Honours and Awards - Scholarship Recipients

 

 

Laura Meisner has spent six years exploring better mental health support programs for children and youth. While earning her Honours Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Honours Bachelor of Social Work, Laura worked at Children’s Centre Thunder Bay, an organization dedicated to helping children with mental health issues to better function at home and at school. She has developed curriculum and programs for schools, organized youth conferences, developed and managed mental health education programs and campaigns, obtained grants, and chaired many committees. She is an active volunteer and is the Chair of Faye Peterson Transition House Board of Directors.

The Hilary Weston Scholarship will help Laura continue her research at Lakehead University where she is pursuing her Masters of Social Work Degree.

 

 

Jennifer Ward studies the intersection of grief and stigma and what it means for suicide survivors – including those whose lives have been touched by death, bereavement and mental health issues.

Jennifer is the Survivor Chair of the Canadian Association of Suicide Prevention (CASP) and is certified as an Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) interventionist. Jennifer is also involved with the Survivor Support Program and is a member of the Council for Adolescent Suicide Prevention in Peel Region.

While completing her undergraduate degree at Ryerson, Jennifer led her own research initiatives. She received a Ryerson Undergraduate Research Opportunity Scholarship, which she used to direct her own research project called, “It’s Complicated: A Critical Exploration of Grief, Loss and Madness in Mental/Health”.

The Hilary Weston Scholarship helps Jennifer continue her research at Sir Wilfrid Laurier University, where she is pursuing her Masters of Social Work degree.

 

 

Regine King became interested in mental health issues by healing her own. A survivor of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, Regine spent the rest of the decade working with trauma victims in her native country.

In 2001, she moved to Canada and began working in the mental health field. She has worked with many of society’s most vulnerable groups: women who have been abused; street youth; and the mentally ill, among others.

In 2003, Regine earned her Master’s degree in Counselling Psychology and Community Development at the University of Toronto. She is now working towards a PhD. Her research focuses on the psychological damage wrought by mass violence, and culturally sensitive ways of treating individuals and communities suffering from the resulting trauma.

 

 

After coming to Canada from India in 2008 with three university degrees in psychology and education, Hiren Rawal devoted himself to his job as research assistant in Laurentian’s School of Social Work.

He is currently researching the link between mental health, homelessness, and foster care experience of Northern Ontario youth making the difficult transition out of the child welfare system. As a colleague at Laurentian University admiringly put it, Hiren has “chosen to pursue an under-researched area in order to generate new approaches.”

During a placement at a Sudbury hospital, Hiren gained first-hand experience in treating patients suffering from early psychosis and gambling addictions, among other mental health conditions.

 

 

After completing her honour’s degree in Women’s Studies and English, at the University of Toronto Michelle began Master of Social Work studies at Wilfrid Laurier University specializing in individuals, families and groups.

After graduating she worked at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in the in-patient unit and in the outpatient Adolescent Service. In 2006, Michelle moved to the Toronto Central Community Care Access Centre as a Care Coordinator on the Mental Health Team.

While working in the field, Michelle was struck by the amount of isolation and stigma women with fibromyalgia experience in the health care system. Consequently, she returned to Wilfrid Laurier in 2009 to pursue doctoral studies to explore the type of supports and resources women with fibromyalgia feel they need to improve their emotional and physical well-being and quality of life.

 

 

Maaria completed two degrees at Laurentian University, Gerontology in 2006 and Social Work in 2008.

In both field placements and employment Maaria has worked with children with special needs and girls experiencing self-esteem issues.

A placement with the Canadian Mental Health Association’s Northern Outreach for Women with Postpartum Depression Project led her to pursue her Master’s thesis which focuses on the mental health of women experiencing postpartum depression. She intends to explore the experiences of Northern Ontarian women who have undergone postpartum depression so that she can determine their support needs.

Maaria’s professional goals are aimed at clinical social work and research in the Northern Ontario health care system

 

 

Magnus is an advocate, clinician, educator and a researcher.

This PhD student at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Social Work emigrated to the United States from Ghana.
In Queens, New York he volunteered at the Creedmoor Psychiatric Centre where he discovered his desire to make a difference in the lives of the marginalized.

After graduating with a Master’s degree in Social Work, Magnus moved to Canada and worked with adolescent sex offenders in British Columbia.

Just over 8 years ago, Magnus began working as a Community Mental Health Service Coordinator at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto. 
Here, he found the perfect place to nurture his passion for social work.

The Hilary M. Weston Scholarship will support his research on mental health services to the multicultural communities at the University of Toronto.

 

 

Margaret McLauchlan is a highly determined woman. 

Cerebral palsy and chronic pain haven’t prevented her from pursuing her goal to complete a Master’s of Social Work degree at the University of Windsor.

Inspired by her own son’s struggles with depression in his last year of high school and before she became permanently disabled, Margaret worked with developmentally disabled people with dual diagnosis in Alberta and here in Ontario.

From 1999 to 2005, she served on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Mental Health Association, Chatham-Kent Branch.  Her commitment to the well-being, dignity and equality of mental health patients is renowned.

Her son’s achievements have reinforced her belief that with strategic support, young people with mental challenges can succeed in their studies and in life.

The Hilary M. Weston scholarship will help her to conduct research on educational support programs for post secondary students with psychiatric disabilities to be conducted at the University of Windsor Student Disability Services office.