Supportive Housing on the Menu at Dream Team’s Annual Fundraising Dinner

Hundreds of people from Toronto’s mental health community came together on March 19 for the Dream Team’s annual fundraising dinner. A wide array of consumer/survivors, supportive housing agency professionals, and politicians turned out at the Lithuanian Hall, where the Team’s exceptional skills and talents were showcased for an appreciative audience.

Parkdale/High Park MP Gerard Kennedy — a long-time supporter and ally of the Dream Team — kicked off the evening with an address about the importance of supportive housing. “I have long admired the tireless work of the Dream Team and their passionate efforts to remind us about the importance of supportive housing,” said Kennedy.  He was followed by Dionne Cunningham, a representative of the Ontario Human Rights Commission — where the Team has repeatedly made its mark over the years —  who talked about the imperative of fighting discrimination against consumers to create a just society. Cunningham was a last-minute substitution for Chief Commissioner Barbara Hall, who took ill but sent her best wishes along with a promise to combat housing discrimination and bigotry against consumers as steadfastly as all other forms of prejudice.

Four members of the Dream Team followed, doing what they do best — telling their personal stories of their struggles with mental illness, living on the streets, and how they got their life back on the path to Recovery through supportive housing. Afterwards, many members of  the audience said they were inspired to hear the members’ stories, discovering for the first time what tens of thousands of Ontarians have already experienced when the Dream Team travels every week to speak at schools, faith groups, community organizations and housing forums.

After dinner, Dream Team members demonstrated a whole different side, entertaining the audience with a selection of  popular songs, operatic arias, and stand-up comedy centered on the lighter side of mental health.

Among the many agencies who bought tables at the event to show support for the Dream Team’s continued mission were: PARC, Mainstay Housing, Houselink Community Homes, Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario, the Ontario Council of Alternative Businesses, and Habitat.