CCBR collaboratively designed and conducted a process and outcomes evaluation of the Substance Use Hub at the Inner City Family Health Team (ICFHT) clinic in Toronto. Through the Hub, patients have access to life-saving drugs, peer support, and a team of trained physicians, nurses, and support staff. The Hub also offers a safer supply program, to prevent overdose and other harms by decreasing reliance on the unpredictable, unregulated drug market.

The Centre for Community Based Research partnered with REACH Nexus on the project, Positive Actions: Breaking HIV Stigma to provide coaching, capacity-building, and consultation on e-learning module and workshop curriculum development. The national project aimed to develop, test, and scale HIV stigma reduction interventions regionally. CCBR developed an evaluation framework and supported in the evaluation of the Positive Action projects.

The Supporting Peer Work project is a community-guided research project that explores the employment experiences of peer workers in “low barrier” social service agencies in Toronto throughout the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The project aims to support agencies to break down structural barriers to equitable employment and learn from the transformative practices of workers with lived expertise.

St Stephen’s Community House’s Crystal Methamphetamine (CM) Project is a peer-led, harm reduction project aimed at building the capacity of service providers and people who use crystal methamphetamine to respond to the rising use of CM and associated health and social issues. CCBR worked with lead evaluator, Dr. Gillian Kolla to design and co-moderate focus groups employing body-mapping methods for program participants.

In close collaboration with staff from the Alzheimer Society of Ontario (ASO), we conducted a province-wide evaluation of the accessibility and value of their First Link Care Navigation (FLCN) services to racialized, Indigenous and ethnically diverse service users (people living with dementia and care providers). Findings from the study were used to inform ASO’s ongoing efforts to close the gap in dementia support for racialized, Indigenous and ethnically diverse communities. 

In partnership with Dr Zack Marshall (and his research partners, the Pacific AIDS Network), we co-designed participatory research to 1) document how the COVID-19 crisis was impacting the lives of peer researchers in HIV Community Based Research and 2) identify how to minimize the indirect consequences of the pandemic by highlighting key recommendations for academic researchers, staff working in HIV community-based organizations, and peer researhers themselves. Data collection included a series of arts-based, popular education informed virtual focus groups with peer researchers across Canada. Project recommendations were mobilized through established communities of practice.

Drawing on multiple qualitative methods, the TMC and CCBR worked collaboratively to build their overarching evaluation framework including a theory of change, main evaluation questons, monitoring tools and implementation plan. Data collected from TMC staff, partners and other stakeholders offered valuabe insight into the impact and value of their Self-Reg service offerings for both existing and future partners.

In this collaborative project, we and our partners worked with adolescents with T1D and their caregivers to understand how peer support is helpful for improving disease self-management. This 4-phase project used a participatory research approach by working in partnership with adolescents with T1D and their caregivers.

The evaluation of Alzheimer Society, Minds in Motion programs was conducted to understand the impact programs have on the well-being of people with dementia and their care partners as well as on local communities.