What's Happening

CUISR Leads Prairie Region Research on Affordable Rental Housing Funded by a Major National Award

CUISR is pleased to announce the award of a SSHRC-CMHC Partnership Grant valued at $1,308,314, March 2020 to March 31, 2025, on People, Places, Policies and Prospects: Affordable Rental Housing for Those in Greatest Need. The Partnership Grant involves three regions--Atlantic Canada (Cape Breton Regional Municipality; Principal Investigator Dr. Catherine Leviten-Reid, Cape Breton University), Central Canada (Ottawa), and the Prairies (Saskatoon) in one of the research nodes within the Collaborative Housing Research Network—with a shared goal to understand the roles and effects of affordable rental housing in the lives of marginalized individuals and families.

The Saskatoon project team will use a GBA+ lens to assess the following:

To what extent programs achieve intended positive social and economic benefits or outcomes?
In what ways different programs may result in distinct shelter (affordability, security, quality) and non-shelter (safety, health and well-being, social capital, access to amenities and employment) outcomes—and differential impacts on women, men, non-binary individuals?

Three projects will be conducted in this city:

The first looks at tenant outcomes and experiences among those living in affordable units provided through Saskatchewan Housing Corporation’s Rental Development Program.
The second study will compare the experiences and outcomes of tenants living in subsidized, non-profit housing versus market rentals. This project also uses a socio-legal lens to analyze how affordable housing providers and market-based landlords interpret and apply eviction legislation, how they negotiate with their tenants, how they perceive the costs of eviction, and their experiences with housing tribunal and enforcement processes—and with what consequences for those in greatest need.
The third project examines how well rental housing providers work together, and with other human service systems, and under what circumstances to house those in greatest need.

Co-investigator(s)

Brenda Parker University of Illinois at Chicago
Isobel M. Findlay Edwards School of Business and CUISR University of Saskatchewan
Jacqueline J. Kennelly Carleton University
Larissa R. Silver Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa
Margaret K. Dechman Cape Breton University
Nazeem Muhajarine Community Health and Epidemiology College of Medicine University of Saskatchewan
Penelope C. Gurstein The University of British Columbia
Sarah M. Buhler College of Law University of Saskatchewan
Xavier Leloup Institut national de la recherche scientifique

CUISR Partners

City of Saskatoon (Bill Holden, Senior Planner & CUISR Community Co-Director)
Quint Development Corporation (Len Usiskin, Manager);
Saskatoon Housing Initiatives Partnership or SHIP (Colleen Christopherson-Cote, Community Partnership Consultant—HIFIS)
Camponi Housing Corp/ SaskNative Rentals inc (Toby Esterby, Executive Director)
Saskatoon Poverty Reduction Partnership (Colleen Christopherson-Cote, Coordinator)
Community Legal Assistance Services for Saskatoon Inner City (CLASSIC; Chantelle Johnson, Executive Director) Elizabeth Fry Society of Saskatchewan (Sandra Stack, Executive Director)
Saskatoon Society for the Protection of Children (Dionne Miazdyck-Shield, Executive Director)
Saskatchewan Office of Residential Tenancies (Anne Marie Cotter, Director)

What's New

Sexual Assault Services of Saskatchewan and Community-University Institute for Social Research Release In-Depth Report on the State of Sexual Violence in Saskatchewan

Sexual Assault Services of Saskatchewan (SASS), the University of Saskatchewan’s Community-University

Institute for Social Research (CUISR) and Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) are releasing an in-depth research report on the state of sexual violence in Saskatchewan on Wednesday, April 29 at 10.00 am. You can access the media event here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RccSpvJflg0&feature=youtu.be

The report, Sexual Violence in Saskatchewan: Voices, Stories, Insights, and Actions from the Front Lines, aims to garner a comprehensive understanding of sexual violence in Saskatchewan through an examination of sexual violence experiences and the existing strengths and gaps in service provision.

“Our research team is grateful for the courage, candour, and clarity of survivors who shared their stories. Too often, researchers are asked to launch conversations that open up painful histories without being able to offer meaningful solutions,” said Dr. Isobel Findlay, University Co-director at Community-University Institute for Social Research, University of Saskatchewan. “That is why this study is so important and why we are so invested in ensuring the report on findings and recommendations does not languish on a legislative shelf.”

“When our paths crossed, the Saskatchewan First Nation Women’s Commission wholeheartedly supported the research to uncover strategies to challenge sexual violence and change societal attitudes,” said Vice Chief Heather Bear, Fourth Vice Chief of Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations. “We were extremely supportive of the research-lens that took into consideration the effects of historical and intergenerational trauma and the over-representation of Indigenous persons as targets of sexual violence. On behalf of the Women’s Commission, we commend SASS and CUISR for all the hard work and dedication towards completing the report and sexual violence action plan.”

“Our research team has been struck by the enormous energy women in particular, although not exclusively, spend navigating structural violence. Many study participants were supporting other community members, while facing harsh conditions in their careers and personal lives,” said Dr. Marie Lovrod, Program Chair, Women’s and Gender Studies, University of Saskatchewan. “Sexual assault is both a serious problem in our province, and, at the same time, reflects larger systems of social violence.”

“This research shows us what SASS and our member agencies already know. Sexual violence is prevalent in Saskatchewan, and must be addressed,” said Kerrie Isaac, executive director of SASS. “This report, and Action Plan can drive real change in our province. We must work together to make Saskatchewan a place

where everyone is free from threat, fear, or experience of sexual violence.”