Available Projects

#4909
Community-Based Researcher(s) in Residence

Established in 1966, Arthur Newspaper is the Trent University and Peterborough-Nogojiwanong Independent Press that aims to produce a bi-weekly newspaper during the academic year. Our goal as a print publication is to be valuable, constructive, informative and critical of developments in the Peterborough-Nogojiwanong and Trent community. Arthur acknowledges its privileged position in being free from commercial and administrative controls. We strive to protect that position by defending our editorial autonomy, and inviting unique avenues of conversation on educational, social, economic, environmental and political issues.

The project will create opportunities for students to do research in the community about the community, whether that is in the university community or in the Peterborough-Nogojiwanong. These will build opportunities for connection and collaboration, as well as promotion of community happenings.

The Community-Based Researcher in Residence, will work with the Editors to identify a sub-project across the following areas: Sports, Politics- Municipal, Provincial, Federal, Student Affairs- Trent Administration, Trent Central Student Association, Trent International Student Association. Strong candidates for these projects are students in Journalism, Political Studies, Cultural Studies, International Development Studies, and Canadian Studies. 

Research Theme(s): Social, Economic, Cultural, Environmental

#4911
Peterborough Workplace Culture: A Snapshot

At Legendary Coaching our focus is on helping people lead themselves and others well and create workplace cultures where people feel valued and heard and relationships are protected. We accomplish by offering a variety of products and services including: workshops (public and proprietary), one-on-one and group coaching, retreats and mediation.

The purpose of this project is to assess the overall communication and relational state of workplaces in the surrounding community. In addition, the project will identify the most significant problems in this area and their economic impact on businesses.

This project will benefit our clients and the local business community by helping identify the gaps in how their workplace culture and environment empower and care for their employees. Furthermore, it will help raise awareness of the importance of effective communication and protecting relationships in the workplace and how this can affect productivity and morale.

Research Theme(s): Social, Economic

#4937
Peterborough Lawn Bowling Club: Proud of Our Past and Building Our Future

The purpose of the project is to update the history of the Peterborough Lawn Bowling Club from 1901 to present day. The history will help to identify descendants of lawn bowlers currently living in Peterborough and to recognize prominent lawn bowlers from our past as tournament winners or president of the club. Working with historical archives and staff at Trent Valley Archives the student researcher will validate the historical facts and figures of the club's history from 1901 to 2004. In addition, you will capture the history from 2005 to the present. Your research will address questions such as who were the (prominent) Presidents from 1929 to 2004?

Research Theme(s):  Social; Cultural

#4943
Economic Impact of Financial Institution Closures to Rural Communities *This Project Has Been MATCHED!

 In the past number of years two townships in the County of Peterborough have been served noticed that the sole financial institution in the community will be closing its doors (TD in Millbrook, and RBC in Apsley). This project will study the social, challenges faced by residents of rural communities when they are left without a banking institution, as well as possible responses to these challenges. 

Research Themes: Economic, Social

#4944
50% LocalFood 2030 Economic Impact & Jobs Report

Intended as the Goal setting Report for raising awareness,support and funding for the community to come together to build the economic and physical infrastructure to support a dynamic local Food Supply Chain to the level of 50% of  food purchased at consumer prices for home consumption by 2030. This is all in line with the SPP aspiration goal of feeding ourselves in the city and County of Peterborough by 2036. 

Research Theme(s):  Cultural, Environmental; Social; Economic

#4945
Ayalik Fund *This Project Has Been MATCHED!

The Ayalik Fund gives Inuit youth who would otherwise not have such opportunities a chance to build self-esteem and confidence through challenging outdoor adventure, meeting other young Canadians, and social-cultural exploration. It will be very meaningful and useful for us and the youth of Nunavut to have a well-documented, academically-based research study of the impact on Inuit youth of their participation in our programs. For this research, you will develop an appropriate survey protocol, with interviews and/or questionnaires for program participants.

Research Theme(s): Social; Cultural; Environmental

#4947 National Database of Canadian Women's Anti-Violence Organizations, Services, and Programs *This Project Has Been MATCHED!

As part of the impact campaign being developed in association with the smallest steps, a documentary about violence against women activism, Nicole Bedford Films is conducting research on the best way to reach and engage new (and existing) activists. For this research, we would like to gain an understanding of the communications successes and pitfalls experienced by a geographically-representative sample of anti-violence organizations and activist-focused documentaries. Our goal with this project is to (a) Understand what types of successful techniques organizations and documentaries are using to increase and engage their supporters (2) What mistakes they are making that are potentially hindering their ability to reach new supporters, and (3) What techniques are scalable to different team sizes. We hope to share the final report with anti-violence organizations so they can learn from it and adapt their own strategies accordingly. Additionally, we plan to use the report to develop our documentary’s marketing strategy for our impact campaign.

The student will assist with data collection and complete a short case study/report on how anti-violence organizations use and can improve organizational visibility and audience engagement via digital platforms. This report will be shared on the smallest steps’ website and promoted among our partners.

Research Theme(s): Social

#4960
Old Mill Heritage Conservation District Mapping and Character Analysis

The purpose of this project is to undertake research which will inform the development of a Heritage Conservation District study in the Old Mill area of Lindsay. The study was initiated by City Council in June 2020 and is currently ongoing. The project will research the history and undertake a character analysis of the neighbourhood, and identify development trends that have shaped the growth of the area. The research will inform the development of a future heritage conservation district in this area which is intended to provide a long term planning framework and design guidelines to guide the growth of the area through a heritage lens. It will benefit the long term cultural and social health of the area by providing the background and historic information necessary to develop localized, specific planning guidelines which preserve and enhance the positive character of an existing mature neighbourhood. 

The student may conduct field surveys of local buildings and landscapes, historical research (both archival and secondary), and an analysis of geographic data, as well as develop maps which show different thematic and physical characteristics of the neighbourhood. 

Research Theme(s): Social; Environmental

#4965 Environmental Impact of Cyclocross Bike Racing in Local Parks

The Peterborough Cycling club has been running Cyclocross races in Peterborough and the surrounding area for 3-4 years. Shimano would like to have a study done that details the impact of these races to the parks. This study should also provide best practices to cycling clubs and cities across Canada when setting up the races in parks to minimize the impact to the environment.  

The student will create a manual that analyses the areas before and after the races, after being 1 day / 1 week / 1 month and possibly a longer time period (spring after).   Best practices for setting up a course should be used to have minimal impact on the park environment. The student will be expected to make a presentation to the Peterborough Cycling Club, Shimano Canada and the City of Peterborough with the results.

Research Theme(s): Environmental

#4968 Teach Outside the Box Program Review *This Project Has Been MATCHED!

TEACH Outside the Box is a participatory educational model that includes a 40 hour interactive workshop series and a 35 hour community placements. The TEACH program supports educators to become agents for change in their schools and communities. TEACH hopes to firmly unite theory and practice, as well as foster a network of educators engaged in social justice. TEACH is open to education students, community educators, and all those interested in social justice education. 

The purpose of the project will be a program review of TEACH Outside the Box. Since our program runs on a very small budget, we would like to assess the sustainability of the program. We hope that this will be a valuable opportunity for a student to engage in researching about a not-for-profit program that has strong ties to community, and has benefits for local organizations, students, and educators. The student will be sitting in our committee meeting and workshops to assess the program and committee for effectiveness and sustainability. They may be analyzing data collected by the Coordinator from participant evaluations.

Research Theme(s): Social; Cultural

#4970 The John Ball Legacy Project

Mr. Ball worked for CGE in Peterborough from 1963 – 1997 in various departments. His acute memory and careful documentation of activities and meetings at the plant provide an unprecedented account for guidance in planning and policies for the future. The purpose of this project is to gather all of the work of John Ball and all of the work initiated in direct response to his determination to bring justice to workers and their families who developed occupational disease as a result of working in the GE Peterborough plant. This work and documentation will be gathered and documented in a website so that it is available for current and future generations. 

This project would necessitate contacting numerous groups and individuals to ensure a robust compilation of the information and materials was documented. The mind map above is the a very simple beginning of determining the scope of this project. It would also include being able to organize the information into a website.

Research Theme(s): Social; Cultural

#4972 John Ball Files Project *This Project Has Been MATCHED!

In honour of the late John Ball August 25 1933 - May 12 2018. Following on the 14 year history of the OEHCP, our JBLP collective is determined to document and make available both to the Peterborough community and beyond, the legacy of the late GE worker/OEHCP mentor John Ball:  - GE worker/activist & Occupational & Environmental Health Coalition – Peterborough (OEHCP) mentor.

The purpose of this project is to create an archival digital documentation of the John Ball files. Over John’s 50 year commitment of to the health and safety of the workers at GE Peterborough, his documents regarding health and safety committee meetings, correspondence with provincial government, WSIB process for compensation, stories, observations and more.  Some initial sorting has been done. It’s 2020 and documents in boxes are no longer of use. Much of the history of the GE Peterborough plant would be lost if the files are not digitized and preserved for future research and reference. The student would make files accessible in an organized fashion by sorting, cataloguing, scanning, cross-referencing and compiling into a useful digitized resource for the future. All of this information would then be included in the John Ball Legacy website.

Research Theme(s): Social

#4973  FVS^Ontario  Coding for Web-Based Interface

FVS^Ontario is a distance independent, non-spatial, individual tree model that does not require data on tree spacing or individual tree locations within the forest stand. Its geographical scope covers the range of the Great Lake St. Lawrence (GLSL) and Boreal Forest species. It has great potential to be adopted as a forest management and planning tool by the MNRF and the forest industry for the management of Crown land forests in Ontario.

The student will perform a code transfer to make FVS^Ontario compatible with USFS-FVS web-based interface. The code transfer will open new venues for FVS^Ontario adaptability and functionality, which include but not limited to collaboration with the USFS-FVS, enhance pace of adaptation in MNRF and Ontario forest industry for Crown forest management, improve model functionality by calibrating it with most up-to-date growth & yield data from Ontario forests, a decision making tool for non-crown forest and plantation management, and research collaborations with academia and other research organizations. Given the fact, that Ontario is lacking any functional forest growth model, the FVS^Ontario is very much needed for better projections and evaluations of forest management options and add to our confidence in sustainable forest management in Crown forests. 

Research Theme(s): Environmental

#4974 App for Growth & Yield Sample Plot Data

 The purpose of the MNRF growth & yield program is to provide data and prediction tools needed for forest management planning on Crown forests and reporting on state of forests in Ontario. These data are collected from a network of over 7,100 permanent sample plots that have been established to meet data requirements for forest modelling and monitoring. Data collection from these plots is done on a recurring basis preferably on a 5 – 10 year remeasurement cycle. 

The intent of this project is to develop an App that can be (i) used to collect field data digitally on tablets, and (ii) transfer collected data directly into growth & yield data server. This project will improve data collection and management efficiency as well as save a lot of time. The growth & yield data is also available to the public free of cost. This project will also help to enable the provision of most up-to-date data to academia and researchers for any research and development purposes.

Research Theme(s): Environmental

#4980 Accessing Queer Needs in Peterborough-Nogojiwanong

The Trent Queer Collective strives to build and strengthen an active, visible and inclusive Queer community at Trent University and in the wider Peterborough area by connecting people to each other, to supportive networks, to information resources, and to Queer media.  The goal of this project is to better understand the needs and expectations of 2SLGBTQ+ folks in the Peterborough-Nogojiwanong area related to community needs, so organizations like the Trent Queer Collective may better provide for them. Research questions may include, but are not limited to: What is the community looking for from the organizations that represent them?; How can community organizations provide support for queer folks?; Which community organizations are already providing supports for queer folks, what do those supports look like, and where are the gaps in support? Students may be expected to participate in bi-weekly meetings with the TQC, complete a program evaluation, develop a survey, and conduct interviews to answer these questions.

Research Theme(s): Social, Cultural

#4981 ReStore Customer Research *This Project Has Been MATCHED!

Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region is a non-profit that works to provide affordable housing solutions for low income households.  To date we have built and provided a hand up into homeownership to 39 local families.  Currently we are embarking on our biggest project ever, a 41 unit fully universal design condo building in Peterborough. The purpose of the project is to understand our ReStore customers by exploring attitudes, needs, motivations, and behavior as it relates to our business.  The goal is to help our organization identify, understand, analyze, and retain our customers.  The more we understand our customers, the better we will be able to market to them and create products and services that meet their needs and grow our business.  

The stronger and more successful our ReStores become, the more social impact we will have in terms of building and providing more safe, secure, and affordable homes for local low-income households.  We will also be able to make a bigger environmental impact if we can continue to divert more unwanted materials from landfill.  Anther major social impact we can improve on is providing low cost options for building and household materials,  appliances, furniture and clothing – there really isn’t any other entity that is providing the low cost options the way ReStore is able to.  ReStores also offer employment and work experience opportunities for students, those with disabilities, those on OW or ODSP and seniors.  ReStores also offer volunteer opportunities to community which can have a profound impact for those that are socially isolated, retired or in need of upgrading/gaining skills.

And obviously the stronger and mores successful our ReStores can become, the more we can help our local economy, not only by offering more employment opportunities, but also by us purchasing more good and services through our ramped up home building program.

Research Theme(s): Social, Cultural

#4986 Assessing the Social Impact of the Clean Slate Enterprise Model *This Project Has Been MATCHED!

Clean Slate Enterprises is pursuing the establishment of a (multiple) social enterprise(s) in the Peterborough area. We anticipate that our ability to obtain initial and ongoing grant and loan monies including approaching government departments will be greatly determined by our ability to demonstrate the social outcomes of those enterprises. There are various tools out there to measure social outcomes. This includes several federal ministries that have started implementing pilot programs to accomplish a number of tasks including measurement models to support the direction of social value outcomes. Clean Slate Enterprise is looking for a student to undertake research to look into methods for measuring social outcomes and developing a research ‘tool’ that tracks and measures those.

Research Theme(s): Social, Economic

#4987 Updating the Research into the Feasibility of a Social Enterprise model for a Temporary Employment Service Provider in Peterborough

Clean Slate Enterprises is pursuing the establishment of a (multiple) social enterprise(s) in the Peterborough area. A report was issued in December 2016 on this model for the Social Planning Council. The report was commissioned to explore the “prospects of establishing a social enterprise that helps people get back to work with temporary and transitional jobs, acting as a bridge to full-time employment. This non-profit temporary employment provider would serve the Peterborough City and County. In this scenario the temporary employment model is seen as an alternative employment solution that would gradually yield to better job prospects for local job-seekers, as well as supplement incomes for those in receipt of ODSP or OW, while improving upon the temporary employment industry standards and the working conditions for those using for-profit temporary employment services.” The report concludes that there is room for a non-profit temp staffing provider in the area and there are numerous ways a new and improved model can address some of the concerning issues in the temp employment services and laid out a series of recommendations.

The data and findings are now about four years old. The purpose of the proposed research is to determine if the current circumstance continue to dictate that such an operation would be viable. Specific questions might include:

1.            Are there any changes since the report was published within either the local temporary agencies, the job seekers’ market or the industry’s need which would impact the matter of the viability of the proposed operation? What are those changes? How would they impact the question of viability?

2.            Are there other factors that currently exist or are projected to come into play (for example, social procurement policies/infrastructure money combined with community benefit agreements) which might impact viability?

3.            What industries are more likely to hire staff from this operation and can those industry players be specifically named?

Research Theme(s): Social, Economic

#4988 Peterborough Indigenous Peoples' Court - Best Practices and Evaluative Criteria

The purpose of the project is to provide best practices in the creation of an IPC for Peterborough along with criteria which can be used to evaluate its effect on an ongoing basis. The project will take into account Gladue and alternative practices in the Criminal Court. Research questions to be considered include 1) What are the best practices currently being used in IPCs both in Ontario and around the world? And 2) What metrics are most useful in assessing the success of such a court? The student will conduct a literature review/environmental scan, speak with local First Nations about goal-setting, conduct an electronic survey or formal interview with existing Ontario IPCs, and create a program evaluation measure.

Research Theme(s): Social, Cultural

#4989 Placing the Sale of Peterborough's Distribution Inc. Within Ontario's Broader Shift Towards Privatization

OPIRG works to create and sustain student and community-based engagement through research, education, and action on social justice and environmental issues; challenging oppression in all it forma; and using consensus-based decision making in a non-hierarchical and accessible setting.

In April 2020, The City of Peterborough finalized the sale of Peterborough’s Distribution Inc. (PDI) to Hydro One for $105 million dollars. The purpose of this research project is to contextualize Hydro One’s acquisition within greater political and economic trends. The sale of PDI was a highly contentious issue in the community, one study conducted by Environics found that 90% of citizens were against the sale of PDI. Broadly, the research will identify and analyze how/ if privatization has historically impacted the strength of democratic processes at the local level and Ontarians accessibility to formerly public goods. Locally, research will include identifying key stakeholders, outlining the terms of the sale, public consultations, and the proposed plans for reinvestment of revenue accrued form the sale. Through analyzing the historical impacts of privatization, the research will be able (1) situate the acquisition within the larger trend of privatization (2) predict future implications of the sale of PDI that may impact the Peterborough community.

Research Theme(s): Social

#4990 Impact Assessment of the Happy Wanderers

The Happy Wanderers runs under the Community Volunteer Income Tax Program. Free tax clinics are a crucial service in the Peterborough area, yet over the last few years, volunteers have run into trouble when running these tax clinics at certain venues where issues of insurance arise. Furthermore, they often receive calls from individuals who missed the tax clinics in the area that they were from. Issues such as these have hindered the organization from reaching the amount of people who need the service. The organization is hoping to learn from other free tax clinics in Canada, particularly others working through the Community Volunteer Income Tax Program in Ontario. By comparing best practices through a literature review and targeted survey, the research collected will benefit the organization and the community members it serves through an enhanced program delivery model.

Research Theme(s): Social, Economic

#4991 Examining Service Delivery Enhancements for High-Risk Individuals with Serious Mental Illness

The Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge (HKPR) Regional HSJCC functions to identify and influence system wide pressures and/or changes that support the decriminalization, deinstitutionalization and de-stigmatization of people who experience mental health, addiction and related conditions who come into contact with the Justice System. 

Those with Serious Mental Illness (schizophrenia, schizo-affective disorder) and personality disorders (anti-social) as well as Dual Diagnosed individuals and those with intellectual disabilities continue to be the hardest to treat, house and engage with. This occurs across all systems from hospital, housing and mental health and substance use organizations. What we have is a policy issue that continues to fail to effectively intervene with this population until they have seriously harmed themselves or someone else. How can our current models of care, create atmospheres where we learn to view the behavioural issues of SMI populations as a symptom of mental illness rather than a cause? How do our organizations view and respond to those with SMI who pose as high risk?  How can our community, or across the Four Counties, equip our systems to better respond and interact with the SMI population who will continue to have interactions with the police and prison system as a result of the failure of all other systems? To answer these questions, the student will partake in a literature review and survey or interview process to identify appropriate best practices for delivery of services to SMI clients across the service region and/or drawing on provincial, national, or global models.

Research Theme(s): Social 

#4992 GiveLo Community Synergy

GiveLo helps to facilitate the support of Peterborough grass-roots establishments and non-profit organizations by making giving locally fast, easy and convenient. GiveLo is 100% local! It was conceived and created in Peterborough by people that live in this community. GiveLo is a convenient way to give, donate, or receive a gift certificate while supporting a local Peterborough business or charitable organization. It’s easy: anyone who has an email address can discover and connect with their community. The purpose of the research project is to provide a program evaluation surrounding the following research questions: 

What is the importance and value to get involved with your community and what would encourage it? 

How can giveLo.ca bring more value to our local charities? 

How can GiveLo help with fundraising? 

What would be a wish list of a charitable organization/ what are advantages and disadvantages of GiveLo.ca? 

What is out there doing something similar? 

Students will have the opportunity to discover the value of networking, their strengths, and what Peterborough is about.

Research Theme(s): Social, Economic

#4993 Exploring Ways of Encouraging the Local Business Community to Utilize Undergraduate Students

The Greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce is a non-profit organization, fully funded by our Members, to strengthening the greater Peterborough business community. The purpose of this project is to discover ways for businesses to utilize undergrad students with the ultimate goal of future graduate students remaining in Peterborough area for work instead of seeking employment elsewhere. 

We believe there are 3 questions to fully answer this research goal:

1.            What should businesses do to engage with students so that they can be hired by these businesses?

2.            What should post-secondary institutions do to engage with students so that students can find employment in the local business community?

3.            What should students do to engage with the business community so that students can find employment in the local business community? 

These questions may be answered through a survey/interview.

Research Theme(s): Social, Cultural, Economic

#4995 Modernization of Membership Organizations

The Greater Peterborough of Commerce is a non-profit organization, fully funded by our Members, to strengthening the greater Peterborough business community. The purpose of this project is document the best practices of Membership organizations to meet the needs of their Members for 2020 and beyond. A secondary purpose is why these practices/methods/programs work.  Potential questions to be answered include: 

1. What do Member organizations do to best serve their Members? 

2. How have member organizations evolved their practices to meet member needs?

3. What are the primary challenges, risks, and opportunities associated with enhancing member service delivery?  Which Chambers of Commerce across Canada/Ontario are excelling in meeting member needs? What has lead to their success?

This project will include a literature review, surveys, interviews, and a final report outlining best practices, and containing 2-3 in-depth case studies/profiles on Chambers of Commerce that are excelling in service delivery to their member organizations.

Research Theme(s): Social, Cultural

#4996 Identifying Best Practices for a Resource Approach to Complex Client Populations Within HKPR

The Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge (HKPR) Regional HSJCC functions to identify and influence system wide pressures and/or changes that support the decriminalization, deinstitutionalization and de-stigmatization of people who experience mental health, addiction and related conditions who come into contact with the Justice System. The HKPR Region covers Peterborough City and County, City of Kawartha Lakes, and Haliburton and Northumberland Counties.

The Peterborough regional HSJCC is looking to better understand the resourcing needs of the complex client populations in order to identify best practices for supporting these individuals. The current delivery of services and resources to the complex client populations is often intensive, despite which many individuals continue to struggle to live safely and independently. The fundamental question being asked: ‘Is there a better way to provide resources and supports to complex client populations in the HKPR service area?

Research Theme(s): Social

#4998 Identifying Housing and Support Strategies for Incarcerated/Substance Abuser Clients

The Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge (HKPR) Regional HSJCC functions to identify and influence system wide pressures and/or changes that support the decriminalization, deinstitutionalization and de-stigmatization of people who experience mental health, addiction and related conditions who come into contact with the Justice System. The HKPR Region covers Peterborough City and County, City of Kawartha Lakes, and Haliburton and Northumberland Counties.

The HSJCC finds that clients living with addiction and clients who have been released from incarceration often experience greater difficulty in securing housing and accessing community supports. We are looking for a student researcher to examine the historical context of mental health stigma and mental health institutions, along with the closure of mental health institutions and the emergence of the community-based mental health approach.  We would like to know what the current methods of housing and level of support these clients receive? Looking across Ontario, what are the current best practices in the delivery of the community-based mental health approach?

Research Theme(s): Social 

#4999 Implementing the Kawartha Lakes Healthy Environment Plan

The City of Kawartha Lakes is s single tier municipality located in the eastern region of Ontario, home to 75,000 people.  The main economic drivers in the municipality are tourism, agriculture and light manufacturing.  The corporation offers services in all nine spheres of jurisdiction identified in the Municipal Act.

In 2017/2018 the City’s Office of Strategy Management engaged LURA Consulting to construct a community greenhouse gas emissions reduction plan.  The project elicited input from 2700 community members and had a formal work group and steering committee. The Kawartha Lakes Healthy Environment Plan (HEP) was funded by the Canadian Federation of Municipalities and was completed using the Partners for Climate Protection program. Council adopted the plan and GHG reduction targets in 2018.

The next step, the purpose of this proposal, is to construct an implementation schedule so that the GHG reduction target can be met.  The implementation schedule would require consultation with city staff and the various community stakeholders identified in the plan.

Research Theme(s): Environmental

#5000 Development of an Evaluation Framework for CarePartners Program Delivery

CarePartners is embarking on a modernization program of work that is focused on developing new integrated care delivery models.  As part of our project planning we are planning to evaluate the effectiveness of care delivery, including looking at process and outcome measures (including patient related outcomes and experience measures).   The evaluation framework will enable CarePartners to develop a standardized approach, with a high degree of fidelity for the evaluation of major projects and programs of work. 

Research questions to be answered include: 

What are the best practices across Ontario for evaluating home care program delivery?

How can staff and patients be included in the evaluation process?

What are staff and patients’ opinions on program delivery right now and how could their concerns be incorporated into program evaluation? 

Research Theme(s): Social, Cultural

#5001 Canadian Best Practices in Social Engagement for People with Disabilities and Their Caregivers

Autism Home Base is a grass roots, family-driven organization. Member participants identified a gap in social and recreational options and feared a life of social isolation. We are primarily volunteer driven. We are looking for assistance in collecting best practices (including our own) and creating evidence of the impact so that we can continue to grow our program to serve more families and self-advocates, and access funding to support that growth. Currently, there are long wait lists for housing and or day programs. Most adults who require supportive housing will stay on the list until their family caregiver dies or loses the capacity to provide care.  There are few options available that focus on joyful life experiences for the hundreds of thousands of Canadian adults living at home with aging caregivers or living independently with supports.

We are looking for a hardworking, self-driven student who can work to answer questions such as “How are private and public agencies across Canada best supporting adults with disabilities, and their long-time family caregivers to thrive with whole well-rounded lives?” and “What are the barriers to providing support to these clients?”. The student will be expected to conduct a literature review along with an interview component.

Research Theme(s): Social

#5003 Meeting the Needs of Diverse Audiences

Since its founding in 1948, The Arthritis Society has been the largest non‐government funder of arthritis research in Canada, investing more than $200 million in projects that have led to breakthroughs in the diagnosis, treatment and care of people with arthritis.  The mission of the Arthritis Society is to invest in cutting-edge research, proactive advocacy and innovative solutions that will deliver better health outcomes for people affected by arthritis. 

As the Arthritis Society moves towards a larger digital focus rather than in-person program delivery, our aim is to meet the needs of all 6 million Canadians living with arthritis.  This involves identifying barriers to arthritis-related information and care that individuals may face, particularly equity-seeking and under-served communities.  There are staged goals to this multi-year project. In Year 1 (2020-2021), through literature reviews and consultation with key community leaders, we aim to identify best practices in conducting a community health needs assessment, begin to identify barriers to arthritis- or other health-related information and care, as well as identify best practices in addressing these barriers.            

For the purposes of this project, under-served and equity-seeking communities may include, but are not limited to, people who self-identify as one or more of the following:  Indigenous; racialized; 2SLGBTQIA+; living with one or more disabilities; newcomers to Canada; English/French language learners; low-income; seniors; homeless or street-involved; living in remote or rural communities; incarcerated/institutionalized; as well as under-represented cultural and/or faith communities.  This initiative will take an intersectional approach, being mindful of how the numerous interwoven elements of an individual’s identity impact how they experience the world and their arthritis journey.

Available U-Links Projects: