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.

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Policy Brief: Advancing health equity within Canada’s child-care program

Rishika Wadehra, Jesse Rosenberg |

Two boys lying down on their bellies reading a picture book in a pre-school classroom.

Good child care advances health equity. While the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care initiative introduced in 2021 has improved certain components of child care in this country, this policy brief argues that there continues to be disparities across provinces and territories. If we are going to build and maintain a child-care system that works […]

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Supports for Success: East Scarborough Community Report

Dr Alpha Abebe, Ewa Cerda, Stephanie Elliott, Malaika Hill, Dr James Iveniuk, Khushbu Nurogho, Gideon Quaison, Thrmiga Sathiyamoorthy, Dr Emma Ware |

Supports for Success (SFS) is a model for improving educational, economic and social outcomes for marginalized children and youth in Ontario. East Scarborough has a wide and integrated set of services that support families and children and youth throughout their life stages. The Kingston Galloway/Orton Park (KGO) community has taken a lot of action and […]

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Towards Understanding and Supporting Marginalized Children and Youth in Ontario: The Case of Growing Up Indigenous

Stephanie Elliott, Malaika Hill, Dr James Iveniuk, Rumaisa Khan, Dr Angela Mashford-Pringle, Dr Emma Ware |

Our children and youth are our future leaders and influencers with ambitious dreams and aspirations. Yet the playing field to achieving such success is undeniably uneven. Some youth have all the resources and supports they need to do well in school and fulfill their dreams. For others this is not the case. For young people […]

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Supports for Success: Summary Report

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In 2016, Wellesley Institute embarked on a journey to investigate how youth in Ontario could
have the best chance to reach their potential. The motivation behind this was the fact that not
all children and youth receive the supports they need to get a fair shot in life – especially not
racialized, Indigenous, immigrant or low-income youth. When youth are supported to reach
their full potential the economy improves, crime rates go down and our communities grow
stronger.

This report summarizes what we found and demonstrates the need for change in each of
the communities but also their strengths and their engagement. This foundational work
indicates that adopting Supports for Success could improve the lives of all children, families
and youth especially those most vulnerable.

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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.