Wellesley Institute works in research and policy to improve health and health equity in the GTA through action on the social determinants of health.
There are 5.5 million people living in the Greater Toronto Area, and like in other large North American cities, many of us are disconnected from their communities. An individual’s social networks (or lack thereof) can have a pervasive effect on their health . Belonging to a group with shared experiences, a common culture or shared […]
Continue ReadingIncreasing social connectedness, improving health in Toronto
“Connected Communities” is a vision which supports the idea of reducing social isolation and improving the experience of greater well-being. Part of this is understanding how community and social connections actually affect people’s well-being. Since 2010, the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, the University of Central Lancashire and London School of Economics have […]
Continue ReadingEvent: Building Social Capital through “Connected Communities”
This policy review is linked to the findings of the companion report, Women Living with Long-Term Disabilities in Ontario, on our pilot study of 15 women across the Greater Toronto Area who were receiving disability income supports from a government program or private long-term disability provider. The review briefly outlines the public and private programs that provide supports […]
Continue ReadingWomen Living with Long-Term Disabilities in Ontario – Policy Brief Download PublicationIncome Support Policy Brief
When people have poor prospects for earning a liveable income it has a big impact on health. Those limited by a disability are particularly vulnerable to having low incomes and fall into risk of poor health because of poverty. Within this group women may be especially vulnerable due to their precarious attachment to the labour […]
Continue ReadingWomen Living with Long-Term Disabilities in Ontario Download PublicationWomen Living with Long-Term Disabilities in Ontario
Like many people I came to Canada because of its international reputation for fairness. I came to Toronto from London, UK, because Toronto is more multicultural and has a reputation as a place where people from ethnically diverse groups can live side by side and flourish. Toronto is a social project that the world needs […]
Building on the momentum of the We Are Cities campaign and Wellesley Institute CEO Kwame McKenzie’s work on the intersection of race and health, we saw an opportunity to connect some dots by hosting a roundtable on the theme of reducing the impacts of racism on health in cities. Racism is toxic. #Racism shortens your life […]
Continue ReadingEvent Recap: Reducing the Impacts of Racism on Health
Wellesley Institute will be participating in the We Are Cities project. Our topic will be ideas to decrease the impact of racism on health. Building on Dr. Kwame Mckenzie’s Toronto Public Health talk last February, we want to develop ideas for the GTA that can contribute to the broader conversation across Canada and come with […]
Continue ReadingWe Are Cities: Decreasing the Impacts of Racism on Health
A couple weeks ago Wellesley Institute CEO Dr. Kwame McKenzie shared 15 ideas to reduce the impact of racism on health. Then we asked you to join the conversation by taking to Twitter with #stopracism15 and your ideas. Here’s a taste of what you contributed as well as some resources and media we’ve explored thanks to your participation: @kwame_mckenzie […]
You’ve read the 15 ideas collected here (and if you haven’t yet, please do) – now what are some of your ideas to end racism? We invite you to join the conversation on decreasing the impact of racism on health. All of the ideas that we have shared have been put into play in other cities around […]
Continue Reading15 ideas for decreasing the impact of racism on health
One of the main uses of history is to help us do better in the future. For my black history talk for Toronto Public Health I focused on initiatives that have been put in place elsewhere to decrease the impact of racism on health. If you read a good idea here, steal it. The scientific […]
We wish to acknowledge this land on which the Wellesley Institute operates. For thousands of years, it has been the traditional land of the Huron-Wendat, the Seneca, and the Mississaugas of the Credit. Today, this meeting place is still the home to many Indigenous people from across Turtle Island and we are grateful to have the opportunity to work on this land.
Revised by the Ceremonial Committee at the University of Toronto Office of Indigenous Initiatives in April 2021.