Housing, Race and Health Status Working Group

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Housing, Race and Health Status Working
Group

• Working Group Members
• Access Alliance MCHC Mary Roufail, Hélène
  Grégoire, (Sam Dunn)
• Toronto Community Housing Adriana Beemans,
  M.S. Mwarigha
• York University Robert Murdie
• Lawrence Heights C.H.C Sherry Phillips, Erika
  Khandor

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Background

• Racialised Groups and Health Status Exploring
  Poverty, Housing, Racism and Access to Health
  Care in Toronto
• Research development initiative funded by the
  Canadian Institutes of Health Research and led by
  AAMCHC

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Goals of the Project

• Develop a long-term program of research (3-5
  years) to explore the impact of income, housing
  status, racism and access to health care on the
  health status of racialised groups in Toronto.
• Work to increase the capacity of community
  organizations, academics and other stakeholders
  to work collaboratively to develop research
  proposals.

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Racialisation

• Racialisation refers to the process by which
  racial categories are constructed as different
  and unequal in ways that leads to social,
  economic and political impacts (Galabuzi 2001).

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Racialised Groups

• By racialised groups we refer to non-dominant
  ethnoracial communities who, through the process
  of racialisation, experience race as a key factor
  in their identity with the consequence of
  differential treatment in relation to the
  dominant culture group (i.e. white) (Galabuzi
  2001).

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The Rationale for RGHS

• In 1996, racialised communities accounted for 32
  of the population of the Census Metropolitan Area
  (CMA) and are now estimated to constitute over
  50 of Torontos population.
• Racialised groups in Canada experience increasing
  levels of poverty, homelessness and inadequate
  housing, race-based discrimination, and barriers
  to health care.
• ...yet we know little about how these
  socioeconomic factors impact the health of
  racialised communities in Toronto.

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CBR

• Community-based research projects are those that
  are driven by community needs and involve
  community and academic collaborations and place
  highest priority on action outcomes.
• Wellesley Central Health Corporation,
  http//www.wellesleycentral.com

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Why CBR?

• To generate relevant, useful and valid knowledge
• To make change happen
• To build capacity and enable members of
  racialised communities to gain control over their
  health
• To tap into different experiences, skills and
  knowledge

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Structure

• Four Working Groups comprised of service
  providers, community members and academics,
  identifying key research questions and developing
  CBR proposals on
• Poverty, Racism and Health
• Race-Based Discrimination and Mental Health
• Race and Access to Health Care
• Housing, Race and Health Status

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Locating the Research

• Identifying a community
• Social housing community (Lawrence Heights) vs.
  private housing community (Lotherton Pathway)
• Practical concerns
• Timeframe, Resources needed,
• Community entry point/Community connection
• Ensuring mutual benefits
• Lawrence Heights Community Health Centre is
  interested in bringing more services to area,
  already delivered some community programs,
  canvassed area to assess needs services, held
  community meetings

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Lotherton Pathway

• Where northwest Toronto (off Caledonia Road
  south of Lawrence Avenue)
• What 744 condominium units contained in
  high-rise buildings and town-homes (Approx.
  two-thirds resident owners and one-third tenants)
• Who approximately 3,000 people
• Why little or no previous research and a large
  racial minority population (especially Guyanese
  and Vietnamese)

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Preliminary Assumptions

• Living in poor housing conditions leads to poor
  health
• Racialised groups are often relegated to poor
  housing
• Racialised groups have fewer options for mobility
  that can lead to better housing
• Ownership vs. Rental significantly impacted on
  housing/health experience

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Questions

• Who defines what is poor housing?
• What is meant by poor health?
• What is meant by racialised groups?
• What conditions lead individuals or groups to
  remain in poor housing, and what are the impacts
  on health?
• If we fix housing, will it fix other things?
  

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What Weve Done So FarThe Working Group

• Conducted an extensive literature review on the
  intersections between housing and health
• Obtained background demographic and property
  information about the Lotherton Pathway community
• Conducted two focus groups to explore community
  health issues (English, Vietnamese)
• Generated interest among community members to
  participate in the longer term research project

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What Weve Learned So Far

• Dissatisfaction with property maintenance
• General satisfaction with overall safety but
  concern about property crime
• Limited services within easy walking distance
• Community issues include language barriers,
  ethno-cultural biases, inter-generational
  conflict, frustration regarding condominium
  services by both owners and renters
• Environmental health concerns include limited
  waste management, pests, mould, sound pollution
• Childrens satisfaction with area/school
  contribute to parents decision to remain in area
• Relative low cost for renting/ownership
  contributes to residents decision to remain in
  area

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Conclusion Next Steps

• Follow up to community focus groups
• Finalizing research questions
• Proposal Development
• Submission for Funding
• Engaging community in research