Wellesley Institute

Wellesley Institute works in research and policy to improve health and health equity in the GTA through action on the social determinants of health.

Home Publications Thriving in the City with a Disability

Christine Sheppard, Abinaya Balasubramaniam, Yu-ling Yin

Thriving in the City with a Disability

Disabled young woman taking selfie with her friends in the park

What do you need to live a healthy and engaged life in the Greater Toronto Area with a mild to moderate physical or mental health disability?

This research by Wellesley Institute shows the resources required to thrive with a disability can cost up to 39 per cent more than thriving without a disability.

The first of its kind, this research is informed by interviews and focus groups with disability advocates and people with lived experience.

With evidence mounting that the more than eight million Canadians – almost one million Torontonians – living with a disability are not thriving, this research points to the need for urgent policy action. 

Thriving with a disability: A framework for a healthy life

Download the framework

Thriving with a disability: What does it cost to live a healthy life?

Download the costing report

Toronto and Mississauga infographics

Download the infographics

Thriving Disability

Download all shareable infographics
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Christine Sheppard

Christine Sheppard

Dr. Christine Sheppard received her Master’s in Social Work from the University of Toronto, specializing in gerontology, and holds a PhD in Health Studies and Gerontology (with a focus on aging, health and well-being). Prior to starting at Wellesley Institute, she was a CIHR-funded post-doctoral fellow Sunnybrook Research Institute specializing in knowledge translation in urban housing and health. Sheppard_CL

Abinaya Balasubramaniam

Abinaya Balasubramaniam

Abinaya Balasubramaniam is a researcher, artist, and community activist. Prior to joining Wellesley Institute, she worked at the University of Toronto and Women’s College Research Institute. She has worked internationally in Kenya, Namibia, and with the United Nations Women headquarters in New York City. At Wellesley, Abinaya is working in the areas of housing, policing, and equity. Abinaya holds a Master’s degree in Women and Gender Studies from the University of Toronto, where she focused on mainstream media’s gendered and racialized representations of inner-city neighborhoods.

Yu-ling Yin

Yu-ling Yin

Yu-Ling (Yuri) Yin is a researcher at Wellesley Institute and holds a master’s degree in social work from the University of Toronto, specializing in mental health and health, with a focus on immigrants and people living with disabilities. Prior to starting at Wellesley Institute, he was a social worker with over seven years of experience supporting people living with developmental disabilities in Taiwan.

Acknowledgement of Traditional Land

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.