Repair Exchange

The Repair Exchange is a community skill-sharing program where volunteer "fixers" help neighbours repair broken items — from clothing to small electronics — instead of throwing them away. Melisa first volunteered as a fibre repair person at the inaugural Repair Café at HSCA in September 2023, and also volunteered at the Crossroads Community Centre Repair Café.

In 2024, she was hired as Repair Exchange Coordinator for HSCA — a paid role where she facilitated four repair exchange events. Her responsibilities included booking fixers, coordinating venues, ensuring forms were completed, collecting data, and post-event reporting.

The Repair Exchange connects to Melisa's broader practice of community facilitation and her commitment to sustainability — the same values that inform her use of recycled materials in art, her permaculture training, and her belief that community-level skill-sharing builds resilience from the ground up.