{"id":405,"date":"2025-07-10T14:54:49","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T14:54:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hamiltonpoverty.ca\/?p=405"},"modified":"2025-07-10T14:54:49","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T14:54:49","slug":"a-tribute-to-lance-dingman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hamiltonpoverty.ca\/index.php\/2025\/07\/10\/a-tribute-to-lance-dingman\/","title":{"rendered":"A Tribute to Lance Dingman"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Our friend, Lance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lance Dingman was a passionate and courageous advocate and a much loved member of the Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction. Lance’s life was shaped by resilience and a deep belief in dignity for all. A long-time Hamilton resident, Lance turned lived experience, and challenges with disability, poverty, mental health into purpose, becoming a fierce voice for those too often unheard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lance\u2019s advocacy was always grounded in contagious hope. He believed change was possible, he worked for it every day and made others believe it was possible too. He was known for his warmth, humour, and his ability to make everyone feel seen. His contributions made Hamilton a more inclusive, compassionate city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lance championed tenants living in Hamilton\u2019s Residential Care Facilities. He was a relentless advocate for increasing the Personal Needs Allowance\u2014the small monthly stipend residents received for personal expenses, calling for dignity in how people in care were treated. Through the RCF Tenants Coalition he helped co-found, he brought this message to City Hall, the Provincial Legislature, local coalitions, and countless community meetings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a member of the City of Hamilton\u2019s Accessibility Committee for Persons with Disabilities, Lance worked to bridge gaps between system bringing critical insights on accessibility, housing, and climate justice. He also supported others as a mental health peer support worker, and was a mentor, connector, and friend to many across the city through the Mental Health Rights Coalition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was one of the first participants in Ontario\u2019s Basic Income Pilot, and quickly emerged as one of its strongest advocates. \u201cBasic income gave me freedom to live with some dignity,” he told the United Kingdom’s Guardian newspaper.  Basic Income allowed him to eat better, buy necessities, and pursue his dreams. When the pilot was cancelled, Lance didn\u2019t give up, he was one of the founding members of Living Proof, a speakers’ bureau of pilot participants who bravely shared their stories and fought for a national basic income. Lance was featured in a chapter of a book called The Case for Basic Income<\/a> <\/em>by Jamie Swift and Elaine Power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That wasn’t his only claim to fame, Lance was featured in Unimaginable<\/a>, <\/em>a documentary by filmmaker Terrance Odette, which offers an intimate portrait of Lance Dingman\u2019s life and advocacy. Filmed over several years, the film follows Lance as he navigates poverty, disability, housing insecurity, and his role in the Basic Income movement\u2014capturing both his personal struggles and his unwavering commitment to justice. We were honoured to host a special screening of Unimaginable last National Housing Day (November 2024), where Lance\u2019s story sparked powerful community dialogue on housing, dignity, and systemic change. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lance passed away unexpectedly on July 7th, 2025. Just a week before, he attended a community meeting on climate justice, still showing up for others, still speaking truth to power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He will be deeply missed\u2014and always remembered as a tireless champion for justice and dignity. As one friend recently highlighted, \u201cTo Hamilton, he was an advocate. To us, he was family.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Our friend, Lance.  Lance Dingman was a passionate and courageous advocate and a much loved member of the Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction. Lance’s life was shaped by resilience and a deep belief in dignity for all. A long-time Hamilton resident, Lance turned lived experience, and challenges with disability, poverty, mental health into purpose, becoming […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":422,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"series":[],"class_list":["post-405","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tributes"],"blocksy_meta":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/hamiltonpoverty.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/lance-3.jpg","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/hamiltonpoverty.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/PODCAST-logo-webinars-scaled.png","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"stitcher":{"key":"stitcher","url":"","label":"Stitcher","class":"stitcher","icon":"stitcher.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/hamiltonpoverty.ca\/feed\/podcast\/hrpr-lunch-hour-webinar-series","embedCode":"

A Tribute to Lance Dingman<\/a><\/blockquote>