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Centre for Urban Health Initiatives (CUHI)
Environmental Health Justice in the City 2008-2009 Seminar Series


*Coming Together and Beyond:
From a Single Arts-Based Research Project to an Arts-Informed
Community-Based Research Collaborative on Homelessness
**
Presented by:
Izumi Sakamoto (University of Toronto Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social
Work), Julie Maher (Ontario Women's Health Network) & Jim Meeks (Street
Health)

Tuesday, January 13, 2009, 2:00-3:30pm

University College, U of T (15 King's College Circle) Room 248*

In environmental health justice it is crucial to address/redress the
interlocking, oppressive conditions in society and promote the health and
well-being of individuals. Conducting community-based participatory research
with peer researchers using arts is one example of tackling this issue.
However, what do researchers do, after having conducted a community-based
research project and disseminated its results in various public and academic
venues, yet realizing that the recommendations the project put forward have
not been implemented?  This presentation traces the process of how an
individual arts-based research project ("Coming Together: Homeless Women,
Housing and Social Support") came to collaborate with seven other
community-based, arts-informed participatory research projects to raise
awareness and mobilize knowledge to address issues of homelessness in
Toronto.  We observed that the results from arts-based research and
community-based research studies too often are only appreciated as "local"
knowledge without much transferability to other settings.  However, working
with peer researchers, this innovative collaboration, "Homelessness –
Solutions from Lived Experiences through arts-Informed Research", aimed to
synthesize our collective knowledge, while creating broader collaborative
relationships toward more effective action and visibility of the issues. The
equitable and inclusive decision-making promoted by our policy report was
reflected within the process of collaboration itself by allowing space and
time for diverse perspectives and by mediating some of the obvious power
imbalances that existed among team members.  In this presentation, the
process and outcomes of the collaborative efforts (collaborative exhibit,
policy recommendation report, website) and its rewards and challenges will
be discussed through the experiences of the members of the collaborative
research team, including peer researchers (researchers who have lived
experience of homelessness).
For more information about the projects see:  www.comingtogether.ca, and
www.artsandhomeless.com.

*Project partners:* Regent Park Community Health Centre, Ontario Women's
Health Network, Street Health, Wellesley Institute, University of Toronto,
Ryerson University, York University, St. Michael's Hospital, Sistering – A
Woman's Place, and National Film Board of Canada Filmmaker-in-Residence
Program with St. Michael's Hospital.
*Funded by: *Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
(SSHRC), Wellesley Institute & Centre for Urban Health Initiatives (CUHI).

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*About the Environmental Health Justice in the City Research Interest
Group/Network
*
With funding from the Centre for Urban Health Initiatives at the University
of Toronto,
our network is focused on advancing the theory and practice of how social
inequities in
environmental health in the city are (re)produced, assessed,
understood/experienced, &
addressed. We are particularly interested in advancing the understanding and
application
of innovative community-based, participatory, and arts-informed approaches.
Specific
substantive foci include (a) perception, governance, distribution of
environmental health
inequities in an urban context, (b) urban form and the built environment as
key
components of environmental justice, and (c) climate justice in an urban
context. The
diverse and growing RIG membership includes faculty and students from
several disciplines
at 5 universities, numerous local and national NGOs, policy-makers and
government.

We have funding for 2 seed grant pilot projects: (a) a photovoice project
with partners
in Parkdale to document (and develop indicators from) the lived experience
of
environmental health injustice among marginalized groups; (b) an
arts-enabled ?resonant
installation? approach to popular education on climate justice. We are
looking to expand
our network and to catalyze the development of new initiatives ? please join
us!

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-- 
Izumi Sakamoto, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
University of Toronto Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work
246 Bloor Street West
Toronto, ON M5S1A1 Canada
Ph: +1(416)946-8224, Fax: +1(416)978-7012
[log in to unmask]

Bio & current research projects:
www.socialwork.utoronto.ca/faculty/bios/sakamoto.htm
www.research.utoronto.ca/edge/fall2007/3.html
www.comingtogether.ca, www.artsandhomeless.com

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