Grant: Planning and Dissemination Grants - Institute/Initiative Community Support

People affected by homelessness can face overlapping challenges, including brain injuries, mental health and substance use concerns, violence, criminal-legal involvement, and overdose. These are often addressed separately, which means signs of individual brain health needs can be missed, or mistaken for something else, making it hard for people to get the right support early, which can make problems worse. These needs are greater for Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, questioning, intersex, and other sexual and gender diverse (2S/LGBTQIA+) communities because discrimination, stigma, trauma, violence, and barriers to care affect health and service access. We will bring together 2S/LGBTQIA+ community members with lived experience, frontline workers, researchers, and healthcare providers to identify community-driven approaches to recognizing brain health support needs. Workshop activities will support co-design of community-informed priorities, implementation considerations, and recognition pathways that can inform future development of a brain health support-needs framework for frontline workers serving people affected by homelessness. We aim to improve early recognition of brain health support needs that might require referral, accommodation, or assessment, and identify low-barrier pathways to connect people to appropriate supports. The workshop will also identify practical approaches for frontline workers to recognize potential brain health support needs earlier, especially when brain injury, mental health, and substance use concerns overlap. Participants will share knowledge, map system gaps, and identify different ways to improve care for people who are often overlooked. The goal is to improve responsiveness, inclusion, and trauma-informed practice in services for people experiencing homelessness. This work aims to improve access to care, strengthen coordination between services, and support better health outcomes for 2S/LGBTQIA+ communities.