team back in 2018. I worked twelve-hour overnight shifts at Balwin, four-on-four-off. I loved it. I’d worked in a Permanent Supportive Housing program before, but that was a nine-story, 145-unit behemoth in downtown Toronto. Back east I’d be lucky if I chatted with the same person twice in a week. Spady was different. At Spady I practiced what until then was only a theory for me: person-centred, trauma-informed care.

As the years went by, I took on new roles and responsibilities across the agency. I learned that this key practice philosophy lives in every corner of the agency. This commitment to the ethical and responsible care of the people we serve is unique and profound. It is an integral part of what makes this place so important. I hope you are as proud of your daily practice as I am.

There is no question that Spady is a special place. But somewhere along the way something about our work starting to nag at me. Why isn’t it working? Why was it that our sector had housed thousands of people through the same Housing First programs that ended homelessness in countries like Finland only to end up in a position where more people were experiencing houselessness than ever before?

I needed answers. So, I started reading.

I read academic articles, reports from government agencies, studies from think tanks, and, of course, books. What I learned is that the only factor meaningfully correlated with homelessness across regional and national environments is housing affordability. The simple fact is that when people can’t afford their homes, they become homeless.

This research hit me hard.

After familiarizing myself with the findings of the people working on this problem I’ve come to believe the single most important step to bring down housing prices and, therefore, to ending homelessness, is to reverse the financialization of our housing system. That is, to remove the financial interests that have artificially inflated the cost of housing for decades.

I felt compelled to bring more attention to these issues so, in 2023, I started writing articles. Those articles attracted some attention and earlier this year I was offered the chance to write a book on the financialization of housing for a Toronto-based publisher called Between the Lines.

This book deal is the reason I am leaving the George Spady Society. In many ways it is dream come true. Writing has always been a hobby for me. My first real foray into the craft was a novel titled Glamorous Failures that I published through a local micro-press in 2023. But this project is something different. A national publisher. A message I am deeply passionate about. This is more than a hobby. It is a chance to dedicate myself fully to pushing public discourse towards what I believe are the only long-term solutions to homelessness, and to do it in a medium—writing—that I have always wanted to explore more deeply. It is an opportunity I just couldn’t pass up.

But now that I face my final days with the agency I find it is bittersweet. I will miss the George Spady Society. I will miss its integrity and its decency. A part of me will always regret leaving the company of such a caring, honourable, and effective group of people.

I console myself with the thought life is long and we will remain fellow travellers in this field. I cherish the hope that our paths with cross again.

With all my love and respect,

Laurence Braun-Woodbury