Blog

Vancouver Regional Coordinator Nushaiba Nanjiba explores the importance of social connections in housing.

Introducing the AIRP Partnership's newest postdoctoral fellow: Dr. Kaltrina Kusari.

Introducing the newest members of the AIRP team: Isabel Diavolitsis, Tara Fernando, and Dominique Garreaud.

Dr. Lena Rebecca Richardson and Dr. Rachel Weldrick reflect on their experiences at the Canadian Housing Evidence Collaberative (CHEC) Summer Institute.

AIRP Vancouver undergraduate research assistant Maxine Ho reflects on the importance of understanding aging in the right place holistically.

MSW practicum student Ashley DeRosa reflects on the challenges the young-old face in making ends meet.

As someone with real-life experience of homelessness, we asked Guy Plante to choose a theme he felt was important and to tell us a little about it. From the title to the questions, this entire blog post is his own creation.

MITACS research assistant Jean Paul Ramirez Echavarría discusses how the built environment should help us reflect who we are.

Guy Plante ayant une expérience vécue de l’itinérance, nous lui avons demandé de choisir une thématique selon lui importante et de nous en parler un peu. Du titre aux questions, l’ensemble de ce billet de blog relève de son cru.

A profile of lived expertise advisor Doug McNevin.

Calgary regional coordinator Jill Hoselton recently had the opportunity to attend the Canadian Institutes of Health Research’s Aging Summer Program. We discussed her experience and what learnings she’s bringing back to the AIRP Partnership.

Two MSW practicum students from the Calgary AIRP team, Becky Giammarino and Stacey Squires, directed two digital short films which were presented at the 54th Environmental Design and Research Association Conference in Mexico City, Mexico. In this blog, they reflect on their experiences.

Dr. Lena Rebecca Richardson and Dr. John Pickering— the AIRP Partnership’s new postdoctoral fellows— share the experiences they are bringing to the team, how they got involved with the AIRP Partnership, and their hopes for their postdoctoral fellowships.

Dr. Grittner and Dr. Weldrick tell us about their journeys from trainees to co-investigators, and their hopes for their new roles.

Amreet Shergill, a Calgary high school student, reflects on her experience as a researcher on the AIRP team through the University of Calgary’s STEM Fellowship program.

This blog post highlights the research assistants’ experiences of survey data collection at T2 with older adults facing housing insecurity building off the previously written blog post from T1.

We compiled reflections from our Montreal, Calgary, and Vancouver teams on their experiences at the CAG 2022 AIRP-VABE Symposium.

Canada’s academic housing experts say a recent Ontario high court decision limiting the ability of municipalities to tear down encampments does little to solve the problem of homelessness but it does help “frame the future.”

Réflexion d’une assistante de recherche dans le cadre du projet doctoral d’Émilie Cormier « Une exploration phénoménologique-existentielle de l’expérience des soins palliatifs de fin de vie des personnes âgées qui ont vécu en situation d’itinérance. »

Reflection of a research assistant as part of Émilie Cormier's doctoral project "A phenomenological-existential exploration of end-of-life palliative care experiences of older adults with experiences of homelessness."

Juanita Mora is a former research assistant on the AIRP-VABE project. Juanita shared a presentation about aging in the right place with her peers at Universidad de Granada, where Juanita is continuing her studies.

An overview of the Nov. 15 webinar on Housing Policy, Health Policy and Aging Populations.

An interview with Rachelle Patille to discuss her acceptance of the Paula Goering scholarship, and her experiences at CAEH 2022.

A letter to the Federal Housing Advocate, Marie-Josée Houle, by our lived expertise advisor Dyane Provost

In this poem, Dyane Provost shares her experience of being a Lived Expertise Advisor for AIRP-VABE project.

Older adults who have experienced homelessness want other people to recognize that it could happen to anyone and that they deserve more support in getting appropriate housing.

A powerful relationship exists between an individual's physical health and the experience of loneliness. Older adults experience loneliness and social isolation for a variety of reasons. It is paramount that further research is prioritized on interventions and program development to combat loneliness and social isolation among OPEH.

As part of the AIRP Project, the Vancouver team had the unique opportunity to work on a complementary project in parallel with the already existing AIRP Project due to a supplementary funding source to conduct pre-post surveys with older adults (age 65 and over) residing in affordable supportive housing in Metro Vancouver who are receiving support services through a non-profit organization named Whole Way House (WWH)

For the amelioration of Indigenous peoples’ health and well-being, recognizing the impacts that colonization is having on Indigenous peoples lives and experiences is imperative to make available the appropriate health and social services, including housing.

En raison des besoins de santé potentiellement accrus associés à la fois au vieillissement et à l'itinérance, ainsi que de la nécessité de coordination des services et des ressources pour en assurer l’accès, la réflexion sur l'avenir devient d'autant plus importante pour les personnes âgées ayant une expérience de l'itinérance (PASI).

Due to the potentially increased health needs associated with both aging and homelessness, as well as the need for coordination of services and resources to ensure access, forward thinking becomes even more important for older persons with experiences of homelessness (OPEH).

Featured in the Simon Fraser University Gerontology Research Centre June 2022 Newsletter – "Words of wisdom from older persons with experiences of homelessness"

Five of our student researchers came together to engage in a discussion on intersectionality, what it means, and how it can be applied to older persons experiencing homelessness (OPEH) or housing insecurity.

An interview with Calgary Regional Coordinator Jill Hoselton. "I've learned many things since I started this project, but one aspect that stands out to me is the complexity of homelessness/houselessness. "

By naming homeism, there is the hope that the broader community will be part of efforts aimed at instigating housing activism and initiatives that will work on eliminating homeism.

Rachelle is a Graduate Research Assistant in the Vancouver node of the AIRP-VABE project. She also acts as the Vancouver Regional Coordinator.

The University of Calgary Faculty of Social Work organized exhibit gives voice to older adults facing homelessness and abuse.

With the increasing numbers of aging adults experiencing homelessness, rethinking, and evolving social perceptions are critical to change that promotes Aging in the Right Place (AIRP).

Whether you are a member of the 2SLGBTQ community, an ally, or on a journey to becoming an ally, knowing the historic and ongoing discrimination impacting the daily lives of Queer and Trans older adults is crucial to supporting AIRP.

Émilie is a doctoral candidate at UQAM, and a doctral research assistant on the AIRP-VABE project. Émilie's doctoral research project (part of the larger AIRP-VABE project) examines the experience of palliative care within an end-of-life trajectory for older adults who have experienced homelessness.

The Calgary AIRP research team is currently evaluating the Art Hive located in James House, a supportive housing best practice operated by McMan Youth, Family, and Community services. In our work we seek to understand how integrating an Art Hive within supportive housing contributes to a sense of community belongingness and social inclusion for older adults experiencing homelessness.

Le "homeism" peut être défini comme la discrimination à l'égard d'une personne sans abri. Et bien que le "homeism" soit distinct d'autres formes de stigmatisation et de discrimination, il recoupe sans aucun doute les stigmates fondés sur l'âge, la race, le sexe, les capacités physiques, la santé mentale, etc.

What is Homeism? Homeism can be defined as the discrimination towards an individual who is homeless. And while homeism is distinct from other forms of stigmatization and discrimination, it undoubtedly intersects with stigmas based on age, race, gender, physical ability, mental health and more.

une exploration phénoménologique-existentielle de l’expérience des soins palliatifs de fin de vie des personnes âgées qui ont vécu en situation d’itinérance.

A phenomenological-existential exploration of the experience of palliative care at the end of life of older adults who have lived in a situation of homelessness.

As an Older Person with Experiences of Homelessness (OPEH) advisor for our research project, Aging in the Right Place (AIRP), Nick’s lived expertise is critical to the work that we do.

The lived experience of Dorothy and other OPEH is critical and valuable to not only research, but to advocate and initiate change and implement pragmatic solutions.

The aging in right place (AIRP) partnership seeks to support older adults to age-in-place for as long as possible in their homes and communities. Building capacity in promising practices that support older people experiencing homelessness is crucial in promoting healthy aging.

Homelessness Services Association of British Columbia (HSABC) hosted the final instalment of the Learn and Connect Series on Homelessness with a full-day event about seniors and homelessness.

With the launch of data collection in October 2020 amid the global COVID-19 pandemic, the Vancouver research team has diligently worked towards developing measures that uphold safety while collecting quality data.

The development of Age-friendly Communities involves a policy approach to creating conditions that allow older adults to stay connected and age healthily in place, whether in their home or in their community. However, what does this look like when older adults don’t have a home?

I recently met virtually with Hilary Chapple, an older person with lived experiences of homelessness and one of our project advisors, to hear about her experiences and perspectives of aging in the right place.

When I ask Anne, who does support her in lieu of not having family support, she tells me about a young man she met about five years ago, who started out as her volunteer shopper. Read more about Anne and her lived experiences with homelessness...

La collecte de données pendant une pandémie: Les entrevues avec les fournisseurs de service pour le projet Vieillir au bon endroit.

An interview with Vibha Kaushik, a social worker based in Calgary and working on the AIRP project as a Postdoctoral Associate: "I am privileged to be working with the team and learning from the experts in the field."

‘Aging in the right place’ is an approach aimed at supporting older people to age in their homes and communities as long as possible, while simultaneously recognizing that where an individual lives is likely to impact their ability to age optimally. Aging in the right place acknowledges that housing must support an individual’s unique lifestyles, vulnerabilities, and values.

An interview with Dr. Rachel Weldrick: "I love working with the AIRP for countless reasons. My experience thus far has been wonderful, and every member of the team has been incredibly welcoming."

Un poème écrit par Dyane Provost: Membre du comité consultatif local de Montréal, et membre avec une expérience vécue

Featured in the Simon Fraser University Gerontology Research Centre May 2021 Newsletter: Data collection in a pandemic: Environmental audits for the AIRP project

The Aging in the Right Place (AIRP) Partnership successfully launched stage two of our project in Spring 2020; this project will evaluate promising practices across the shelter/housing continuum to determine which promote aging in the right place for older persons with experiences of homelessness (OPEH).

From November 4 to 8, 2020 the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) hosted its inaugural online conference. On the second day of the conference, our research team was pleased to be part of a symposium entitled, Reframing Aging-in-the-Right-Place for Housing Insecure Older Adults.

Featured in the Simon Fraser University Gerontology Research Centre Summer 2020 Newsletter: When Sheltering in Place is Easier Said than Done

This one-year grant, funded through a joint initiative of the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), responds to a call from Canada’s National Housing Strategy to better meet the housing needs of all Canadians.

Homeless HUB is a website that offers services to help agencies, organizations, and communities build better, evidence-based solutions to homelessness. Their synthesis of research offers insight into some the unique factors to consider with older adults experiencing homelessness.

Lived expertise advisor Anne Cartledge shares her experiences of homelessness through poetry.

Lived expertise advisor Anne Cartledge shares her experiences of homelessness through poetry.

Lived expertise advisor Hilary Chapple shares her journy of experiencing homelessness, finding love, and becoming an advocate for ending homelessness.

Estimates of the number of homeless older adults are highly variable, but the proportion is expected to increase in Western countries as the general population ages.

What a great experience at the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness 2019 Conference in Edmonton, AB! It was fantastic to have representation from community, academic, and lived experience partners from all three cities.

Dr. Canham's community-based research team based in Vancouver has a new research article published on the health and psychosocial needs of older adults experiencing homelessness following hospital discharge.