See the systems. Explore what could change.
What happens when getting support means navigating multiple services, repeating your circumstances, meeting competing requirements, and waiting, all with no clear path forward?
The Empathy Project is an interactive learning experience developed by people with lived experience of homelessness in partnership with the Alliance to End Homelessness Ottawa. Through fictional profiles and simulated service settings, participants explore some of the decisions, barriers, trade-offs, and administrative demands people encounter while seeking housing, income, employment, and other essential supports.
The experience creates a shared starting point for deeper conversations about poverty, homelessness, and how our systems could work better.
What to expect
Following an orientation, each participant receives a fictional profile and enters the simulation space. There they will move independently through a series of service stations staffed by trained volunteers. Instructions and QR codes guide the journey as participants encounter applications, eligibility requirements, waiting periods, and changing circumstances.
The activity explores navigating systems rather than recreating the experience of homelessness. Participants are not asked to perform a character or disclose personal experiences, but are rather encouraged to empathize with the experiences of others. Each narrative pathway offers a different perspective, with no winners, losers, or single finish line.
A facilitated debrief brings participants together to reflect on what happened, connect their observations to broader systemic issues, and explore opportunities for action within their own work and communities.
From understanding to action
The Empathy Project centres three core ideas:
- Poverty and homelessness are shaped by systems and policy choices.
- Stable housing and income create a foundation for well-being.
- Greater coordination and collaboration can reduce barriers and create better opportunities.
The debrief discussion encourages participants to examine how discrimination, disability, and trauma affect access to services, alongside the resources and support professionals need to do their work effectively.
Learning objectives
Participants will have opportunities to:
- Identify barriers people encounter when navigating housing and social services.
- Recognize how requirements, delays, and gaps between services can compound.
- Examine assumptions about individual choice and responsibility.
- Reflect on how policies and everyday practices affect dignity, access, and housing stability.
- Identify opportunities for coordination, collaboration, and systems change.
Who it’s for
The Empathy Project supports learning among service providers, healthcare and community organizations, students and educators, researchers, advocates, public servants, elected officials, and organizational leaders.
Debrief discussions and learning priorities can be adapted to the audience, creating space for conversations relevant to participants’ roles and responsibilities.
Available variations
Choose from Ottawa, national, and rural homelessness variations. All three are available in English and French.
Our team will help you identify the best fit for your group and connect the discussion to your community’s context. Custom regional or focused variations are available on demand.
Planning your event
The standard experience is a three-hour, in-person session for groups of 40–80 participants. Contact us to discuss other group sizes or scheduling needs.
Host organizations provide an accessible venue, invite participants, and arrange refreshments and space for volunteers. The Alliance coordinates event delivery and volunteer training. Hosts outside of the City of Ottawa also support local volunteer recruitment and identify a contact to assist with local adaptation.
The activity typically uses smartphones and QR codes. If device access or other participation requirements present a barrier, we will work with you to plan accommodations. Our team will discuss room arrangements, equipment, volunteer needs, and accessibility during planning.
Bring the Empathy Project to your community
Tell us about your audience, learning goals, preferred language, and location. We’ll work with you to explore how the Empathy Project can support learning and action in your organization or community.