The St. James Town (SJT) Initiative, launched by Wellesley Institute in March 2007, is an inclusive process that started its work in the neighbourhood by engaging a disadvantaged population (newcomers) and working with them to explore the health issues they experience through their perceptions.
This approach uses community-based knowledge to develop meaningful, responsive research to advocate for policies and interventions that reflect the true needs of the people involved, rather than compiling information from a framework of pre-defined problems or a menu of solutions.
Equity consideration is central to the Initiative as it promotes and moves away from the classic supply model of traditional research to the demand model of inclusive community based inquiry and advocacy.
The first of a two-part series, this report by Nasim Haque, Erin Moriarty and Emily Anderson reflects the “voices” of St. James Town newcomer residents through the use of the Photovoice research method. The findings from this study indicate there are a multitude of neighbourhood factors that influence the health and well-being of St. James Town residents.