Bridging Health and Community Care: The Essential Role of Social Prescribing Connectors

This event is presented by the Canadian Institute for Social Prescribing

Social prescribing Connectors—known by many names like Link Workers, Community Connectors and Navigators—play a critical role in social prescribing by bridging healthcare and community support. Join us for an in-depth conversation on how this role is evolving in Canada and beyond, what training and competencies are needed, strategies for sustainable funding, and how social prescribing connectors collaborate with healthcare providers and community organizations to improve wellbeing.

 

Details
Wednesday, August 6, 2025 - 12:00
12-1 pm
Cost: 
Free
Internal/External: 
Community Event
Event Type: 
Learning Events
Register here
Location
Online event

Turf, Trust and Collaboration: Practical Tools for Building Trust

This virtual workshop is presented by the Tamarack Institute.

The work you do within your collaboration and alongside communities to create systems change starts and succeeds with trust. Trust is your most powerful tool, yet in so many collaborations, trust is assumed, but not intentionally built.

When trust is strong, we design together, act together, and advocate together. But when it’s missing? We retreat into turf - guarding our work instead of building shared power.

# Learning Objectives

 This workshop will help you:

  • Recognize how trust - or the lack of it, shows up in collaborative work
  • Learn tools to build and repair trust across partners and organizations
  • Strengthen your ability to engage diverse community voices with confidence
  • Shift from siloed “turf” to bold, aligned impact

Registrants will receive a participant workbook and self-assessment tool to review in advance and help you clarify your learning goals.  After the workshop, you will have the opportunity to access a 1-hour, small-group coaching session as well as personalized support to deepen your understanding of the workshop content and translate your knowledge into action.

# Registration Fees

  • Single registration: $275
  • Group registration (3 tickets; attendees must be from the same organization): $675

 

Details
Thursday, August 21, 2025 - 13:00
1:00 - 4:30 pm
Cost: 
$275 (group rate available)
Internal/External: 
Community Event
External Link: 
Learn more
Event Type: 
Learning Events
Register here
Location
Virtual event

Through Their Lens: Using Photovoice and Cellphilms to Understand the Experiences of Clients of Safer Supply Programs in Toronto

This webinar is presented by the Substance Use Health Network (SUHN) as part of their Research Spotlight Webinar series. 

This webinar explores innovative arts-based research methods used to understand the real-world impacts of safer supply programs in Toronto. We'll present findings from two community-engaged projects that employed photovoice and cellphilms to capture participants' lived experiences with safer supply programs at two different Toronto sites.

Attendees will learn about the methodological considerations of using photovoice and cellphilms with people who use drugs, including practical lessons about adapting these arts-based approaches to meet participants' needs. We'll share key findings that demonstrate how safer supply programs can improve quality of life and social stability, while discussing the implications for healthcare and social justice—particularly relevant given recent program closures.

This presentation offers valuable insights for researchers, service providers, and policymakers interested in both participatory research methods and evidence-based approaches to addressing the drug poisoning crisis through the voices and experiences of those most directly affected.

Details
Thursday, July 24, 2025 - 12:00
12:00-1:30pm
Cost: 
Free
Internal/External: 
Community Event
External Link: 
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Event Type: 
Learning Events
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Location
Webinar

Trillium 2025 Primary Health Care Research Day

This event is presented by INSPIRE-PHC and the Ontario Departments of Family Medicine.

# Schedule

  • 9:10 - 10:10 | Martin Bass Lecture, Primary Care Attachment for All Ontarians
  • 10:45 - 11:45 | Plenary Oral Presentations
  • 12:30 - 1:30 | Poster Presentations
  • 1:30 - 2:30 | Concurrent Oral Presentations
  • 2:45 - 4:00 | Panel Discussion (with Q&A): Primary Care Access - Measurement
  • 4:00 - 5:00 | Patient Orientated Research Session: Impact of patient engagement in PHC research

# Hosts and Speakers

Hosted by: 

  • Dr. Rick Glazier, INSPIRE-PHC Lead
  • Dr. Michael Green, INSPIRE-PHC Lead

Martin Bass Lecture:

  • Dr. Jane Philpott, Chair, Primary Care Action Team, Ontario Ministry of Health

Panelists:

  • Dr. Elizabeth Muggah, Senior Clinical Advisor, Ontario Health
  • Dr. Mylaine Breton, Canada Research Chair, Université de Sherbrooke
  • Kayla Menkhorst, Patient Advisor, Executive Director, Eganville & District Seniors
  • Dr. Scott McKay (Moderator), Chair, Family Medicine, Western University

Patient Orientated Research Session:

  • Vivian Ramsden, PhD, RN, University of Saskatchewan
  • Benda Andreas, Engagement Specialist, University of Saskatchewan

See the UPDATED event flyer here or visit the Trillium PHC Research Day  website.

# Registration Fees:

  • Early-bird in-person rate: $95 EXTENDED until September 26
  • Regular in-person rate: $125 after September 27
  • Virtual attendance: no fee
Details
Friday, October 17, 2025 - 09:00
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Cost: 
$0 (virtual) or $95 (in person)
Internal/External: 
Community Event
External Link: 
Learn more
Event Type: 
Learning Events
Register here
Location
Hybrid - Online and Sheraton Centre Toronto
123 Queen St W
Toronto, ON M5H 2M9
PDF icon Trillium2025_Flyer_2025June16.pdf

Déclaration de l'Alliance : Célébrer le Mois de l'histoire des peuples Autochtones tout en réfléchissant à ce que signifie écouter et agir

Date: 
Wednesday, June 18, 2025

Alors que nous soulignons le Mois national de l'histoire Autochtone en juin et célébrons la Journée nationale des peuples Autochtones le 21 juin, nous voulons faire une pause et réfléchir à ce que signifie écouter et ce que signifie agir.

Être solidaire doit toujours aller au-delà des mots, des déclarations et des engagements. Lorsque nous nous engageons à agir et que nous nous tenons responsables, le changement est possible. Ce mois-ci, nous nous concentrons sur l’assimilation de la vérité et l'action contre l'oppression, en réduisant les risques, les préjudices et les injustices par les moyens suivants :

  • Continuer à développer une compréhension approfondie et une réflexion émotionnelle sur la vérité, telle qu'incarnée dans les Rapports de la Commission de vérité et réconciliation, y compris les 94 appels à l'action, et un certain nombre de rapports de mise à jour. Sans cette fondation, nous risquons davantage d'oppression et de violence coloniales. Grâce à cette fondation, nous avons une feuille de route puissante pour le changement.
  • Continuer à développer une compréhension approfondie et une réflexion émotionnelle sur le lien entre l'oppression historique et les inégalités et le racisme systémique actuels, y compris dans les systèmes de justice, d'éducation, sociaux et d'incarcération.
  • Reconnaître le problème de la passivité, du consentement tacite aux inégalités persistantes dans les systèmes de santé, sociaux et de justice.
  • Plaider pour créer une sensibilisation politique.
  • Trouver des occasions d'agir et les saisir. Cette étape est la plus difficile, mais la plus importante : elle exige que les gens soient prêts à être déstabilisés, à désapprendre et à penser différemment.

Les organisations de soins de santé peuvent accéder au soutien du Indigenous Primary Health Care Council, qui dispose de ressources remarquables pour aider les organisations et les individus qui apprennent comment pratiquer la solidarité, et comment offrir des soins plus sécurisants sur le plan culturel, y compris des soins de santé mentale.

Il est également important pour les organisations et les leaders de la santé de considérer comment être des alliés en aidant à transformer notre système, d'un système colonial en un système qui remet la santé Autochtone entre les mains des leaders Autochtones, dans tous les sens du terme, des décisions de financement et de développement à l'éducation, en passant par le leadership, la gouvernance et la prestation des soins de santé.

À l'Alliance, nous avons été témoins des réussites, confirmées par la recherche, au sein de nombreuses organisations dirigées par des Autochtones. Il est impératif que les gouvernements continuent de soutenir et d'aider les leaders de la santé Autochtones à bâtir sur ces succès afin de rendre les soins véritablement respectueux des cultures et universellement accessibles à chaque personne Autochtone.

À une époque où les droits de la personne sont attaqués, la pression s'est également accrue sur les droits des Autochtones, y compris le droit à l'eau potable là où vous vivez. Le besoin d'une solidarité bien articulée et engagée est important à tous les niveaux de gouvernement au Canada.

C'est dans cet esprit que nous sommes solidaires avec les leaders de la santé Autochtones à travers l'île de la Tortue ce mois-ci, et que nous nous engageons à poursuivre notre travail de plaidoyer pour garantir que les histoires, les cultures, les connaissances et la sagesse diverses des communautés des Premières Nations, Inuites et Métis, en étant gérée par les Autochtones et intégrée à leurs systèmes et leadership en santé.

 

Alliance statement: Celebrating Indigenous Peoples History Month while reflecting on what it means to listen and act

Date: 
Wednesday, June 18, 2025

As we mark National Indigenous Peoples History Month in June, and celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day on June 21, we want to pause and reflect on what it means to listen, and what it means to act.

Being in solidarity must always extend beyond words, statements and commitments. When we commit to action and hold ourselves accountable, change is possible. This month we’re focused on reaffirming our commitments to listening to the truth, and acting on oppression, reducing risks, harms and injustices by:

  • Continuing to build an in depth understanding and emotional reflection on the truth, as embodied in the Truth and Reconciliation Reports, including the 94 calls to action, and a number of update reports. Without this foundation, we risk more colonial oppression and violence. With it, we have a powerful map for change.
  • Continuing to build an in depth understanding and emotional reflection on the connection of historic oppression to current inequities and systemic racism, including in the justice, education, social and incarceration systems.
  • Acknowledging the problem of passivity, of silent consent for continued inequities across health, social, justice systems, and advocating to create political awareness for change.
  • Finding places to take actions, and taking them. This step is the hardest, but the most important: it requires that people be ready to be unsettled, unlearning and thinking differently. 

Health care organization can access supports from the Indigenous Primary Health Care Council, which has amazing resources to help organizations and individuals who are learning and practicing how to be in solidarity, how to offer more culturally safe care, including mental health care. 

It’s also important for organizations and health leaders to consider how to be allies in helping to transform our system from a colonial one, into one that puts Indigenous health back into Indigenous health leaders hands, in every sense, from funding and development decisions, to education, to leadership and governance to health care delivery. 

At the Alliance, we have seen the successes, and the research to back up those successes, across many Indigenous-led organizations. Governments must continue to support and help Indigenous health leaders to build on these successes and make truly culturally affirming care universally available to every Indigenous person.

During a time when human rights are under attack, pressure has increased on Indigenous rights as well, including the right to clean water where you live. The need for well articulated and committed solidarity matters at all levels of government in Canada.

It’s in that spirit that we stand in solidarity with Indigenous health leaders across Turtle Island this month, and commit to continuing advocacy work to ensure the diverse histories, cultures, knowledge and wisdom of First Nations, Inuit and Metis communities are at the heart of Indigenous health in Indigenous hands and Indigenous health systems and leadership.

 

Q&A: Recording Community Initiatives in PS Suite

This webinar is presented by the Alliance for Healthier Communities

The Alliance is rolling out a new tool for our CHC members to record their community initiatives (CIs) directly in PS Suite. This streamlined process was developed with input from Alliance members in order to streamline CI reporting, with a goal of facilitating spread, scale, continuous improvement, and advocacy. After pilot-testing the new process in the summer of 2025, we are formally rolling it out to all members in September, with a launch webinar scheduled for September 17. 

We are offering this follow-up webinar on October 22 as an opportunity for you to ask questions and get support with the new process after you've started to implement it in your organization. It will be most relevant for health promotion and community development staff and managers, as well as for data management coordinators and anyone else involved in creating or using CI data in Alliance member CHCs. Christine Randle, our provincial Data Management Coordinator, will be on hand to answer your questions and walk you through any parts of the process you're feeling stuck on. 

 

Details
Wednesday, October 22, 2025 - 12:00
12-1 pm
Cost: 
Free
Internal/External: 
Alliance Event
Event Type: 
Learning Events
Register here
Location
Webinar

Recording Community Initiatives in PS Suite

Community Initiatives (CIs) are a fundamental part of how Alliance members foster resilient, healthy communities and improve health and wellbeing at the population level. Through advocacy and community organizing, CIs achieve collective social, environmental, and/or policy change that benefits whole communities. They are often community-led and are always delivered in partnership with community members and organizations. 

Although they are essential, CIs are often misunderstood or overlooked by policymakers and funders. The Alliance is committed to helping our members collect and share information about their CIs in order to facilitate spread, scale, continuous improvement, and advocacy. This is why we are launching a new tool that will enable our members to record this information directly in PS Suite. The new process was developed with input from Alliance members and has been designed to capture the most important information in a concise, usable way. We will be pilot-testing it with a small number of member organizations in the summer of 2025 and rolling it out to all CHC members who use PS Suite in mid-September. 

To help you prepare for these changes, we'll be releasing two custom forms and an updated user manual in early September and hosting a webinar on September 17. We will continue to facilitate implementation of the new process with a follow-up Q&A session on October 22 as well as ongoing support.

Details
Wednesday, September 17, 2025 - 12:00
12-1 pm
Cost: 
Free
Internal/External: 
Alliance Event
Event Type: 
Learning Events
Register here
Location
Webinar

PxP 2025

This conference is presented by PXP: For Patients, By Patients 

Get ready for another free, virtual event packed with insights, skills, and global conversations on Patient Engagement.

For those based in the Americas, Europe and Africa the conference will be September 9-12, and for those based in parts of Asia and Oceania the conference will be September 10-13. There will be core conference hours each day where content will be hosted live. 

New for this year, there will also be 'watch parties' for some of the sessions outside of the core hours. These watch parties mean that content will be played back for different time-zones and you can join those with others to chat in real-time. Further details will be shared closer to the event. 

After the event, PxP will be hosting recordings on the PxP website which will be freely available.

# Event Agenda

Day 1 | What's happening, and what's possible: this day explores the evolving landscape of patient engagement in research, spotlighting global perspectives, diverse research roles, and individual journeys.

Day 2 | Setting up for success and inspiring others: this day discusses the importance of building strong foundations for patient partnership, welcoming lived experiences, and strengthening research teams through collaboration.

Day 3 | Pushing the envelope: this day focuses on innovations in patient engagement in research, highlighting advanced approaches, patient-led initiatives, and new methods for communicating research.

See the full program outline and session timings here. 

# Partnering to make research stronger

Standing for ‘For Patients, By Patients’, PxP 2025 is entirely led by an international team of patient and public partners and is a Patients Included™ event. Our purpose is to share resources, mentorship and community with patient partners and others involved in health research. Ultimately, our goal is partnering to make research stronger.

This free, virtual event aims to bring you a wealth of knowledge, skills and resources on patient engagement in health research. Patient engagement in health research, also known as patient and public involvement (in the UK) or consumer involvement (in Australia). 'Patient engagement’ in health research is where patients are research team members. This is different from volunteering to be a research participant where you might help advance research or healthcare, but a research participant generally does not give input into the research study itself. Whatever language you prefer, we warmly welcome everyone to attend.

# PxP is a must-attend event for these three reasons:

  1. PxP is specifically For Patients. While there has been excellent progress in the available patient engagement resources, many of these are designed for other members of the research team. Although we welcome health researchers to join us at the event in September, our key priority will be patient partners and other people with lived experience.
  2. We are led entirely By Patients. Every topic and speaker on the PxP conference program has been chosen by our experienced international committee of patient partners.
  3. PxP is about patient engagement in research. Many conferences focus on a specific research area, and have some patient engagement in them, but PxP focusses on how to do patient engagement and the experiences related to this.

Questions? Email contact@pxphub.org 

Details
Tuesday, September 9, 2025 - 12:00
Tue, Sep 9, 2025 12:00 PM - Sat, Sep 13, 2:45 AM EDT
Cost: 
Free
Internal/External: 
Community Event
Event Type: 
Learning Events
Learn more and register
Location

Community organizing: A community power-building approach to advancing health equity

This webinar is presented by the National Collaborating Centre for Determinants of Health (NCCDH)

To address the structural determinants of health, public health must work to build power with communities facing inequities and disrupt the power of those who use it to maintain the status quo. Community organizing is a proven strategy to build community power, yet these strategies remain an underdeveloped area for public health practice. Join this webinar to learn more about what community organizing is, the strategies that organizers use, and how public health can partner with community organizers and harness the strategies to address the structural and social determinants of health. 

In this webinar, a Senior Health Equity Specialist from NCCDH and an Organizer from Migrante Manitoba will deepen public health practitioners’ understanding of community organizing as a public health intervention by defining community organizing, describing community organizing practices as well as the benefits of public health engaging with organizers, and providing case studies (focused on precarious work and immigration) of public health both partnering with organizers and using organizing methods to advance equity. 

# Learning Objectives

  • Explain community organizing as a public health intervention to address the structural determinants of health and advance health equity
  • Describe examples of public health partnering with community organizers and using community organizing methods to advance health equity
  • Identify actions participants can take to integrate community organizing into public health interventions 

# Speakers

Details
Wednesday, July 2, 2025 - 12:00
12:00-1:30pm
Cost: 
Free
Internal/External: 
Community Event
External Link: 
Learn more
Event Type: 
Learning Events
Register here
Location