There are 45 publicly funded colleges and universities in Ontario. For students who decide to move from one of these schools to another, the process of getting credit transferred can be daunting. Unfortunately, many students get bogged down in the process, are denied credit, and end up repeating courses and spending more time than they should completing their studies. As a result, these students often carry more debt and enter the job market later.

Roughly 40% of youth experiencing homelessness in Canada identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, or two-spirit (LGBTQ2S+). Not enough people appreciate how high that number is, according to Dr. Alex Abramovich, Independent Scientist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and Making the Shift Network Investigator. He and a team of researchers are conducting a study supported by Making the Shift: Youth Homelessness Social Innovation Lab that investigates the mental health impacts of COVID-19 on LGBTQ2S+ youth in the Greater Toronto Area.

Long before Youth Reconnect (YR) became a program in Hamilton, young people were slipping through the cracks. Jessica Ward, Manager of Community-Based Programs at Good Shepherd, says that since the program was implemented in the summer of 2018, they’ve seen a decline in the number of young people accessing the shelter and other emergency services.

Jen (a pseudonym) is a bright, cheerful young woman who is wise beyond her years. In Grade 10, she calculated the number of credits she would need to graduate early and followed through with her plan, taking a high concentration of classes and even a college course in agriculture to become a horticulturalist, which certified her to work in green houses. She graduated this past January, six months ahead of time. Despite these accomplishments, not all has been well with Jen.

Recently I spoke with Alexandra Amiri, a former Research Assistant with the Making the Shift Demonstration Lab, to learn about how the pandemic shifted the context of research and how the lab was able to adapt the Housing First for Youth RCT design to respond to an unprecedented global health and economic crisis.

Julianna Hettema is quiet and unassuming but with a calm and steady presence. Her soft, impassive exterior conceals a depth of understanding and emotional intelligence that makes her great at what she does, which is working with people.