Projects
Housing, Poverty & Gender based Violence
Co-Project Manager - August 2023-June 2024 with Faith Eiboff, PhD(c) & Dr. Tonia Nicholls, “Improving Access to Income Supports for People with Disabilities in Surrey,” City of Surrey & The Surrey Poverty Reduction Coalition, August 2023-June 2024,
Conducting a comprehensive environmental scan of existing policies, literature, and programs, my approach involves engaging with diverse perspectives through interviews with individuals experiencing poverty, disability, and housing precarity, as well as frontline workers to identify gaps in current programs and services. Additionally, I collaborate with health care professionals involved in supporting applications for existing programs. To bridge identified gaps and enhance support systems, I am working towards developing a toolkit tailored for service providers and physicians. As part of the implementation strategy, pop-up clinics will be conducted to trial the effectiveness of the toolkit in real-world scenarios, ensuring its practical utility and relevance in addressing the complex issues surrounding poverty, disability, and housing precarity
Co-Developer: Human Rights Training Module, Rights 101 - September-December 2022. Rights 101, human rights training module development September-December 2022, Lead organization: National Right to Housing
From September to December 2022, I played a pivotal role in the development of the "Rights 101" human rights training module. This collaborative effort was conducted under the auspices of the National Right to Housing, where I actively worked with a dedicated team to craft an introductory module aimed at imparting foundational knowledge on human rights and housing basics. This involvement underscores my commitment to contributing to educational initiatives that promote a deeper understanding of the intersection between human rights and housing, supporting the broader mission of the National Right to Housing.
Presentations and Lectures: Housing
Presentation: “Intersectionality & Trauma informed Practice in Research on Housing & Homelessness”. Presentation to CCHR team November 2, 2023.
Presentation: “What does the right to housing mean: Applying Articles 3, 6 & 23 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to experiences of Disabled Mothers in Canada”. Presentation to CCHR team, September 21, 2023.
Guest Lecture: “Housing and the Intersections of Poverty, Disability and Parenting” for Professor Vaccaro’s class, McMaster University, School of Social Work, October 20, 2022.
Employment
Facilitation and training: Telus Health June 2022-present
As a subject matter and facilitator an focusing on ableism, intersectionality and employment, I have supported the development of a number of modules, learning sessions, keynote, and surveys for employers seeking to address ableism in the workplace, and develop tools and practice that creates a more inclusive environment for all employees and leaders, but especially for people living with disabilities.
Recent & Upcoming Presentations
“Ableism & Disability in the Workplace: Employees.” November 29, 2023
“Ableism & Disability in the Workplace: People Leaders.” November 30, 2023
Learning Forum: “Ableism & Disability Awareness.” December 1, 2023
Learning Forum: “Ableism & Disability Awareness.” December 12, 2023
Keynote: “The Intersectionality of disability and neurodiversity in the workplace” December 6, 2023
“Ableism in the Workplace: Introduction.” 2022
Other Keynotes, Employment and Disability
To Celebrate International Day of Persons with Disabilities Keynote: Elections Canada, Speakers Series, November 28, 2023
Dr. Jewelles Smith will discuss various ways in which employees can increase accessibility and reduce ableism in their work. She will speak about accessible formatting, language and trauma informed practice while also addressing the relevance and impact on employees of the agency’s Accessibility Plan and upcoming Progress Report. Attending this event will expand your understanding of how you can contribute to the accessibility of our workplace to create an environment where all feel welcome and valued.
Advisor, Nowhere to Go, Gender based Violence and Housing, June 2023-Summer 2024 Canadian Centre for Housing Rights, CMHC Funded project. Gender based violence and housing.
Researcher, BC Project Lead, and Consultant, Disability & Housing, Canadian Centre for Housing Rights, 2022-25. As a researcher on the SSHRC-funded project, "The Right to Housing for Tenants with Disabilities," led by the Canadian Centre for Housing Rights (formerly, Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation), I serve as a researcher, and the lead for the British Columbia region throughout the three-year duration from 2022 to 2025. My responsibilities include conducting a Grey Literature Review for the project, contributing valuable insights to the examination of housing rights for tenants with disabilities. Coordinating Research students as they conduct the extended literature review, and Annotated Bibliography. Supporting CCHR team in application to ethics and developing interview guides.
The project will fill this empirical gap by investigating the varying experiences of discrimination faced by tenants with disabilities and the way these tenants overcome discriminatory barriers in four Canadian provinces - Nova Scotia, Ontario, Manitoba, and British Columbia. The goal of this project is to make a major contribution to a research agenda concerning the right to housing for people with disabilities in Canada and how ongoing experiences of discrimination are preventing persons with disabilities from realizing their right to housing. The construction of this agenda will be a participatory and community-based research exercise, enabled by a purposeful partnership between community organizations and academic researchers. This partnership will identify ways in which discrimination and the denial of appropriate housing can be overcome through additional supports for people living with disabilities as well as policy and legislative changes.
Advisor, Accessibility, Assistive Technology, and Inclusion Project, BC Society of Transition Houses, August 2023-March 2024. Assist in development of practical resources and tools to support Transition Houses
Women’s National Housing and Homelessness Network steering committee and human rights claim, January 2022-Present. Worked with a diverse team in developing a human rights claim presented to the Housing Advocate June 2022. Ongoing support to individuals appearing as witnesses to claims with the Housing Advocate. Supporting ongoing research of the Network.