We partner with University of British Columbia [UBC], Universiy of Toronto, Ryerson and University of Manitoba out of a shared committment to bind academic research to the heartbeat of inner city residents and by so doing, to humanize and contextualize research within the guiding voice of vulnerable populations.
We first partnered with UBC in January 2007 on an Environmental Equity project in Vancouver’s DTES and Toronto’s community of Parkdale. It continues today at the NH as Focus: Your Health, Your Environment and consists of community members using photography and personal testimonials to identify the environmental in/equality of our neighbourhood. In 2009 a 3rd partnered site was established in Winnipeg. Our university based colleagues keep abreast of NH activities and identify such initiatives as the DTES Kitchen Tables as an example of Best Practices with which to move forward.
In the near future we hope to draft Community Research Standards which could be used by vulnerable populations as a mechanism to ensure the ethical and respectful introduction/integration of researchers into communities.
