“The Mustard Seed”: A familiar name, but what are they all about and why are they coming to Lethbridge?

The Mustard Seed, a well-known non-profit across Western Canada, is bringing 35-plus years of experience in poverty alleviation to Lethbridge. In the cities where they serve, The Mustard Seed provides basic services, housing, and employment supports to those in need and partners with the community to address the root causes of poverty. In Lethbridge, The Mustard Seed is joining forces with Lethbridge Soup Kitchen in order to grow and expand the good work already taking place in the city. The establishment of a sober shelter and permanent supportive housing are two priority areas for The Mustard Seed Lethbridge. The case for additional shelter space and affordable housing in Lethbridge is strong. Between 2016-2018 Lethbridge experienced a 151% increase in the homeless population, 14% of Lethbridge households are considered low-income and 21% of renters pay more than half their income in shelter costs. More than 400 citizens are on the waitlist for affordable housing. The speaker will elaborate and argue for the importance of having safe, appropriate shelter and affordable housing, along with supportive programming that helps residents and community members move toward greater sustainability and independence. Speaker: Byron Bradley Byron Bradley is Managing Director of The Mustard Seed in Central Alberta and is currently overseeing operations for The Mustard Seed Lethbridge. Byron has worked for The Mustard Seed for more than 15 years. While attending university in Sydney, Australia, he became involved in programming for youth affected by poverty and has worked in the field ever since. Byron is passionate about putting his 20+ years of experience towards building hope and well-being for vulnerable and marginalized individuals in Lethbridge and helping those around him better understand the issues of poverty and homelessness. Date and time: Thursday, Dec 17, 2020 at 10am MST YouTube Live link: https://youtu.be/_QVwOxw7IAU In order to ask questions of our speaker in the chat feature of YouTube, you must have a YouTube account and be signed in. Please do so well ahead of the scheduled start time, so you’ll be ready. Go the YouTube Live link provided in this session flyer and on the top right of your browser click the “sign in” button. If you have Google or Gmail accounts, they can be used to sign in. If you don’t, click “Create Account” and follow along. Once you are signed in, you can return to the live stream and use the chat feature to ask your questions of the speaker. Remember you can only participate in the chat feature while we are livestreaming. Link to SACPA’s YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFUQ5mUHv1gfmMFVr8d9dNA