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Dufferin Lived Experience Collective
About Us
We operate as a collective of people with lived experience of economic poverty and people without lived experience who strive to be allies. We share a commitment to consensus-based decision making, the deep and meaningful inclusion of people with lived experiences of poverty in decision making and program planning and the desire for meaningful change. We make decisions about research and knowledge sharing together.
Our History
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This project emerged from poverty reduction work in Dufferin County from 2017 to 2019. Community members shared the unique challenges of living in Dufferin County, a place where urban and rural life collide. This collective, focused on changing and challenging economic poverty, grew out of these exchanges.
Our Approach
We work from a consensus-based decision-making model, which means we seek to make decisions by agreement. We value lived experience, which means we believe people who know the day-to-day realities of social problems contribute essential knowledge to discussions of these problems. An inclusive space is important to us. We welcome people with disabilities, people from diverse racial or ethnic backgrounds, from different religions, and of different genders.
Our Goals
We strive to be a force for positive change. We work to share stories, information and resources for people concerned about economic poverty in Dufferin County created by people with lived expertise – including resources related to housing access, food security, and community supports.
