Media releases

• Public symposium to share Brock research on mental health

  Tuesday, April 20, 2021 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 20 April 2021 – R0048

  Mental health, including during the pandemic, will be discussed by Brock researchers from across the University at a public event next week.

  Perspectives on Mental Health, a free online symposium, takes place Tuesday, April 27 from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m.

  The event will feature faculty, student and staff presenters from the Departments of Child and Youth Studies, Geography and Tourism Studies, Education, Health Sciences and Nursing, as well as the Student Wellness and Accessibility Centre.

  Researchers will offer their perspectives on a wide array of topics related to mental health, including:

  • experiences of nature for Canadian youth
  • perceptions of weight and bullying among adolescents
  • social and emotional learning in elementary schools
  • an urban mental health crisis at the turn of the 20th century

  Several of the presenters will focus on the various effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on youth, including:

  • the benefits of dog-walking to relieve pandemic stress in young people
  • perfectionism both before and during the pandemic
  • transitioning from high school to university during the pandemic
  • impacts of youth mental health on families

  Details on the presenters and a full list of presentations with descriptions are available online. 

  Perspectives on Mental Health kicks off a new interdisciplinary symposium series hosted by the Faculty of Social Sciences. It is intended to create more opportunities for members of the Brock and wider communities to learn about research and activities happening across the University related to various themes.

  Ingrid Makus, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, is looking forward to welcoming visitors to these events, which are intended for a non-expert audience.

  “With this new series, we hope to explore topics from multiple perspectives,” says Makus. “This inaugural event, Perspectives on Mental Health, offers audience members and participants alike a unique opportunity to consider the theme of mental health through a variety of lenses.”

  Everyone is welcome to attend the live event. Registration is required. A link to join via Lifesize will be sent following registration.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Dan Dakin, Manager Communications and Media Relations, Brock University ddakin@brocku.ca or 905-347-1970

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  Categories: Media releases

• Brock expert available to weigh in on Canada-wide child-care system described in federal budget

  Monday, April 19, 2021 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 19 April 2021 – R0047

  When the federal budget is released later today, it’s expected to include something Kate Bezanson has spent the past year — and much of her career — championing: more support for childcare and women who have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

  The first federal budget in two years will be delivered by Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland later this afternoon and reports in the media say it will include a $2-billion national child-care program.

  Bezanson, Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies in Brock University’s Faculty of Social Sciences is an expert in gender, social policy and political economy.

  Almost exactly a year ago, in the early days of the pandemic, Bezanson said that social infrastructure — and centrally, supporting and building a child-care system — would be key to the country’s economic recovery from COVID-19.

  She, along with Andrew Bevan, a former Chief of Staff to a Premier of Ontario and a federal Leader of the Opposition, as well as Sheridan College Early Childhood Education Professor Monica Lysack authored a policy report titled “From stabilization to stimulus and beyond: A roadmap to social and economic recovery,” released in April 2020. Other significant briefs have followed.

  The three have become some of the country’s foremost experts on the topic, appearing before numerous government committees and doing media interviews and writing opinion columns encouraging the type of support expected to be announced today.

  Bezanson said she’s hoping today’s budget is a “once-in-a-generation turning point in support of families, children and Canada’s long-term economic resilience.”

  “The COVID-19 crisis made visible both the vulnerability of the care sector and its centrality to averting gender-regressive economic outcomes,” she said. “A broad, multi-sectoral consensus has emerged that building a Canada-wide affordable, accessible and quality child-care system is key to a robust, sustainable and inclusive recovery.”

  Bezanson will be available to speak to the media after the budget is released Monday and will also be available Tuesday, April 20.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Dan Dakin, Manager Communications and Media Relations, Brock University ddakin@brocku.caor 905-347-1970

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  Categories: Media releases