Thunder Bay Archives

An Interview with Andrew Scavarelli

Andrew is currently the Director of Ontario Works for the County of Simcoe and he is also Chair of OMSSA’s Awards Committee. Andrew has nearly 15 years of experience in the successful and integrated delivery of municipal social services. He began his career with the District of Thunder Bay Social Services Administration Board (TBDSSAB) in 2009, where he held progressive leadership roles, and played a key-role in TBDSSAB’s commitment and transition to an integrated service delivery model.

Known by his colleagues as an influential leader, strong consensus builder and exceptional communicator, Andrew is a visionary leader who continuously demonstrates his commitment to furthering social and human service integration.

This interview explores his experience working with different communities and his overall experience and contributions to the human services sector.

Celebrating Urban Indigenous Housing Solutions as part of National Truth and Reconciliation Day

Ontario is estimated to have a shortage of approximately 22,000 deeply affordable urban and rural Indigenous community housing units. The Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres (OFIFC) is dedicated to working with partners to deliver housing solutions in communities across Ontario that close that deficit and deliver tangible reconciliation commitments. But often, these innovative housing solutions face pushback and are labeled as controversial, often because of stereotypes and subconscious bias against Indigenous people that exist in many communities. Suze Morrison for OFIFC discusses how achieving true Reconciliation requires a joint effort from stakeholders, community members, and government at all levels.