What do charity and justice mean?

Dr. Tracy Smith-Carrier of the King’s School of Social Work will be organizing and speaking at the two-part Charity and Justice Symposia.

Sponsored in part by King’s, these two symposia will bring together frontline agencies, topic experts, students, faith-based sector advocates, and social policy champions for a community dialogue to examine the meaning, implications, and outcomes of charity and justice models for social support

The first part of the symposia, entitled Charity & Justice 101, will be held on April 30, 2019 from 7-9 p.m. at Innovation Works, 201 King Street, London. The follow-up symposium, Charity & Justice in Real Life, will be held on May 23 from 7-9 p.m. at Goodwill Industries, 255 Horton Street, London.

Charity & Justice 101 will include a panel discussion of leaders from faith and social service providers, followed by round table discussions.

The idea for the symposia began with a conversation between Dr. Smith-Carrier, who also works with the Ontario Basic Income Network, and a colleague from the Christian-Jewish Dialogue of Toronto about poverty. The discussion centred around what charitable programs do to lift people out of poverty, and the frequent loss of dignity for those who use the programs.

“Currently, we are making very little headway when it comes to poverty. There are solutions to poverty (but) we must come together and talk about those solutions,” says Dr. Smith-Carrier.

 “Charity and justice imply different things. Each is an important part of supporting individuals in immediate need and for helping them create a better and more dignified life. The implications of, and the relationship between, these models are sometimes not well understood which can lead to less than desirable outcomes. We want to explain the differences and similarities between a charitable and justice model, and how we might collectively pursue both to better support people,” says Dr. Smith-Carrier.

Dr. Smith-Carrier adds if the London model is successful, there are those in Toronto and Ottawa who will carry out something similar in their cities.

In addition to King’s, the symposia will be sponsored by the Ontario Basic Income Network, Christian-Jewish Dialogue of Toronto and the London Community Foundation.

In order to attend Charity and Justice in Real Life, you must attend Charity and Justice 101. You may use Eventbrite to register for Charity and Justice 101 at https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/charity-and-justice-symposium-tickets-56533832214