Grant: Health System Impact Fellowships - PostDoc Central Canada 2-year

More elderly Canadians are facing health issues because they are experiencing a lack of supportive housing, which is leading to homelessness. There is a serious need for services that support older adults that need long-term care homes but are rejected, due to substance use for example, and instead go to shelters for housing and care. The proposed project aims to develop and apply a new model of care for older adults experiencing homelessness and substance use; there are currently no long-term care home models that do so in Canada. Intersectionality Theory (understanding how multiple identities such as race, gender, and class overlap with each other to create experiences of advantage or disadvantage) will be used in all three phases of the research. Phase 1 will synthesize important literature, Phase 2 will include interviews with key knowledge users, and Phase 3 will prepare to pilot the results. The project will be piloted in Providence Healthcare's new long-term care home in Toronto, Canada. Overall, this project has enormous potential to effect real change and help meet the needs of aging Canadians.