London Particular Council Social Justice Committee
2025-2026 Action Plan

The London Particular Council (LPC) Social Justice Committee is please to provide our action plan for the September 2025 to December 2026 period. We are committed to continue to provide resource information to our conferences which will help to engage everyone in our efforts to strengthen the need to address injustices which may result in our neighbours in need facing more barriers which can lead to their continued living in poverty. It is a human right that everyone has the opportunity to live a life that includes adequate housing and food security for their families. The four key issues we shall focus on are Housing, Homelessness, Prison Ministry, and Indigenous Reconciliation.

The LPC social justice committee currently has 12 members from 7 of 13 conferences. We invite every conference to appoint a member to function as their social justice rep or contact. This member would be asked to share regular newsletters which our committee shall supply. Please discuss these monthly news updates at each conference meeting. Please ensure your conference includes the Indigenous Land Acknowledgement at all conference meetings.

HOUSING-HOMELESSNESS-PRISON MINISTRY-RECONCILIATION

Housing:
Every human being should have the right to adequate, safe, and secure housing. London is a city very much in need of affordable housing. Affordable is a much-used term which has many ways to measure, most of which results in housing which is still unattainable for so many. Our LPC has taken action to be part of the solution to this housing crisis with the St. Vincent’s on Huron 73-unit apartment project at the St. Andrew the Apostle site. Please refer to the attached Housing/Homelessness document to learn more about our plans for the development of an outreach service program for the future tenants of St. Vincent’s on Huron.

Homelessness:
The homeless population of London has been estimated to be about 2500—3000 but is a difficult one to measure due to the very fluid changes that occur every day. The homeless population is one that SSVP does not have a lot of experience with as we usually meet our neighbours in need via the home visit. Homelessness is a major issue here in London and one we should feel obligated to become more active in. Please see the attached housing/homelessness document to learn more about our planned actions.

Prison Ministry:
criminal justice systems and simply gaining a better understanding of the effect on criminals, victims of crime and their families. The trauma associated with generational poverty, abuse, addictions and mental illness are all contributing factors to a person ending up in the criminal justice and prison systems. Our prison release kit program is but a small first step as we seek to become active in this mostly forgotten part of society. A London Prison Ministry Network (LPMN) plan will be one that has the potential to bring together all associated organizations and services related to this critical issue. Please refer to attached document for further details.

Reconciliation:
There is a growing interest across Canada regarding reconciliation with our Indigenous sisters and brothers. The question does arise regarding why SSVP should be interested in related actions. The answer is twofold but simple. Firstly, as Catholics and Canadians, we should feel obligated to take reconciliation actions. Secondly, people of colour, including Indigenous have and still suffer from systemic racism in many areas of society that result in higher ratios of those experiencing poverty. We would like to form the London Reconciliation Network to work towards a number of actions. One such action which we hope every conference takes is to include an Indigenous Land Acknowledgement at all conference meetings. Please refer to the attached document for further information.

Summary:
The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul’s basic principles are based on a caring, non-judgemental and understanding characteristic which seeks to alleviate the suffering, barriers and daily challenge our neighbours in need face. One question for our consideration is do we strive to really understand what poverty is, what people are enduring, and what kind of trauma they experience due to living in poverty? We need to find ways to better understand these four key issues. What better way to accomplish this than engaging with those in need in a meaningful and listening dialogue. Please share this report with your conference members and plan to discuss asocial justice topics at all future conference meetings. We shall provide material each month for your use and sharing. London is a great city but with its future growth comes the need to address the way we approach the issues I’ve listed above. The London SSVP can play a huge role in our actions and advocacy. Please support our efforts.

Jim Paddon,
Chair, Social Justice Committee