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.
Denise Sinclair
Denise Sinclair is exploring how Black male youth aged 12–20 experience the youth justice system and how racial bias may affect their mental well-being. Their accounts of distress, resilience and coping could inform more equitable, culturally responsive youth justice and mental health supports.
Thomas Willman
Suicide-prevention planning requires evidence that reflects the communities and regions it is meant to serve. Thomas Willman is examining Ontario coroner records from 2015 to 2025 to better understand the circumstances associated with suicide among First Nations, Inuit and Métis adults in Northern Ontario.
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.
Nate Taylor
Sport officials work under constant evaluation, public scrutiny and frequent verbal abuse, yet many sport organizations have limited capacity to provide ongoing mental health support. Nate Taylor is examining what would make digital and AI-supported tools credible, confidential and useful to Canadian officials.
Maryam Shahzad
Burnout can look different from one workplace to another. Maryam Shahzad is using national mental health data to examine how burnout varies across Canadian employment sectors, what contributes to it and how it affects people’s ability to work, with the goal of informing strategies that can apply across occupations.
Jersee Hill
Violence-prevention programs need to reflect the experiences and needs of the women they are designed to support. Jersee Hill’s research will gather professional and lived perspectives from Indigenous women to help strengthen Connections, a program for women with young children who have experienced violence in relationships.
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.
Stories that INSPIRE: Reducing social isolation and loneliness through storytelling
It all begins with an idea.
