Community Engagement

Introduction

Community Members of the DET OHT are persons who have had experience as a patient/client, family member, and/or caregiver, receiving health and community services in the Downtown East Toronto.

Community members play a key role in influencing, developing, and collaboratively designing a wide range of community and health initiatives, programs, services, and policies of the DET OHT. They bring forth an objective and balanced approach to patient, family, and caregiver perspectives and experiences. They work in partnership with the Core Group (board members), Community Advisory Council, Community Engagement Working Group, and other DET OHT initiative-focused working groups.

Our work for the DET community members is guided by Patient, Family and Caregiver Declaration of Values for Ontario.

Community Advisory Council (CAC)

The CAC collaborates closely with the DET OHT Core Group, member organizations, and the regional community to ensure that the development of a sustainable and patient-focused health care system is based on the lived experience of the Downtown East community members.

CAC advocates for fair and equitable representation of the patient’s voice, aligned with the DET OHT principles of respect and dignity, empathy and compassion, accountability, transparency, and equity and engagement.

Current Leadership of CAC

CHAIR, CAC: Sophia Morgage is the chair effective January 2024. Morgage is among the earliest community members to join DET OHT, playing a key role in its initial development. She co-founded the CAC and led the development of its structure, terms of reference, and recognition framework. She is also the guiding force behind onboarding and training new community members. One of the many projects that Morgage has co-designed and guided is the Community Members’ Engagement Survey, which aims to evaluate the experience of engagement for community members who are working on DET OHT projects. Her love for social and community support work started at Progress Place, a mental health community and wellness centre in Toronto, where she served as a peer support worker at the warm line. She holds a college diploma in social service and a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from York University.

VICE CHAIR, CAC: Brooke Holdsworth is the vice chair effective January 2024. Proudly representing the Indigenous community, Holdsworth is deeply committed to Indigenous education and community empowerment. She and her family are active members in their community, responding to the needs as they present themselves. She has worn many hats, including those of a mother, nurse, frontline worker in a residential facility, spiritual advisor, and medical advocate. She has also provided life coaching and mentorship for years. She holds a BA in Nursing, attained through a collaborative program between Algonquin College and the University of Ottawa. In the vice-chair role, Holdsworth supports the CAC chair by fostering inclusive dialogue and seeking diverse perspectives.

Join the CAC

Preferred skills for CAC members include:

• Lived experience of receiving health and community services
• Living and/or receiving care in the Downtown East Toronto
• Prior experience of co-designing and advising on health and community care projects
• A passion for improving health and community care.

To apply to the DET OHT CAC, kindly complete this form.

Our Community Members

Sophia Morgage – Co-Chair, Community Advisory Council and Community Engagement working group of the DET OHT.

Veronica Snooks – Member, DET OHT Community Advisory Council and Mental Health and Addictions Working Group