Steering Committee Members

 

Johanna Petite is a Faculty Member with the Transitions to Post-Secondary Education (formerly known as the Redirection through Education) at George Brown College. It is a supported education program that provides students who experience their mental health and/or substance use as barriers to education or employment, the opportunity to assess their readiness and prepare for further education or work. Petite holds vast experience and knowledge of barriers to post-secondary education and employment among youth and adults who have experienced homelessness. She is also a member of the local Toronto City Committee for this project.

Erika Morton is a Social Planner at the Social Planning and Research Council of Hamilton and the co-ordinator for the Street Youth Planning Collaborative (SYPC). The SYPC consists of agency directors, front line staff and youth who are working together to address the needs of street-involved and homeless youth in Hamilton. The SPRC provides collaboration support that enhances the ability of the SYPC to develop a coordinated, continuum of services for youth. She is also a member of the local Hamilton City Committee for this project.

Good Shepherd Youth Services, Hamilton

Mike Lethby is the Executive Director at The RAFT (Niagara Resource Centre for Youth). The RAFT is a multi-service centre for homeless youth in St. Catherines with programs for vulnerable youth throughout Niagara. An innovative program called Youth Reconnect works through Outreach Workers in high schools across Niagara, to keep precarious housed youth in school and attached to their home community. Lethby has been the lead on a research project exploring the employment barriers for homeless adults. He has vast experience working with street-affected youth and works collaboratively the educational and employment programs for youth. He is a member of the Youth without Secure Housing Committee.

In addition to being on the Steering Committee, she is also a member of the local Hamilton City Committee for this project.

Toronto City Committee Members

 

Sandy Watters, Youth Hostel Outreach Program at Central Toronto Youth Services

She is a member of the local Toronto City Committee for this project.

Hamilton City Committee Members

Jenny Vengris, McMaster University

She is a member of the local Hamilton City Committee for this project.

Emily Ecker, Mohawk College

She is a member of the local Hamilton City Committee for this project.

Niagara City Committee Members

Beth Anne Currie is a Research and Program Evaluation Facilitator with the Southern Network of Specialized Care. She has a diverse background in health care, research and evaluation derived from years in clinical nursing, education and training, pharmaceutical sales and marketing, case management with the Community Care Access Centre, health promotion with Public Health and research with Ryerson and the University of Toronto. She completed a Master’s in Applied Science and Management where her thesis examined air quality (human health) benefits associated with green roof amendments that lead to new urban policy formation at the City of Toronto. In her current role, she thrives with a diverse portfolio dedicated toward fostering opportunities for community-based program evaluation and multi-stakeholder research collaborations that focus on advancing the care and support of people with intellectual/developmental disabilities and dual diagnosis. She is a member of the local Niagara City Committee for this project.

Ryan Barton, the RAFT (Niagara Resource Centre for Youth)

He is a member of the local Niagara City Committee for this project.

Celine Parent, Mainstream Services
She is a member of the local Niagara City Committee for this project.

Deanna Villella, John Howard Society

She is a member of the local Niagara City Committee for this project.