Cover The Coast
Working Together on Housing Solutions
Cover the Coast is a regional housing initiative of the Sunshine Coast Affordable Housing Society. We bring together research, community knowledge and cross-sector partnerships to better understand our housing challenges and develop practical, coordinated responses.
Housing is connected to many aspects of community well-being—from health and aging to workforce recruitment, homelessness and access to essential services. Our role is to look across these systems, identify needs and gaps, bring the right people together, and help turn ideas into action.
Our work is grounded in research and strengthened by the knowledge and experience of community members, housing and service providers, local governments, health-care partners and other organizations working across the Sunshine Coast.
Housing Action Table
Bringing people together around housing.
The Sunshine Coast Housing Action Table (HAT) is a regional coalition that brings together organizations and community leaders from across the housing ecosystem.
Members include housing providers, social service organizations, health-care partners, local governments, community organizations, business and economic development representatives, advocacy organizations and others with knowledge and experience to contribute.
The Housing Action Table provides a forum to share research and emerging issues, learn about work underway across the region, identify gaps and opportunities, and build partnerships around shared priorities.
Working together allows us to make better use of local knowledge, expertise and resources—and to develop a more coordinated approach to addressing housing needs across the Sunshine Coast.
The Housing Action Table supports work in five key areas:
Public engagement and education
Research and evaluation
Capacity building
Collaboration and partnerships
Advocacy
Understanding our Community’s Needs
Good solutions begin with a clear understanding of the problem.
Research is a foundation of Cover the Coast's work. We gather and analyze local information, undertake community and stakeholder engagement, and work with partners and subject-matter experts to better understand housing needs, service gaps and emerging challenges.
Our research has explored a wide range of issues, including:
Social and housing needs — examining housing insecurity alongside the social services and supports people need to remain successfully housed.
Seniors housing and aging in place — assessing current and future housing needs, available housing and supports, and the experiences of seniors and caregivers.
Property owners and the existing housing supply — surveying property owners to better understand opportunities and barriers to creating or renting secondary suites and other forms of housing.
Treatment and recovery housing — assessing local needs and developing the evidence and business case for expanding treatment and recovery options on the Sunshine Coast.
Housing supply, land and development opportunities — examining housing inventories, land opportunities, development barriers and emerging housing models.
Workforce housing — identifying housing challenges affecting essential service workers and exploring practical responses.
Research does more than produce reports. We use what we learn to identify priorities, inform community conversations, support advocacy and help develop new programs, partnerships and housing solutions.
Research
Turning Ideas Into Action
Housing challenges are complex and rarely belong to a single organization or level of government. Cover the Coast works with local governments, non-profit organizations, health-care partners, funders and community organizations to explore, test and develop responses to identified needs.
Sometimes our role is to lead. Other times, it is to convene partners, undertake research, help develop a new initiative, connect organizations with resources, or support another organization that is best positioned to move the work forward.
Situation Table
Supporting the Town of Gibsons is overseeing a coordinated, cross-sector approach that brings service providers together to respond to situations involving individuals and families experiencing acutely elevated risk.
Reaching Home / Everybody Deserves a Home
Working with the Town of Gibsons and community partners to strengthen homelessness prevention, housing stabilization and pathways into housing.
Seniors Housing Forum
Partnering with the Sunshine Coast Resource Centre to bring community members, service providers and housing organizations together to explore seniors housing, aging in place and the supports needed as our population ages.
Treatment & Recovery Housing
Working with health-care and community partners and supporting Together We Can in its efforts to establish treatment and recovery housing on the Sunshine Coast.
Our focus is on collaboration that fills identified gaps, builds local capacity and creates practical solutions that can make a meaningful difference in our community.
Partnerships & Emerging Initiatives
Community Engagement
Research Informed by Community
Community engagement is an essential part of our work. Research and data help us understand trends and identify gaps, but the experiences and perspectives of people who live and work on the Sunshine Coast help us understand what those findings mean in practice.
We regularly share our research and participate in conversations throughout the community. Just as importantly, these conversations give us an opportunity to listen, learn and bring community knowledge back into our work.
Our community engagement includes:
Housing, seniors and community forums
Community workshops and information sessions
Official Community Plan and other local planning processes
Presentations to local governments
Presentations and discussions with non-profit boards and community organizations
Meetings with housing, health-care and social service partners
Community surveys and stakeholder interviews
Public education and outreach
This ongoing exchange helps ensure that our work remains grounded in local needs and experiences—and creates opportunities for community members, organizations and decision-makers to be part of developing solutions.
Make a difference
The Sunshine Coast Affordable Housing Society (SCAHS) is creating housing that strengthens our community by providing stability and hope for a better future.