Durham College students set to gain work experience while supporting local shelter Posted on November 29, 2024 at 12:19 pm. Durham College (DC) is partnering with the Regional Municipality of Durham to support people experiencing homelessness, while providing valuable work experience opportunities for DC students. The 1635 Dundas Street East project in Whitby aims to provide safe and inclusive housing solutions to help individuals and families who need it most. A 45-bed low barrier shelter with wraparound supports was opened in the building at the end of March 2024, and has provided a safe and supportive environment to over 100 unique individuals. Phase 2 will focus on creating housing units with onsite access to health and social supports and services. A recent meeting in early November about DC’s role in the project focused on how students could be involved. “It was a great meeting, lots of excitement and innovative ideas about how students on field placement can support shelter patrons,” said Lorraine Closs, a professor in the Faculty of Social & Community Services’ Social Service Worker program and research lead with the Social Impact Hub in the Office of Research Services, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (ORSIE). “We have a long-standing, strong partnership with the Region of Durham. We’ve done a number of multi-year research projects together.” As well as sharing a formal conceptual design of how the housing space will be expanded in Phase 2, the Region also discussed the services that might be needed and how students across DC faculties could help work with them. With a vision to create a multidisciplinary, holistic support for the new shelter, the Faculties of Social & Community Services; Health Sciences; Hospitality and Horticultural Science; and even Media, Art & Design are all potential candidates for work-integrated learning opportunities. Closs is hopeful that one or two may even be able to start as early as January. A Steering Committee will decide which DC programs get connected first based on the needs of the shelter. Lisa McIntosh, Social Services Director Income & Employment Support for Durham Region, says that having DC on board will help the region to achieve its goals for the project. “By fostering community partnerships, we create opportunities for individuals to support one another and work toward a deeper understanding of how we can collectively make a difference. Durham Region looks forward to working with Durham College to enhance 1635 Dundas Street East’s ability to help individuals regain stability. 1635 Dundas Street East exemplifies the strength of community.” In addition to helping to support services and patrons at the low barrier shelter, the potential placements will offer fantastic hands-on learning for students, said Closs. “There are so many opportunities for students from many faculties to use the skills they are learning in class and put them in to practice in real life.” She added that a bonus will be the empathy that arises from this sort of practical experience. “Research has shown that students who do a work integrated learning experience with the homeless population really change their perceptions and overcome bias and stereotypes.” The partnership will also provide applied research opportunities through the Social Impact Hub, one of five research centres at DC. Potential topics to investigate include the impact of these learning opportunities on students and their perceptions of homelessness, benefits of student interaction for shelter patrons, and the impact college involvement in service provision has on community member resistance to shelters. Closs, who has already been twice recognized with a DC Researcher Award of Excellence in 2019 and 2023, has submitted multiple research project applications, including for multi-year project funding. There’s also exciting research potential in documenting the pathway that the team is currently pursuing, to serve as a blueprint for other community collaborations. For students, Closs says the partnership will be a win-win. “This project can also help students become aware of their own privilege. It’s an opportunity for them to support a vulnerable group of people and make a difference in their lives.” Durham College study examines impact of exercise on physical and mental health for forensic patients Posted on September 19, 2024 at 8:28 am. Researchers at Durham College (DC) are partnering with Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences and the Abilities Centre in Whitby to examine barriers to exercise for forensic patients and how community-based exercise could impact their physical and mental health. Dr. Erin Dancey, a faculty member in DC’s Fitness and Health Promotion program, is leading the three-year project through the college’s Social Impact Hub. The research is made possible through a $350,000 College and Community Social Innovation Fund (CCSIF) grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CHIR) which was announced on September 13. “We’re interested in the impact of exercise on not just physical fitness, but as a means to increase social connections and improve mental health and wellness and quality of life,” said Dancey. “We met with Ontario Shores and they were already trying to think about ways to get their patients exercising more and the Abilities Centre is close and aims to provide an inclusive space for all individuals in the community, so it all came together.” The overall goal of the project is to develop exercised-based treatment options that will reduce health disparities and inequities experienced by Canada’s forensic patient population, people who have been found not criminally responsible for an offence or unfit to stand trial by the courts due to mental illness and are hospitalized and receiving treatment to improve their mental health. Forensic patients with mental illness are more sedentary, have reduced levels of physical fitness and are at a higher risk for obesity as compared to the general population for several reasons including the impact of medication on metabolic health and barriers to exercise while accessing care in a hospital setting. While other studies have demonstrated the benefits of exercise for people living with mental illness, there is limited research focusing specifically on forensic patients. “It’s interesting, important research for patients in an institutional, hospitalized setting because it has the potential to improve their quality of life,” said Dancey. The first phase of the research project will look at barriers to engaging in community-based exercise for patients receiving forensic psychiatry care at Ontario Shores. In the second phase, patients participating in the study will engage in community-based exercise at the Abilities Centre and the researchers will investigate the impact on physical fitness, quality of life, social isolation, mental health and sleep quality. At DC, Dancey will work with Faculty of Heath Sciences faculty member Dr. David Copithorne and Jennifer Bedford, a faculty member in the Faculty of Media, Art and Design. The project also comes with experiential learning opportunities for students from both faculties. “We will hire Fitness and Health Promotion students as well as Community Mental Health students as research assistants so they will gain experience with the research ethics approval process, data collection, fitness assessment and prescription, and working with a vulnerable population and community partners,” said Dancey. “We’re also going to hire Media, Art and Design students to help create a video outlining the project findings as well as infographics that will share our results with a broader audience.” Benefits of the research may include creating a low-cost treatment for people living with mental illness that can be used in combination with medication which could be expanded to patients in the general psychiatry and outpatient clinics at Ontario Shores and elsewhere. It also provides the Abilities Centre and other similar community recreation centres with new tools and ways to support a marginalized group, people living with mental illness. Funding allows Social Impact Hub to study and improve mental health care for Black communities Posted on September 13, 2024 at 1:30 pm. Researchers at Durham College’s (DC) Social Impact Hub are launching a project to study and improve mental health care for Black communities thanks to a $360,000 federal grant. Announced on September 13, the grant is from the College and Community Social Innovation Fund (CCSIF), funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). According to the Mental Health Commission of Canada (2022), 35.4% of Black Canadians experience significant psychological distress, but only 1.2% of them seek the aid of mental health services. With that in mind, ‘Bridging the gap: Developing Culturally Responsive Mental Health Care with and for Black Communities’ will explore the experiences of Black patients and frontline workers in emergency, acute and community mental health settings. Beginning this fall, researchers will collect data and work with members of the Black community, caregivers, and frontline workers to co-create resources from a culturally responsive lens. The project will be led by researchers from the Social Impact Hub with a team consisting of Black community-members and academics. “This is a very important project,” said Dr. Crystal Garvey, lead researcher and a faculty member in DC’s Nursing – Collaborative Bachelor of Science (BScN) program. “Historically, when decisions are being made for members of the community who have to access the healthcare system, they’re made by leaders and experts who are not representative of the groups they are serving or making decisions for. What makes this research different is that it is a co-creation piece, where those who actually use the services and are navigating the system will now have a say in what bridging the gaps look like” The Social Impact Hub is partnering on the project with the Health Research Council for People of African Descent, the Regional Municipality of Durham, Black Health Alliance and Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences. DC students will have the opportunity to contribute to the new initiative, with three being hired each year. Two students from the Faculty of Health Sciences will provide support as research assistants, while one student from a Media, Art and Design program will assist in documenting and promoting the project. “We have some really amazing stakeholders that are going to be engaged in this project. I am deeply grateful that they are ready and willing to listen, and that’s the first step to changing any narrative,” said Dr. Garvey. “I am so appreciative and humbled by our community leaders who are involved in this project. They are being intentional with giving space to voices who historically have been ignored or silenced. Because of this project we all now have a seat at the table to engage in sincere discourse to create the authentic change needed.” Dr. Garvey and her fellow researchers hope to gain the trust of the Black community and encourage them to seek mental health support before crisis hits. “I hope that we can be the community that breaks down barriers and makes sure that mental health care is being received equitably and fairly,” she said. “This research, in collaboration with community support and involvement, is going to change the status quo and belief systems associated with mental health.” “I say with all confidence that it’s going to be a game changer.”
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