Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation (CERA)
Anna's work at the Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation (CERA), an organization that promotes human rights in housing, involved providing clients across Ontario with information about their housing rights under the Ontario Human Rights Code. Anna advocated on behalf of clients who faced discrimination from landlords, and, when necessary, she filed human rights complaints on their behalf. Anna also created and distributed public legal education materials about human rights and housing.
Anna writes: "
Each time I was able to help a client enforce her rights and avoid having to enter into the long and at times frustrating human rights complaint process was rewarding. It felt good to be able to use the Ontario Human Rights Code to help people who would otherwise be homeless to access housing that they were originally denied because of stereotyping about people on public assistance, new immigrants, single parents, or other groups protected in the Code. I learned so much throughout the summer about everything from file management to substantive law to the challenges of operating a small, non-profit legal organization. However, the most important thing that I gained was experience doing direct advocacy on behalf of clients. Because of my experience as a Donner Fellow, I have confidence in my ability to manage conflict situations in productive ways."
