System mapping is an essential step in rolling out a system planning approach to preventing and ending homelessness. System mapping involves a series of activities that achieve a comprehensive view of a community’s resources connected to homelessness.

Specifically, system mapping includes:

• An up-to-date resource directory for all services available to people at risk of or experiencing homelessness in a community.
• Mapping of the locations of the various community resources to discern location patterns.
• Categorization of all programs by target population, eligibility criteria, geographical scope, service model and focus.
• Real-time occupancy report to show what spaces are available in services.
• Clear eligibility criteria, access/referral process for those looking for help.
• Feedback loop from clients/users of services to each of the resources.
• Performance indicators to track community demand and feedback on services.

This webinar will provide participants with a comprehensive view of system mapping and present some on-the-ground initiatives from Lethbridge, AB and St. John’s, NWD.

Lethbridge’s approach has mobilized diverse funders and service providers to create a real-time system map that connects the dots for people in need, as well as policy makers and funders.

St. John’s has focused on understanding the needs and of the housing and homeless sector with a comprehensive research approach to system mapping that is unearthing significant insights into the workings of the system of care.

Presenters:

• Dr. Alina Turner – Principal, Turner Strategies
• Marty Thomsen – Manager, Community Social Development, City of Lethbridge
• Jennifer Tipple, Performance Management Planner, End Homelessness St. John’s, NWD
• David French – Director of Policy and Planning, A Way Home Canada

This webinar is hosted by the Systems Planning Collective.

This webinar will be presented by Dr. Jeffrey Brook, scientific director of CANUE, Dr. Eleanor Setton, managing director of CANUE, and Dany Doiron, data linkage specialist at CANUE, via WebEx.

The Canadian Urban Environmental Health Research Consortium (CANUE) is a CIHR-funded initiative, which collates and develops standardized urban environmental exposure data and links them to health databases to support environmental health research in Canada.

CLSA and CANUE have collaborated to link data on air quality, neighbourhood factors, weather and climate, and greenness indicators to CLSA data on health and aging. The linked data, now available to Canadian researchers, includes estimated exposures of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone and fine particulate matter, as well as information about nighttime light, normalized difference vegetation index (i.e. greenness), health-relevant climate and weather measures, material and social deprivation indices and the Canadian Active Living Environments (i.e. walkability) index.

This webinar will give an overview of CANUE and of pre-linked environmental exposure data currently available to researchers through the CLSA. The webinar will also touch on methods for expanding the breadth and quality of environmental exposures available to the CLSA and other Canadian cohorts.

In collaborating with the CLSA, CANUE ultimately aims to enable research on how environmental factors affect the ways in which Canadians age and help better inform evidence-based strategies for planning healthy and age-friendly communities and cities across Canada.

This webinar is hosted by the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging.

Lifelong Learning Niagara offers a six week lecture series twice a year, spring and fall in a variety of academic topics to stimulate and enlighten our senior population in the Niagara Region.

Speaker: Dr. Rene Van Acker, Professor and Dean, Ontario Agricultural College, University of Guelph

In Canada, farmers have been growing Genetically Modified (GM) crops for over two decades. These crops form a substantive basis of the commodities used in much of our processed food, yet many people remain skeptical or even fearful of GM crops and the technology that allows for the creation of GM crops.

Dr. Van Acker will explain the history and technical details of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and will discuss fears over this technology, providing truths and dispelling myths. He will also provide a glimpse into future genetic technologies and how these might impact the future of agriculture and our food supply.

This event is hosted by Lifelong Learning Niagara.

Transitioning away from home for the first time and academic pressures and worries can have a significant impact on a student’s emotional and psychological well-being. Residence life provides rich opportunities for students to develop the skills needed to mature into engaged members of the campus community.

In this webinar, presenters look at the residence outreach program at UOIT and Durham College that helps to raise awareness about mental health and promote wellbeing in their campus residences.

This webinar is hosted by the Centre for Innovation in Campus Mental Health.

Restoring trust and accountability in the province’s finances is at the core of the mandate of the Doug Ford provincial government. As part of that goal, Hon. Peter Bethlenfalvy, President of the Treasury Board, recently announced the results of EY Canada’s line-by-line review of government spending.

Managing Transformation A Modernization Action Plan for Ontario examined government spending and brought forward new ideas to do government differently. The work will support the broader expenditure management exercise underway, and will support finding innovative ways of administering government services while ensuring that funding is directed to those who need it most.

As we approach the Fall Economic Statement, Minister Bethlenfalvy will be sharing his vision for building a modern, sustainable, government in the digital age.

This event is hosted by the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce.

Vaping among youth is an emerging issue in Niagara.

Parents, teens and those who work with youth are invited to learn more about:

• The risks and harms of vaping among teens
• The latest products on the market
• The laws and perspective from a Tobacco Control Officer
• Practical tools and resources for parents

Light refreshments will be provided. Register online or by email.

This information session is hosted by Niagara Region Public Health.