The We Stand project addresses harassment and violent behaviour in co-op housing spaces.
About the Project
Across Canada, we are seeing an increase in conflict and aggressive behaviour, a trend that is also emerging in our housing co-ops, affecting interactions among neighbours, directors, staff, and other stakeholders. These issues have led to higher staff turnover, limited access to co-op offices and to staff, weakened governance structures, and unhealthy community relationships. This trend is not sustainable.
The We Stand project is committed to ensuring that housing co-ops remain healthy, safe, and respectful environments for everyone — both in the community and in the workplace. The project offers practical tools, training, and support to help co-ops recognize, address, and prevent harassment and aggressive behaviour.
Our Future
This project is still in its development stages, as we outline a strong framework for a future program.
Our immediate goals are to:
- Review current policies, training models, and sector challenges.
- Draft a harassment prevention framework tailored for co-ops.
- Develop a toolkit for boards, staff, and members.
- Design training modules on bystander intervention, trauma-informed response, and governance oversight.
- Present a rollout timeline for pilot co-ops and sector implementation.
Development and Implementation Schedule
Your organization’s viewpoint—whether as a member of the Core Team or an Early Adopter—will be instrumental in ensuring this program meets legal requirements and the real-world needs of the co-op housing community.
Our Team
The We Stand team is comprised of local co-operative housing federations, CHF Canada, and other sector-related partners and service providers.
Get Involved!
1. Join the Team
Our team of organizations will finalize the program content and ensure it aligns with operational realities across the sector. Participation involves pledging your support to the project, attending several working sessions, reviewing drafts, and contributing to implementation planning.
2. Support Us as an Early Adopter
For organizations that prefer not to join the core team, we invite you to become an Early Adopter. Early adopters will have access to the final toolkit, training modules, and implementation supports, and help validate the program during its initial rollout stage.
Pledge your support:
Contact Us
We invite your questions, comments and feedback. Please feel free to reach out to us at info@WeStand.ca.
Thank you for considering this opportunity to work together to create safer, more respectful co-op communities across Ontario.
Let’s take a stand together
