Trent Community Research Centre

The rising costs of hydro places a financial burden on low-income households. The Ontario Electricity Support Program (OESP) was launched to help relieve the pressure of these rising costs in Ontario. However, within the City and County of Peterborough there has been low enrollment in the subsidy program, representing a missed opportunity for individuals struggling with energy poverty. The objective of this research project was to identify the barriers that low-income households face when enrolling into the OESP, in order to provide recommendations to improve uptake. Previous literature pertaining to the review of low enrollment in various government subsidies suggests that individuals face barriers, due to the application process, lack of promotion, and the multiple steps required to receive the benefit. Our results indicate that individuals within the City and County of Peterborough experience similar barriers, which have caused the low enrollment into the OESP, and includes recommendations to address the barriers that low-income Ontario households are facing.

Individuals with a disability are unable to compete in mainstream hockey like the rest of their peers because of their disabilities, which can emphasize feelings of social isolation. Future recommendations to further this research include conducting more interviews in regards to coaching special needs hockey and looking at best practices for refereeing. The results from the research will be used towards creating a coaching manual for special needs hockey and will be shared amongst the special needs hockey community.

The purpose of this project was to highlight the unique collaboration of Forensic Science and Community-Based Research at Trent University facilitated by the Trent Community Research Centre (TCRC). A review of literature was conducted, and interviews of hosts, TCRC staff, faculty members and students were conducted as a means of gaining personal perspectives on the history and experience of the program. The course began in the academic year of 2009-2010 and that the idea of a collaboration between these two fields came from a friendly conversation between a TCRC staff member and the Trent faculty supervisor. In addition, most of the projects conducted address research themes of a social nature due to the criminal foundation of Forensic Science. In general host organizations were positively impacted by the projects conducted, using results to implement new best practice ideas and make positive change in the local community. Finally the Forensics student gained a unique learning experience that had a positive affected on their choices after completing their undergraduate degrees. The findings of this study could be used to create a best practices guide for Community-Based Research in Forensics Science, or to create the foundation for expansion of this program.