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Toronto’s Moez Kassam: Building Futures with Homes First

Posted On Tuesday, 22 October 2024 11:17
Moez Kassam Moez Kassam

As co-founder and Chief Investment Officer of Anson Funds, Moez Kassam has led the Canadian hedge fund to achieve outstanding returns for investors. Under his leadership, the firm has grown to manage $2.0 billion in assets across a diverse ray of investment strategies. However, Moez Kassam’s impact extends far beyond finance. He is also known as a philanthropist, deeply engaged in charitable activities, notably with Homes First Canada, which provides housing to those in need.

Moez believes his experience can be a catalyst for positive change. As a dedicated entrepreneur, he focuses on identifying ways to support impactful programs. This mission is shared by his wife, Marissa Kassam, Vice President of Philanthropy for Royal Bank of Canada Capital Markets, and previously worked at J.P. Morgan in New York, Hong Kong, and London. Together, they lead the Moez and Marissa Kassam Foundation, their primary vehicle for charitable efforts.

The foundation prioritizes local causes such as the Sinai Health Foundation, the Michael Garron Hospital, the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, the Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research, and Homes First Canada. While committed to local community programs, their outreach also extends internationally, focusing on strengthening neonatal care and training healthcare professionals in underserved areas of the Indian subcontinent.

The foundation engages leaders from multidisciplinary backgrounds to amplify its work including entrepreneurs, elected officials, writers, and artists all of whom contribute their expertise to important missions.

“The complex challenges of today’s societies are interconnected and require collective approaches to succeed,” says Moez Kassam. “Deeply rooted problems require an all-hands-on-deck approach that mobilizes talent, energy, and commitment across communities, organizations, and economic sectors.”

There is probably no issue more deeply rooted than homelessness worsening in both prosperous and challenging times. It poses significant challenges for governments and charitable organizations, as well as for every concerned citizen and business leader.

The Moez and Marissa Kassam Foundation is tackling the issue head-on in Toronto and in communities across North America. A key partner in this effort is Homes First Canada, which provides housing to Toronto’s homeless with 15 shelters that are lifelines for people in need, especially those from displaced and marginalized communities. The organization provides places to stay and essential support services to more than 1,600 seniors, families, and single adults across the Greater Toronto Area every night. From these statistics alone, the impact that this organization has on the population in the GTA is evident, but more still needs to be done to solve the problem.

The homeless population includes children, veterans, survivors of domestic abuse, and even individuals with full-time, low-wage jobs. Lack of affordable housing plays a major role in homelessness, as well as unemployment, mental illness, and drug addiction. These common factors, especially addiction, may result in neglect towards those affected – however, they may need it the most. Moez and Marissa Kassam recognize for many individuals, the root causes of their issues are complicated and often ignored.

According to Homes First: “The high needs of homeless adults are being further compounded by age-related illnesses and health conditions. Our agency has developed a support model that includes medical/psychiatric services, medication monitoring, assistance with maintaining personal hygiene and clean living spaces, financial management, navigating the criminal justice system, and a host of additional age-specific supports. All staff and volunteers are trained to work with individuals with complex mental health, substance use, and life skills issues.”

“This comprehensive approach to homelessness is the key,” emphasizes Moez Kassam. “Given the magnitude of the problem and the many obstacles faced by any charitable organization working on the ground, it’s remarkable what this team of dedicated and talented people can achieve.”

Moez believes that individuals and businesses play a vital role in addressing homelessness. Businesses can contribute goods, restaurants or grocery stores can partner with local organizations that collect unneeded food and donations of clothing, furniture, and electronic devices can also make a big impact.

Businesses with unused or under-utilized space can make facilities available as shelter, especially in colder months. They can also encourage their employees to volunteer and make it easy for them to do so, and can also implement programs to allow homeless individuals to work at a company as apprentices, interns, or employees, allowing them to gain valuable skills and expand their future employment opportunities.

Moreover, addressing mental illness and substance use within organizations can make a significant difference. Establishing resources for mental health, addiction support, and domestic abuse resources can make a huge difference.

Everyone hoping to solve this complex issue must make a long-term commitment, Kassam believes. The crisis won’t be solved quickly – the time to help individuals and families living on the street, or at risk of falling into homelessness is now.

“Homes First Canada needs our help,” he says. “And thousands of desperate people in Toronto and beyond need Homes First.”

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