Checking the pulse of the local community: Tools to gauge wellbeing in communities across Canada
Working with a diverse group of community stakeholders, including people with lived experience of mental illness, mental health professionals, Indigenous cultural safety experts and police instructors, Associate Professor Jennifer Lavoie and her research team designed authentic, live-action simulations featuring a range of mental health crises to better prepare officers to identify and respond to mental health calls.
The Mental Health Crisis Response (MHCR) program is now mandated for all Ontario police officers.Researchers in the the (CRSP) examine the intersections of the practices and experiences of security on technologies, populations, spaces and brokers. They recognize that asking questions regarding the effectiveness and impact of security practices requires an understanding of peoples’ perceptions and experiences of them.
CRSP members use rigorous methods that are sensitive to participants’ social location and circumstances, and draw from a range of data sources to provide robust analyses of security practices. They are committed to enhancing scholarly research as well as influencing policy, practice, and social change by working with researchers across multiple disciplines and institutions, as well as government, industry, and community stakeholders.
CRSP partnered with the University of Guelph and York University to produce an original documentary, .
Using a case study of three mid-size cities in Canada, the film features a conversation among two people with lived experience of homelessness and housing precarity, a service provider, a business owner, and a member of law enforcement about the causes and consequences of homelessness, public safety, and ways forward.
