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    Affordable Housing and Homelessness

    Adequate, affordable housing is a key social determinant of health.  Healthy and inclusive neighbourhoods reduce health disparities and create sustainable environments for all citizens.
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    Healthcare Reform

    Equity-focused health reform requires a commitment to understanding and addressing the scale of health disparities and the underlying social determinants of health.
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    Immigrant Health

    Policy action empowers communities to shape and navigate their own health futures and wellbeing. The St. James Town Initiative is our key demonstration project.
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    Social Innovation

    A vibrant and sustainable third sector contributes to reducing the adverse impact of the social determinants of health.
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    Research

    Our research is grounded in what matters to the communities we serve. We support policy relevant research with communities, using a continuum of inclusive and participatory methods.
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  • About Us

    The Wellesley Institute is a Toronto-based non-profit and non-partisan research and policy institute. Our focus is on developing research and community-based policy solutions to the problems of urban health and health disparities. We are committed to advancing the health of urban populations. Our goal is to shift the social gradient of health, and to reduce the scale and severity of disparities. We address the social determinants of health to improve the health and health opportunities of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged. Learn more about our work

  • Wellesley News

    • York Region's homeless are suffering mentally and physically: Needs assessment

      Homeless people in York Region, north of Toronto, are suffering both physically and mentally. Those are the findings of a new needs assessment of homeless people from the York Region Alliance to End Homelessness. In addition to setting out details of the health needs of homeless people, the YRAEH assessment sets out ten practical recommendations. Three years ago, the Wellesley Institute supported Street Health in its assessment of the health status of homeless people in Toronto called The Street Health Report 2007. [...]

    • Reinstate long-form census for 2011, urges National Statistical Council

      Canada's National Statistical Council, the official advisory body on statistical issues, is calling for the long-form census to be reinstated for the 2011 census. The Wellesley Institute has joined with a long list of business, academic, research, policy and governmental groups that have expressed concern that the federal plan to cancel the mandatory long-form census will deprive Canadians of vital evidence that is needed for good public policy. In order to address some of the critical concerns raised during the ongoing national debate about the census, the National Statistical Council is recommending a detailed review and public consultation leading up to the 2016 census. Here is the full text of the National Statistical Council's statement: [...]

    • New housing blueprint for UK released by Chartered Institute of Housing

      The UK Chartered Institute of Housing has released Housing Pact: Making the Case for Housing - a blueprint for Britain. The pact sets out a series of key priorities, including investing in hew affordable homes; preserving and improving existing homes; supporting the housing needs of seniors; building housing solutions from the community up ("localism"); breaking down silos among governmental housing and community initiatives; protecting the environment; and tackling poverty. Canadian housing and homelessness advocates have been pressing for similar priorities in a new national housing strategy for this country. [...]

  • Recent Blog Posts

    • York Region's homeless are suffering mentally and physically: Needs assessment
      Posted by: Michael Shapcott

      Homeless people in York Region, north of Toronto, are suffering both physically and mentally. Those are the findings of a new needs assessment of homeless people from the York Region Alliance to End Homelessness. In addition to setting out details of the health needs of homeless people, the YRAEH assessment sets out ten practical recommendations. Three years ago, the Wellesley Institute supported Street Health in its assessment of the health status of homeless people in Toronto called The Street Health Report 2007. [...]

    • Reinstate long-form census for 2011, urges National Statistical Council
      Posted by: Michael Shapcott

      Canada's National Statistical Council, the official advisory body on statistical issues, is calling for the long-form census to be reinstated for the 2011 census. The Wellesley Institute has joined with a long list of business, academic, research, policy and governmental groups that have expressed concern that the federal plan to cancel the mandatory long-form census will deprive Canadians of vital evidence that is needed for good public policy. In order to address some of the critical concerns raised during the ongoing national debate about the census, the National Statistical Council is recommending a detailed review and public consultation leading up to the 2016 census. Here is the full text of the National Statistical Council's statement: [...]

    • Who cares for the undocumented and uninsured?
      Posted by: Nimira Lalani

      Canada’s health care system is based on the principles of comprehensiveness, universality, portability, public administration  and accessibility. But, many people are excluded from access to the healthcare they need because they are not eligible for provincial health insurance.  Every year, thousands of people come to Canada, in particular to Ontario, Canada’s economic hub.  [...]

  • Housing E-map

  • New & Notable

    • Coming Together: Homeless Women, Housing and Social Support

      The final report for Coming Together Project shares the voices and insights of women and transwomen with experiences of homelessness. This report expands on an earlier community report on a Community-Based Research project using staged photography. [...]

    • Finding Security in an Insecure World

      “We need to come together as a community, Black Creek community, come together and do something for ourselves...” These were the words of a Canadian-born woman from the Black Creek community, a composite of four neighbourhoods located in the northwest inner suburb of Toronto, [...]

    • CBR Workshop Materials Now Available

      Due to popular demand, Wellesley Institute is pleased to announce that its community-based research (CBR) and capacity-building workshop materials are now available for public use. [...]