Count us In! Inclusion and Homeless Women in Southeast Toronto

The purpose of this project, called Count Us In!, was to investigate how health and social services in Toronto, and in the province of Ontario, can be made more inclusive, and in turn, promote the health and well-being of marginalized groups. Homeless and underhoused women who live in Downtown East Toronto led the research and were actively engaged in all stages of the project, from collecting and analysing the data to developing the final recommendations. Careful attention was paid to directly engage community members in all facets of the research, to examine issues raised by that community, and provided actionable solutions developed collaboratively by researchers, community members and service providers. Cornerstone to this project was the team of inclusion researchers that were actively involved in all stages of this project. They facilitated the 11 focus groups of 58 homeless or underhoused women, collected and analyzed data, and contributed to the final recommendations. The report produces suggestions for how health and social services can be improved to better serve marginalized populations. Barriers are identified by women who have experienced, and potential solutions are presented in the final report.