Report

The following paper investigates Peterborough residents' experiences with current geared-to-income rent supplement programs offered by Peterborough Housing Corporation. The purpose of this research was to capture the participants' personal experiences and determine whether geared- to-income rent supplements have a positive effect on people's lives financially as well as their overall well-being. To obtain this goal, all the tenants receiving geared-to-income rent supplements from Peterborough Housing Corporation were mailed a survey. The survey consisted of quantitative and qualitative questions concerning the allocation of financial resources while receiving rent supplements. Participants were asked whether their quality of life has improved since receiving rent supplements. Additional data was collected from participants to determine how participants heard about the program, how long they were waitlisted, whether they are currently on a waitlist for other forms of affordable housing, and any personal comments they had about the program. The research showed participants' quality of life has improved compared to life before receiving rent supplements. Most respondents said that while receiving rent supplements they could afford things that they could not before such as better quality food, transportation, and child care. In addition, most respondents reported an increased sense of community while receiving supplements since they can socialize more within and outside their homes. However, future research should be conducted with the landlords participating in these programs, as well as a comparison to flat-rate rent supplements they City of Peterborough offers.

The purpose of the project was to get concrete research into developing best practices for coaching special needs hockey. A review of the literature was conducted to see the importance of getting individuals with a disability involved in sports and the positive impact it can have on an individual's life. Surveys were sent out to organizations in both Canada and the United States. Following the surveys, five individuals were interviewed; who possessed a wealth of knowledge in special needs hockey. The results showed significant differences in many aspects of the special needs hockey community and how the practice of coaching is approached. However some core characteristics of successful coaching included the importance of a fun and safe environment, getting to know each player as an individual, and having a positive outlook about the playing experience were agreed upon amongst organizations.

The purpose of the present project was to evaluate the Sex Work Action Project (SWAP) that ran in Peterborough, Ontario from 2013-2014. The goal of SWAP was to improve the quality of life of street-level sex workers in Peterborough. This project aimed to determine the impact and value of SWAP, and to evaluate the strengths of the program and the improvements that could be made for a future program. Through reviews of relevant literature and similar programs in Canada, it was determined what is required and what makes a sex work support program sustainable and effective. Through in-depth interviews with front-line workers involved in SWAP, the strengths and the challenges of the program were discovered. It was confirmed that a program of this type would be a necessity in Peterborough, but there are notable areas of improvement that are needed for a future program to be successful, including better planning, organization of resources and funding. Combining this knowledge, the evaluation was summarized into a number of recommendations to improve a future sex work support program in Peterborough.

In partnership with the New Canadians Centre, located in Peterborough, the goal of this research is to find ways to assist immigrants with entrepreneurship which will in turn lead to growth of the economy of the City of Peterborough as a whole. As Canadians, we live in a highly multicultural society in which immigration is the norm. Many of the immigrants that immigrate to Canada choose Peterborough to call their new home. The New Canadians Centre works closely with immigrants in Peterborough to help their transition to the city go as smoothly as possible, while also drawing attention to programs and opportunities in Peterborough that will help with economic, health, along with social needs. Immigrants have established businesses in many cities within Canada, thereby contributing to Canada's economy, society and culture. The City of Peterborough currently has the highest percentage of immigrant entrepreneurs in Canada; it is therefore especially important to focus on implementing programs in order to better assist new and potential immigrant entrepreneurs in Peterborough to help them to realize their full potential in the community. This research will focus specifically on immigrant entrepreneurship in the City of Peterborough, while drawing from identified best practices of programs and supports available for immigrant entrepreneurs in other communities.

The research conducted for the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre was completed with the purpose of understanding the dangers that the turtle population of Ontario faces. Spatial analysis was conducted on the 2016 intake records for the OTCC. This analysis was completed using ArcGIS 10.1 which allowed the construction of a number of maps to be completed. A literature review was conducted outlining the different methodologies used to assign turtles to age categories. Within the literature review other wildlife Centres were contacted to obtain information on how they perform age categorization. These methods were compared to the OTCC and it was discovered that the best method would be to track turtles from hatchling, but this is not always possible. Analysis of the intake records were then completed with the goal of determining size by species and prior injury data. The size by species analysis yielded numerous graphs depicting the average size by species as well as age, and sex. Unfortunately, there was not enough data available to make usable inferences on prior injury data. This information would be crucial for maintaining mitigation or even implementing it. A task of the project included developing a digital intake tool to allow for more consistent record keeping. The completion of the digital intake tool now includes a separate section for prior injury to allow for prior injury analysis to be conducted.

The purpose of this project was to evaluate a housing network within the Durham Region (Durham At-Risk Housing Network) by comparing it to other similar networks, identifying the impact the network has had on its members, their clients, and any improvements that could be made to better suit its members. A literature review was conducted to determine the existence of similar housing networks, while surveys were administered to the members to determine the network's success and possible improvements. It was determined, that the network is successful from the perspective of its members, as 95% of the networks members use the information presented to them during the meetings at least once per month and 91% agreed that they were a member because it improved their work. It was demonstrated that 55% and 25% of participants either agreed or strongly agreed that their clients had benefitted from their participation in the network. The Durham At-Risk housing network has been extremely beneficial to its members in providing information about resources available to the homeless, thereby positively impacting the member's clients. Members would find it beneficial to determine topics of discussion, broadening the scope of the Durham At-Risk Housing Network (DARNH) to all aspects of homelessness, increasing the frequency of the meetings, increasing the number of organizations in the network, and creating an online forum to increase the amount of inter-organization communication to facilitate change.

The goal of this report is to research post-secondary campuses and cities that have implemented a $15 minimum wage, as well as campaigns and concrete strategies for doing so. Guided by this research, it will propose the best approach to implementing a $15 minimum wage at Trent University and in Peterborough. The methodological approach used to address the research questions raised in this particular study will be to acquire and analyze data through the completion of a comprehensive literary review of previously available and related knowledge, as obtained from primarily academic, government and university website documents. Successful movements toward a $15 minimum wage as experienced in the City and County of San Francisco, the City and State of New York, and the province of Alberta are analyzed. Successful movements toward a $15 minimum wage the in post-secondary institutions of the University of Washington, the University of California, and York University are also analyzed. From this research, the most important aspects of a successful $15 minimum wage movement are identified, and a general model to approaching a $15 minimum wage has been created. It is recommended that moving forward in campaigning for and/or implementing a $15 minimum wage in Trent and Peterborough, that this general model be considered as a guide. It is also recommended that further research be completed on the effects of a $15 minimum wage on the Trent University and Peterborough Economy, prior to implementation

This paper explores the divestment from fossil fuels movement, which is a recent socioenvironmental movement aimed at pressuring Canadian universities and colleges to dissolve current investments, stocks, or bonds in the fossil fuel industry. This divestment campaign took place at Trent University from 2012-2015, but was unsuccessful in their lobbying for full fossil fuel divestment. As this is a recent movement at Trent, this paper aims to collect data on how to best survey the level of knowledge and support Trent students have for the divestment campaign. The specific research questions investigated are: What is the best method of collecting data to determine if Trent students support divestment from fossil fuels? What is the best method to engage students with the divestment from fossil fuels movement? The methods used to answer these research questions involved implementing and testing four different types of data collection: online surveys, focus groups, semi-structured interviews, and opportunity sampling. After analyzing all of the data collected, a methodology was developed which will be used by Part II of this project to survey the widest student population possible, and to break into previously untapped student demographics.