Articles by author: Brock University

• Virtual Brock event to explore behaviour during pandemic

  Friday, October 23, 2020 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 23 October 2020 – R0159

  Brock researchers will share their findings on how the global pandemic is shaping lives at a free public webinar on Tuesday, Oct. 27 from 12:30 to 2 p.m.

  The Centre for Lifespan Development Research at Brock University will host “COVID-19 and the Community: Learning more about people’s behaviour and experiences during the pandemic.”

  The live virtual event will address topics such as lying about symptoms, the effects of lockdown on active Canadians and the pandemic’s impact on young people’s lives.

  With Halloween party season approaching, Tony Volk, Professor of Child and Youth Studies, will speak to his research on how young adults are coping with and either adapting or failing to adapt to the circumstances of the pandemic, including breaking rules about in-person gatherings.

  “Young adults are at the centre of this second wave,” says Volk. “Understanding what personal and demographic factors help them cope is critical, as is understanding what measures are likely to make them take proper precautions.”

  Tim O’Connell, Professor in the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies, will share some early findings from his study of how the pandemic has altered participation in outdoor recreational activities and what impacts the changes have had on people’s mental health, the magnitude of which he has found surprising.

  O’Connell’s research, which has just finished its third phase of data collection, has captured the different phases of lockdown, from the early rushes to spend time in public parks and outdoor spaces to the resulting closures due to overcrowding and the effects of slowly reopening as restrictions eased.

  “In general, as is evident in the news, outdoor recreation areas have been inundated with people and are regularly overcrowded since the start of COVID,” says O’Connell. “The resurgence of interest in outdoor recreation is something that has changed due to COVID, with people now making life choices — where to live, work and play — based on access to outdoor recreation resources. This is a different phenomenon than in the last 10 to 20 years.”

  Alison O’Connor, a PhD student in the Department of Psychology working with Associate Professor Angela Evans, will discuss her work on deception during the pandemic, which looks at both why people lie about their behaviours or symptoms and what might help promote honest communication.

  “It is important to not add shame to those who lie about illness, but rather to have compassion for individuals who may feel afraid, stigmatized or embarrassed to disclose information,” says O’Connor. “We need to understand the barriers that prevent people from telling the truth and to try to understand why the lie was told.”

  Rebecca Raby, Professor of Child and Youth Studies, and her PhD student Laurel Donsion have spent the last few months trying to understand, in detail, how children and young people are experiencing the pandemic, conducting repeated interviews with participants to learn more about their wide-ranging experiences.

  Raby says she has been surprised both by how knowledgeable the participants are about COVID-19 and by the extent of their loneliness, noting the pandemic has “exacerbated current inequalities” to affect children’s experiences.

  “We need greater recognition, through research but also the creation of policy, that children’s experiences, feelings and views during these times are worthwhile and important,” says Raby. “We also need greater attention to how different children’s experiences are based on a number of factors, including social inequality, and we need to ensure that attention is paid to quality in online teaching so that children who cannot go to school right now are properly supported.”

  The webinar is free and open to the public. In order to gain access, please register online.

  Please note that this webinar will not discuss or recommend specific treatment or public health interventions, nor is it intended to provide individual advice. Brock University is not recommending any specific resources or health-care options that may be discussed at this event. Individuals should consult with their health-care team or treatment provider for all health-care recommendations and decisions.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Maryanne St. Denis, Writer/Web Editor, Brock University Marketing & Communications
  mstdenis@brocku.ca or 905-246-0256

  – 30 –

  Categories: Media releases

• Exploring the affordable housing crunch in Niagara, and why people spend years on a waiting list

  Thursday, October 22, 2020 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 22 October 2020 – R0158

  Anyone hoping to rent an affordable one-bedroom apartment from Niagara Regional Housing can be facing wait times of a decade or more, anywhere from nine years in Lincoln to 17 years in Niagara Falls.

  And as the gap between supply and demand keeps growing, so does the number of people on the waiting list — by 20 per cent between 2017 and 2019 alone — making the search for affordable housing a frustrating experience, especially for Niagara’s poor and vulnerable.

  The latest policy brief from Brock University’s Niagara Community Observatory — “Looking Ahead and Looking Up: Affordable Housing in Niagara” — explores factors that cause this imbalance in affordable housing supply and demand, steps being taken to increase affordable housing and whether these measures will be enough to meet future need.

  “This research brief starts the conversation,” says Assistant Professor of Political Science Joanne Heritz, the brief’s author.

  “I’m telling the community that we don’t have enough housing, especially affordable housing, our demand is going to go up, and we need to build more apartment-type housing.”

  Heritz says she is particularly concerned about the “invisible” housing seekers who earn minimum wage or are juggling several jobs just to make ends meet

  A sizable portion of Niagara’s workforce consists of low-paying or seasonal employment in the tourism and service sectors. Other vulnerable populations challenged by finding affordable housing include Indigenous peoples, single mothers with children, seniors and veterans, says the brief.

  Households in “core housing need” in the region range from 18 per cent in Port Colborne to four per cent in Lincoln and West Lincoln.

  The overall supply of rental units in Niagara and all across the province doesn’t keep up with demand, says the brief. In Ontario:

  • less than seven per cent of new housing across Ontario in the past 20 years has been designated as rental
  • rental prices have increased 10 to 15 per cent since 2019; meanwhile, incomes increased just two per cent per year between 2008 and 2017
  • 56 per cent of renters cannot afford an average two-bedroom apartment

  The situation is even more dire in Niagara:

  • In 2019, St. Catharines was the 10th most expensive rental market in Canada with an average price of $910 for a one-bedroom rental
  • Niagara is expected to experience a 30-per-cent population increase by 2041: to 609,990 residents from its current size of 450,320

  “Low supply of rental stock, steep increases in housing prices, forecasted population growth, migration of population from the GTA to Niagara, preferences for short-term vacation rentals, renovictions, the decades-long waitlist for social housing, the gig economy and the unmet needs of vulnerable groups, all contribute to the affordable housing crisis in Niagara,” says the brief.

  The brief says apartments are in highest demand in Niagara, requiring an additional 19,325 units by 2041, or 870 units annually.

  On the positive side, the brief notes policy and construction changes that expand the housing supply. For example, Niagara Regional Housing recently opened an affordable housing building for seniors in Welland, a high-rise on Carleton Street in St. Catharines and an upcoming 73-unit project on Hawkins Street in Niagara Falls.

  Intensification – a range and mix of higher density housing options that can accommodate a number of household sizes within walking distance of other amenities – is occurring in West Lincoln.

  Welland is leading the way in construction of secondary suites — self-contained, separate units with sleeping, full kitchen and bath facilities and a separate entrance.

  St Catharines has two innovative housing builds: 127-unit public-private partnership on Church Street completed in June 2020 and a 24-unit transitional and supportive housing on Oakdale Avenue to be completed early 2021.

  Heritz encourages governments and citizens alike to plan for ways of increasing the rental housing market, particularly affordable housing for the region’s most vulnerable people.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Maryanne St. Denis, Writer/Web Editor, Brock University Marketing & Communications
  mstdenis@brocku.ca or 905-246-0256

  – 30 –

  Categories: Media releases