Collaborators
Carrie Anne Marshall, PhD., OT Reg.(Ont.)
Director, Social Justice in Mental Health Research Lab
Dr. Marshall is an assistant professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Occupational Therapy at Western University. Her research focuses on the intersection among poverty, homelessness and mental health.
Rebecca Gewurtz, PhD., OT Reg.(Ont.)
Co-Investigator
Dr. Rebecca Gewurtz is an Occupational Therapist and Associate Professor in the School of Rehabilitation Science at McMaster University. Her research is focused on work disability policy, income insecurity and poverty, and employment among people living with disabilities. As part of her program of research, she conducts studies about accessibility and inclusiveness in different types of workplaces, housing and homelessness, and income replacement benefits.
Debbie Laliberte Rudman, PhD., OT Reg.(Ont.)
Co-Investigator
Dr. Laliberte Rudman is a Professor in the School of Occupational Therapy at the University of Western Ontario. Her research focuses on the socio-political production of occupational, social and health inequities for various collectives, and engages critical qualitative methodologies to inform and enact social transformation to address such inequities.
Amy Rathan
Collaborator
Ms. Rathan is the executive director of Impact London, and a lived experience consultant engaged in the creation of socially innovative opportunities and support services for individuals living at street level that are struggling with the effects of addictions and mental health difficulties.
George Panter
Collaborator
Mr. Panter is an ordained minister of the Third Day Worship Centre in Kingston, Ontario, and a lived experience consultant. Having overcome addiction, homelessness and mental health issues in his own life, it is his passion to meet people's urgent needs and share a message of hope to empower, inspire, and lead people into a greater life.
Abe Oudshoorn, RN, PhD.
Co-Investigator
Having worked as a nurse with people experiencing homelessness, Dr. Oudshoorn’s research focuses on health equity through housing stability.
Eric Todd
Collaborator
Mr. Todd is an advocate, public speaker and writer who is a survivor of homelessness - a person with lived experience working for a better tomorrow so that others don't have to go through the same trials and tribulations that he did.
Oliver Hill
Lived Experience Consultant
Oliver has had extensive experience in social services both as a client and as a contributor, being involved with various strategic committees and initiatives by using their voice and previous experiences to advocate rights and equality for topics such as lived experience inclusion, homelessness, LGBTQIA+, mental health, disability rights, peer support and transitional aged youth. They enjoy sharing experiences through public speaking, activism, and art.
In their free time they like cycling, reading about theory and learning about various topics, tinkering and repairing electronics, making music, and hanging out with their three wonderful cats.
Research Coordinators & Assistants
Brooke Phillips, CYW
Ms. Phillips is a Child and Youth Worker with 18 years of front-line experience working with youth and adults who have experienced homelessness and/or domestic violence. She is coordinating research activities at the Kingston site of the Transition from Homelessness study. Through her involvement in research, she hopes to gather information that will lead to impacting systems meant to assist individuals experiencing homelessness and to gain a better understanding of how to help people experiencing homelessness in the transition to being housed.
Research Coordinator
Julia Holmes, MSc OT, OT Reg (Ont.)
Research Assistant
Julia Holmes is an Occupational Therapist who is interested in the impact of engagement in meaningful activity on mental health and wellbeing and its importance in resiliency and thriving. She has been involved in the Boredom, Mental Health and Homelessness study, the Covid and Mental Health study and the Transition from Homelessness study.
Chelsea Shanoff, DMA
Research Assistant
Chelsea has spent the past decade working as a professional saxophonist and saxophone teacher, and in 2019 completed a Doctorate of Music degree from the University of Toronto with a research specialization in musicians’ health and playing-related injuries. Chelsea is currently completing her Occupational Therapy degree at Western University, during which she has been working as a Research Assistant on the Transition from Homelessness study.
Graduate Students
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Marisa Kfrerer, MSc.
PhD. Student
Ms. Kfrerer is a student in a combined PhD./ occupational therapy program at Western University. Her current research interests focus on humour, rehabilitation and health.
Researchgate Profile
Corinna Easton MSc.(OT)
Elham Javadizadeh, MS, OT
PhD. Student
Corinna is a graduate of Occupational Therapy interested in social justice issues and the psychosocial determinants of health and occupation. Corinna has experience working in transitional housing settings for people with mental health challenges and in emergency shelter settings. Currently she is pursuing a PhD under the supervision of Dr. Marshall and Dr. Oudshoorn with interests in food security, homelessness and mental health.
Elham Javadizadeh is a student in Health and Rehabilitation Science program at Western University. Her current research interests focus on occupational-based interventions for homeless persons.
PhD. Student
Patti Plett
MOT, OT Reg (AB)
MSc (Candidate)
Ms. Plett is pursuing her MSc under the supervision of Dr. Carrie Ann Marshall and is an occupational therapist interested in mental health, advocacy, and marginalized populations. Her clinical experience is diverse and includes working with individuals experiencing homelessness, providing coaching to women living in poverty, and developing a unique occupational therapy (OT) role within a forensic mental health setting spanning inpatient to community service provision. Ms. Plett also brings a unique perspective of lived experience with a physical disability, periods of poverty, and experiences of housing precarity. Previous publication and presentation topics include lived experience as a disabled OT, Sustainable Livelihood Approach with a homeless population, and a unique role with a Not Criminally Responsible program in an urban setting. Her current research interest is belonging following homelessness.