Skip to content
Pages
-
-
The Durham At-Risk Housing Network Evaluation
-
By Skylar Onistchenko-Abrantes, Date of Project Submission: April 2015., Completed for: Community Development Council Durham; Supervising Professor: Sharon Beaucage-Johnson; Trent Community Research Centre, FRSC4890 - Forensic Community-Based Research Project, The purpose of this project was to evaluate a housing network within the Durham Region (Durham At-Risk Housing Network) by comparing it to other similar networks, identifying the impact the network has had on its members, their clients, and any improvements that could be made to better suit its members. A literature review was conducted to determine the existence of similar housing networks, while surveys were administered to the members to determine the network’s success and possible improvements. It was determined, that the network is successful from the perspective of its members, as 95% of the networks members use the information presented to them during the meetings at least once per month and 91% agreed that they were a member because it improved their work. It was demonstrated that 55% and 25% of participants either agreed or strongly agreed that their clients had benefitted from their participation in the network. The Durham At-Risk housing network has been extremely beneficial to its members in providing information about resources available to the homeless, thereby positively impacting the member’s clients. Members would find it beneficial to determine topics of discussion, broadening the scope of the Durham At-Risk Housing Network (DARNH) to all aspects of homelessness, increasing the frequency of the meetings, increasing the number of organizations in the network, and creating an online forum to increase the amount of inter-organization communication to facilitate change.
-
-
Determining Barriers to Enrollment in the Ontario Electricity Support Program in Peterborough City and Country
-
By Victoria Hamilton & Laila Tarakai, Date of Project Submission: April 2015., Completed for: The Energy Cost Work Group, Peterborough Ontario; Supervising Professor: Dr. Michal Avram; Trent Community Research Centre, IDST 4220 - Assessment of Development Projects, The rising costs of hydro places a financial burden on low-income households. The Ontario Electricity Support Program (OESP) was launched to help relieve the pressure of these rising costs in Ontario. However, within the City and County of Peterborough there has been low enrollment in the subsidy program, representing a missed opportunity for individuals struggling with energy poverty. The objective of this research project was to identify the barriers that low-income households face when enrolling into the OESP, in order to provide recommendations to improve uptake. Previous literature pertaining to the review of low enrollment in various government subsidies suggests that individuals face barriers, due to the application process, lack of promotion, and the multiple steps required to receive the benefit. Our results indicate that individuals within the City and County of Peterborough experience similar barriers, which have caused the low enrollment into the OESP, and includes recommendations to address the barriers that low-income Ontario households are facing.
-
-
Approaching a $15 Minimum Wage at Trent University
-
By Rachel Flinders, Date of Project Submission: April 2015., Completed for: OPIRG; Supervising Professor: Heather Nicol; Trent Community Research Centre, GEOG4030 - Community Based Research in Geography, The goal of this report is to research post-secondary campuses and cities that have implemented a $15 minimum wage, as well as campaigns and concrete strategies for doing so. Guided by this research, it will propose the best approach to implementing a $15 minimum wage at Trent University and in Peterborough. The methodological approach used to address the research questions raised in this particular study will be to acquire and analyze data through the completion of a comprehensive literary review of previously available and related knowledge, as obtained from primarily academic, government and university website documents. Successful movements toward a $15 minimum wage as experienced in the City and County of San Francisco, the City and State of New York, and the province of Alberta are analyzed. Successful movements toward a $15 minimum wage the in post-secondary institutions of the University of Washington, the University of California, and York University are also analyzed. From this research, the most important aspects of a successful $15 minimum wage movement are identified, and a general model to approaching a $15 minimum wage has been created. It is recommended that moving forward in campaigning for and/or implementing a $15 minimum wage in Trent and Peterborough, that this general model be considered as a guide. It is also recommended that further research be completed on the effects of a $15 minimum wage on the Trent University and Peterborough Economy, prior to implementation
-
-
Telling the Story of T.C.R.C. Research [poster]
-
By Sabina Thiessen, Date of Project Submission: April 2015., Completed for: Trent Community Research Centre; Supervising Professor: Michal Avram; Trent Community Research Centre, IDST 4220 - Community-Based Research Project
-
-
Telling the Story of T.C.R.C. Research
-
By Sabina Thiessen, Date of Project Submission: April 2015., Completed for: Trent Community Research Centre; Supervising Professor: Michal Avram; Trent Community Research Centre, IDST 4220 - Community-Based Research Project, The topic of this project is the discipline of university-based community-based research, more specifically within the context of the Trent Community Research Centre. Its purpose is to review the archive of TCRC projects to find those of notable quality that may be highlighted at the TCRC’s 25th anniversary conference, and to uncover what trends have developed within TCRC projects over the years. Interviews were conducted with host organizations, Trent faculty, and former TCRC staff. Ongoing archival research in addition to the interviews emphasized specific trends, including sociopolitical, environmental, economic and cultural. Analysis of these trends helps to situate the TCRC within the broader field of community-based research.
-
-
History of a Student-Led Organization II
-
By Mason Godden, Date of Project Submission: April 2015., Completed for: ORPIG; Supervising Professor: Dimitry Anastakis; Trent Community Research Centre, HIST4020 - Honours Thesis, Abstract: OPIRG Peterborough celebrates its 40th anniversary of social and environmental justice activism in the Peterborough community. As a continuation of Rihannon Johnson’s History of a Student-Led Organization I, this project chronicles the development of OPIRG Peterborough during the 1990’s. Using sociologist Alan Sears’ ‘infrastructure of dissent’ paradigm, each chapter explores a different social and environmental campaign that OPIRG Peterborough was involved with during the 1990’s. In doing so, the historical evolution of the organization is traced. At the theoretical level, however, the infrastructure of dissent (and its implications for social mobilization) is re-evaluated in every chapter, culminating in a conclusion that posits that the infrastructure of dissent may be more applicable to the study of social movements than Sears originally conceptualized. By contextualizing OPIRG Peterborough as part of a wider student movement in Chapter One, it is seen that the infrastructure of dissent has a professional ‘branch,’ one that is necessary for the survival of grassroots organizations. By analysing the historical development of the Peterborough Ecology Garden in Chapter Two, it is argued that the infrastructure of dissent has the capacity to homogenize the organizational identities of environmental justice organizations that may otherwise appear fractured. In Chapter Three, the capacity for the infrastructure of dissent to foster individual identities within OPIRG Peterborough working groups is discussed. By developing these particular facets of the infrastructure of dissent, it is argued that the infrastructure itself may be key to formulating effective social mobilizations outside of strictly labour-political dichotomies.
-
-
Identification of Best Practices for Coach in Special Needs Hockey
-
By Karlene Lloyd, Date of Project Submission: April 2015., Completed for: Kawartha Komets Special Needs Hockey Program; Supervising Professor: Sharon Beaucage-Johnson; Trent Community Research Centre, FRSC4890 -, The purpose of the project was to get concrete research into developing best practices for coaching special needs hockey. A review of the literature was conducted to see the importance of getting individuals with a disability involved in sports and the positive impact it can have on an individual’s life. Surveys were sent out to organizations in both Canada and the United States. Following the surveys, five individuals were interviewed; who possessed a wealth of knowledge in special needs hockey. The results showed significant differences in many aspects of the special needs hockey community and how the practice of coaching is approached. However some core characteristics of successful coaching included the importance of a fun and safe environment, getting to know each player as an individual, and having a positive outlook about the playing experience were agreed upon amongst organizations.
Pages
