In this section, we present author selected submissions from the 2012 Canadian Community Psychology Conference, held in May 2012.
Click on "View All" below to access the papers in this section.
You can download the full PDF (including tables and graphs) for each paper, by going to each of the papers individually. Just click on the "PDF" link under each abstract.
The At Home/Chez soi project is a demonstration project examining the Pathways/Housing First (HF) model in five sites across Canada (Moncton, Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg & Vancouver). In contrast to the usual continuum of care model (or “supportive housing”), HF works by offering immediate access to regular apartments and providing mobile support, regardless of traditional “readiness” criteria (e.g. engagement in mental health care).
This poster describes a community psychology approach to collaboration, housing and mental health treatment.
This qualitative evaluation of the “Youth Futures” program from 2011 found that participants reported fostering new friendships with co-workers and were pleased with their job placements for their paid employment. Participants reported that the post-secondary experience gave them an opportunity to feel connected to other students on campus, and more confident in pursuing a university program of their choice (e.g., social sciences). Several improvements for the “Youth Futures” program were suggested including rotating job placements and more flexibility in the leadership training schedule. Overall this program shows enormous promise in making a difference in the lives of low-income youth.
The author designed an integrated social media and social advertising plan, the centre of which was the "Youth4Health Navigate This Youth Contest." The contest consisted of different sets of activities (e.g., physical or artistic) that offered Ontario youth age 16-25 a wide variety of opportunities to: (i) experience health navigation in a fun and engaging way; and (ii) to experience the insight that they already have some health navigation skills, and that by exploring some activities and videos on the Navigate This! webpage, they could further develop their existent health navigation skills.
This poster describes each tool in the CBSM toolbox and how we applied a community- (as opposed to individual)-focused style of social marketing to the challenges faced by for that grassroots group.
This research project intends to investigate the value and merits of the Premier’s proposal by exploring the perspectives and insights of those who will be affected by its legislation the most. By giving voice to the lived experiences and epistemic privilege of the bullied LGBT youth, this study intends to uncover the risks and potential benefits of the Accepting Schools Act as a social policy that could effect transformative change.
The Community Mini-Grant was founded in 2010 with the intention of supporting small, time-sensitive community-based projects that are consistent with SCRA’s mission, principles, and goals. We are happy to support the great work being done by SCRA members and their community partners, and even happier to be able to highlight examples of this work and share them with the GJCPP readership.
In this summary, Dr. Jordan Lewis provides us with insight into the Denali Center, in Fairbanks, Alaska, and a description of the impact that Community Mini-Grant funding had on his work there.
This study explored consumer preferences related to topics and vehicles of health promotion information in a primary care clinic in Winnipeg, Manitoba. 204 adult patients from one clinic completed a brief survey on these topics. Respondents expressed an interest in receiving information on a wide range of health promotion topics. In terms of preferred sources of health promotion information, 60% preferred to receive information from their own doctor, 50% from a recommended website, and 50% from brochures or booklets. Using multiple channels to assess interest and provide health promotion information may be the most promising approach in the long run. Given the limited time available in consultations with primary care providers, an effective approach may be to combine brief assessment of health status and interest in receiving health promotion information, discussion with a primary care provider, educational information provided in the form of a brochure or recommended websites, and then follow up by the primary care provider. The results of this study are a first step towards improving our understanding of the needs of the general public related to health promotion within primary care.
In 2009 the Mental Health Commission of Canada contracted the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and the Canadian Council on Social Development to undertake a national scan of housing and related supports for people living with mental illness across Canada. The ALC issue was widely mentioned across the country by people who contributed to the Turning the Key report, and in many provinces and territories as an important priority. Many studies have turned to examine the economic case for providing supported housing options as a financially viable alternative to bed blocking in hospitals.
The Turning the Key project is designed to inform the Mental Health Commission of Canada of the current housing and community support needs for people living with mental illness in Canada. The project, which was carried out by researchers at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and the Canadian Council on Social Development, provides a comprehensive national scan along a number of different dimensions. The result is designed to support planning and policy work in housing and related supports regionally, provincially/territorially, and nationally.
Based on a work at www.gjcpp.org. 
