2025 Recipients
2025 CAGP-CCSMH Award Recipients
Congratulations to the 2025 award recipients for being recognized for their leadership and impactful work in mental health. Learn more about these incredible individuals creating positive change in the realm of older adults' mental health in Canada.
Vision Award
2025 Recipient: The Exchange
The Exchange is a collective of people with lived expertise in experiences of homelessness as older adults. The group’s mission is to advise on expanding services that promote health and quality of life for older people with experiences of homelessness and housing insecurity. They chose the name ‘The Exchange’ with the hope of promoting the exchange of ideas between health care providers, policy makers, and older citizens. The group was co-developed with family physicians and researchers Dr. Lara Nixon and Dr. Martina Kelly, Recreation Therapist Kearah Darr, and researcher Megan Sampson. It was founded in 2019 as part of a study that focused on harm reduction housing with older adults and has since expanded to include more members.
The expertise of older people experiencing homelessness to contribute to the conversations on housing and health challenges at personal, community, organizational, systems, and policy level is often overlooked. The Exchange changes this by channeling conversations around personal and shared experiences into identifying barriers, challenges, practicable solutions and goals for improving equitable access to aging well. One initiative included a series of art-based knowledge exchange events. Through these gatherings, the members of The Exchange shared stories from diverse perspectives and experiences and created a collection of art pieces that explored embodied experiences and reflections on identity, aging, well-being, and connection. These outputs challenge ageism and intersecting stigma relating to age, ability, housing status, race, income, and gender by engaging with the inherent distinction and vibrancy of human experience.
Seniors’ Mental Health Outstanding Care and Integrative Practice Award
2025 Recipient: SMH Geriatric Outreach Program to Shelters
The goal of the Geriatric Outreach Program to Shelters (GPS) is to enhance the health and well-being of older people experiencing homelessness. Led by geriatrician, Dr. Jillian Alston and social worker, Alesia Campbell, the GPS was launched in 2020 in select Toronto shelters and a transitional residence for adults 55 years and older.
Older adults receive a Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment and follow-up visits. The GPS staff actively support the individual and shelter staff in following the individual’s comprehensive geriatric assessment recommendations. Some of the activities include accompanying individuals to appointments and procuring supports like hearing and vision devices, medication, mobility aids, and footwear. If an individual is discharged from the shelter, the GPS staff ensure they are linked to appropriate health care providers and services. Just over half of the people seen in the first two years were assessed as meeting the criteria for long-term care and GPS staff supported shelter staff with LTC applications.
In addition to direct care and support, the GPS program has also undertaken additional impactful sustainability and capacity-building initiatives from providing education and trainee supervision to conducting research and developing content for diverse audiences.
The Geriatric Outreach Program to Shelters is an exemplary evidence-based model of care that would be beneficial in shelters across Canada.