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.
Raymond Jordan Johnson-Brown
For Indigenous youth in care, identity and belonging should be understood in their own words, not defined only by the systems around them. Raymond Jordan Johnson-Brown is working with youth and Tasiutigiit to explore how storytelling, creative activities and youth-directed research can support conversations about mental wellness and a stronger sense of belonging.
Madison Young
Mental health screening during pregnancy and after birth can help identify when support is needed, but the tools and practices used must reflect the people receiving care. Madison Young is examining how perinatal mental health screening can better incorporate First Nations mothers’ cultural, social and health-care contexts to support more culturally safe care.
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.
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.
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.
Dante Carter
Economic abuse can limit a person’s independence, safety and well-being, particularly when access to housing, employment and financial resources is already constrained. Cree researcher Dante Carter is examining how colonial economic structures intersect with experiences of economic abuse in Onion Lake Cree Nation, and how Cree perspectives and community-led approaches may inform healing and economic well-being.
Jill Williams
For Inuit women in Nunatsiavut, sewing can be a place to share knowledge, build relationships and begin conversations that may otherwise be difficult. Jill Williams is exploring how sewing circles and gatherings on Inuit homelands can support connection and collective well-being, with community knowledge and Inuit ways of knowing guiding the work.
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.
