Supporting impactful community research
Our grants and research awards are designed to seed-fund research projects led by experienced academic researchers and community researchers/service providers collaborating to address gaps in community mental health and addressing community needs, while integrating the insights of people with lived experience into each stage of their project.
Amy Ecclestone
How satisfied are people in Canada with the mental health and substance use services they receive? Analyzing MHRC’s national polling, Amy Ecclestone documented differences across service types, symptom severity and income. Her findings highlight gaps in access to care and the need for support that better meets the needs of people facing complex challenges.
Sarah Prosper
Nature can create space for young people to reflect, connect and talk about mental health in their own ways. Sarah Prosper worked with Indigenous youth from Eskasoni Mi’kmaq First Nation using photovoice to explore how nature and nature-based programming can support well-being, self-expression and youth-led conversations about mental health.
Sianna Williamson
Finding meaningful work can support well-being, but employment systems do not always reflect Inuit cultural and social realities. Sianna Williamson’s research with Ivirtivik explored the employment experiences of Inuit people in Montréal, identifying barriers and supports that can inform more culturally safe and inclusive approaches to employment.
Nikki-Rose Hunter-Porter
Mental wellness services in rural First Nations communities do not always reflect local knowledge, priorities and experiences. Working with St’uxwstews te Secwépemc of Bonaparte First Nation in British Columbia, Nikki-Rose Hunter-Porter explored the social, cultural and systemic barriers shaping access to care and identified community-grounded directions for more culturally safe and responsive services.
Nashit Chowdhury
During the COVID-19 pandemic, racialized essential workers faced overlapping health risks, financial uncertainty and barriers to culturally responsive mental health supports. Nashit Chowdhury combined MHRC national polling data with interviews in Calgary to examine these pressures and the strategies workers used to cope, generating evidence to inform more accessible and inclusive community supports.
Karen Aglukark
Healing from trauma is deeply shaped by relationships, culture and community. Working with Aqqiumavvik Society in Arviat, Karen Aglukark explored Inuit understandings of healing and social support, generating community-informed knowledge to support more culturally respectful mental health research and practice in Nunavut.
Laurence Sonier
For firefighters, workplace culture can shape whether mental health concerns are discussed and whether support feels accessible. Laurence Sonier’s research with firefighters in Edmundston, New Brunswick examined how stigma, organizational culture and workplace relationships influence help-seeking, identifying practical opportunities to strengthen mental health support within fire services.
Peter Gilhuly
Recovery from addiction and intergenerational trauma can look different when healing is grounded in culture, community and lived experience. Peter Gilhuly’s Sacred Synergy project worked with Takla Nation to explore community-led approaches to recovery, creating space for people to share their experiences and identify culturally grounded pathways toward healing and wellness.
Mark Sinyor
A Harry Potter novel becomes a way to teach coping skills in the classroom. Dr. Mark Sinyor and his team use Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban to introduce middle-school students to cognitive behavioural therapy through a free mental health literacy curriculum. The MHRC-supported online platform makes the program accessible beyond the classroom, with documented visits from more than 78 countries and territories.
Leena K. Augimeri and Margaret Walsh
Children and families who complete Stop Now And Plan (SNAP) can continue practising key self-regulation skills through a mobile coaching app. Leena K. Augimeri and Margaret Walsh’s project develops interactive videos, activities and tools informed by families and tests their usefulness in a small pilot.
Chris Bowie
Young people experiencing early psychosis can face self-stigma alongside serious mental health challenges. Chris Bowie’s BOOST program combines cognitive behavioural therapy and peer support in an online group format, with follow-up assessments examining changes in stigma, mood, relationships and suicidal thoughts.
Shannon Scratch and Alex Elkader
Siblings of children with disabilities can have their own emotional and social needs overlooked. Shannon Scratch and Alex Elkader’s team adapts a peer-group program into iSibworkS, a six-week virtual intervention that helps siblings share experiences, practise coping skills and build self-esteem, while developing versions for younger children and teenagers.
Erin Fredericks and Nathan Thompson
What can young 2SLGBTQI+ people learn from community members who lived through the AIDS epidemic? Erin Fredericks and Nathan Thompson’s youth-led project brings generations together to build resilience, belonging and practical mental health resources through recorded interviews and workshops.
Ted McDonald and W. Shane Journeay
Workplace injury claims involving mental health can last much longer than other claims. Ted McDonald and W. Shane Journeay use linked administrative data to identify the workers and occupations experiencing traumatic mental stress injuries and inform earlier, more targeted support.