On February 3, 2023, EENet hosted a webinar to celebrate the winners of the 2022 Paula Goering Collaborative Research and Knowledge Translation Award. This bi-annual award is sponsored by University of Toronto Department of Psychiatry, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) Foundation, and the CAMH Provincial Systems Support Program. This year the award recognizes the excellence of two projects, both of which demonstrated innovation and effectiveness in how they integrated the expertise of diverse stakeholders into their research.
About the presenters
Engaging youth with mental health and/or addiction concerns in health care navigation and research
Mental health navigation offers a unique opportunity to engage more young people in MHA care, yet youth engagement in MHA navigation settings is not well-understood. The Family Navigation Project partnered with youth, decision-makers, providers, and caregivers as co-researchers to collect information from key stakeholders and develop a youth engagement framework. The presenters will discuss the approach and lessons learned on engaging youth in mental health and/or addictions navigation services and research.
Presenters: Thalia Phi and Roula Markoulakis
By the end of this session, attendees will:
- Understand what effective youth engagement entails
- Describe some of the ways youth engagement can be applied to mental health and/or addiction services; particularly, navigation services
- Discuss approaches to engaging youth in their own work
Building Success in Housing First Treatment: CMHA Ottawa Condominium Study and Toolkit
CMHA Ottawa owns 40 condominium units in regular buildings scattered across Ottawa, Ontario, that they rent to their clients with severe mental illness who are homeless or vulnerably housed. The presenters will share findings on their process in engaging stakeholders in an evaluation of the program, including the development of a knowledge mobilization toolkit and promotional video.
Presenters: Maryann Roebuck and Lisa Medd
By the end of this session, attendees will:
- Understand this innovative adaptation of a scattered-site Housing First program whereby an organization purchases and owns condominiums and rents them to clients with serious mental illness
- Hear about practical lessons learned based on findings from this program case study for consideration in different local contexts
- Learn about knowledge mobilization methods and tools used in the project.
About the presenters
Thalia Phi completed her diploma in Developmental Services at Centennial College where she found her passion for advocating for youth mental health. She joined the Family Navigation Project initially as a Youth Engagement Partner before moving into a Youth Advisor role on the inaugural Youth Advisory Council. She now supports youth FNP clients as the Youth Advocate with Lived Experience. Thalia has previously worked as a Peer Support Worker at Progress Place and hopes to continue using her lived experience to aid in supporting youth navigating the mental health and addiction care system. Thalia is also deeply passionate about the impact of mental health and addictions on racialized and queer communities, strongly advocating for more education and training to ensure competent care for marginalized populations.
Roula Markoulakis is a Scientist at Sunnybrook Research Institute and an Assistant Professor with the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy as well as the Rehabilitation Sciences Institute at the University of Toronto. Her research interests include care needs, access to care, and transitions in care for youth with mental health and/or addictions concerns and their families, with a particular focus on system navigation supports. Her current projects are focused on youth engagement in mental health and addictions navigation services, navigation as a support for transitions in youth mental health and addictions care, youth and family mental health needs during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the development of standards for youth mental health and addictions navigation supports.
Maryann Roebuck is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Centre for Research on Educational and Community Services at the University of Ottawa and the Canadian Mental Health Association, Ottawa Branch. She uses mixed methods to evaluate community mental health interventions and aims to build the research capacity of community-based organizations. She has a Master’s of Social Work and a PhD in Community Psychology.
Lisa Medd is the Housing Program Manager at CMHA Ottawa. She oversees the organization’s Housing First programs. She is proud of the agency’s demonstration of fidelity to Pathways Housing First and participation in Housing First national research initiatives. Lisa has a Master’s of Social Work and a Graduate Diploma in Program Evaluation from the University of Ottawa.
Leif Harris is an Honours student in Anthropology at Carleton University. He was a tenant advisor for the case study of CMHA Ottawa’s condo program, and has lived experience of homelessness. He is also on the youth advisory committee for the Schizophrenia Society of Canada. He conducts research about useful resources in communities.