Black Youth Housing Equity Summit 2025
Strengthening Equity: Developing a Resilient System to End Black Youth Homelessness
📅 November 20 - 21, 2025
🕥 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
📍 Algoma University, Mississauga Campus, 5110 Creekbank Road
ABOUT THE SUMMIT
Join us for a groundbreaking two-day summit addressing the critical housing crisis facing Black youth across our communities. This collaborative gathering brings together Black youth with lived experience, community organizations, service providers, and key stakeholders to develop concrete solutions and policy recommendations. Through innovative presentations, youth-led initiatives, and collaborative dialogue, we're working toward a future where every young person has access to safe, affordable housing with dignity and respect.
Who Should Attend
🗸 Black youth with lived experience of housing insecurity
🗸 Community organizations and service providers
🗸 Policy makers and government representatives
🗸 Housing advocates and researchers
🗸 Social workers and support staff
🗸 Community leaders and allies
What's Included
🗸 Two full days of programming and workshops
🗸 Morning snacks and refreshments
🗸 Networking lunch (Day One)
🗸 All summit materials and resources
🗸 Opportunity to contribute to policy brief development
REST Centres is dedicated to supporting Black youth through comprehensive housing and support services. Through innovative programs like Bridge of Hope and FIRM (Family Intervention and Reunification Management), we work to address systemic inequities and create pathways to stable housing for vulnerable youth in our communities.
About
REST Centres
Summit Hosts
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Founder & Executive Director
REST Centres
Dagma Koyi is the Founder and Executive Director of REST (Restoration and Empowerment for Social Transition) Centres, established in 2015 to address systemic housing inequities faced by Black youth. A passionate advocate, she has led cross-sector collaborations with governments, research institutions, and community organizations to create culturally responsive housing solutions.Her leadership centers youth with lived experience, ensuring their voices inform both research and policy. From formal presentations at Peel Regional Council to hosting the Homelessness in Hiding: Our Youth Between the Cracks podcast, Dagma mobilizes knowledge to drive systemic change. She has partnered with the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness to evaluate REST’s Bridge of Hope program, advancing scalable, evidence-based models for youth housing. Recognized for her ability to bridge academic research with community practice, Dagma continues to champion equity-driven solutions that empower youth and transform housing systems.
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Distinguished Visiting Professor,
Former Regional Senior Justice,
Ontario Court of Justice
The Honourable Justice Gregory Regis was appointed to the Ontario Court of Justice in 1999, later serving as Local Administrative Judge in Oshawa and as Regional Senior Justice for the Central East Region—the first non-white person to hold that office. He retired in 2014 but continues to serve as a part-time judge. Justice Regis has built his career around advancing access to justice, with a particular focus on literacy as a barrier to full participation in the legal system. He has led workshops and presented internationally on this issue, including his paper Literacy and Access to Justice in Canada. Beyond the bench, Justice Regis has served as a community leader in numerous Black and Caribbean organizations and as a journalist and educator. His contributions have earned him multiple honors, including the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal and the Harry Jerome Lifetime Achievement Award.
Keynote Speakers
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P.C., C.M., O.Ont., C.B.E.
Canada’s First Black Woman Member of Parliament
Social Justice Advocate
Honorable Dr. Jean Augustine is a trailblazing leader, educator, and advocate for equity who made history as the first Black woman elected to Canada’s Parliament and appointed to Cabinet. A lifelong champion for social justice, Dr. Augustine is widely recognized for her pivotal role in establishing Black History Month in Canada and advancing inclusive policies at every level of government. With decades of experience navigating and shaping Canadian political and social systems, she brings unparalleled credibility and vision to the fight for housing equity. At the Summit, Dr. Augustine’s keynote, “A Better Future for Black Youth: Building a Canada Where Black Youth Can Thrive,” will connect Canada’s historical treatment of Black communities with today’s housing challenges. Her message will inspire action by highlighting youth leadership, resilient advocacy, and policy frameworks that can transform housing outcomes for Black youth nationwide.
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Assistant Professor, Design Justice Research Chair
School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape, University of Calgary
Dr. Marie Cecile Kotyk is a social planner, housing practitioner, and academic with over 15 years in public and non-profit sectors. She leads projects and research to confront spatial injustice and racial inequity in the built environment. At the University of Calgary’s School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape (SAPL), she is an Assistant Professor and Design Justice Research Chair. In this role, she founded the UDesign Justice Initiative (UDJI), a hub advancing equity-focused, community-led design by bringing marginalized voices into decisions. As a Doctor of Design scholar, she created Canada’s first Black Housing Equity Framework to address systemic anti-Black racism in housing policies and practices. This work has earned national and international recognition, winning her the 2023 Alberta Human Rights and Multiculturalism Scholarship (doctoral level). Cecile is the founder of Kotyk Consulting, advising governments and community organizations on equitable planning and community-led research. In 2025, she was featured among Avenue Calgary’s Visionaries for advancing design justice. Her teaching bridges research, policy, and practice.
Land Acknowledgement
We acknowledge the original stewards of the various lands we are on. We also acknowledge our Ancestors. We acknowledge all those who toiled without compassion or compensation. We acknowledge all the Elders and community stalwarts whose shoulders we stand on as we build, share and learn together for our collective liberation and sovereignty.