RESPond Hub

Co-researcher

Adam is an instructor in justice studies at the New Brunswick Community College. He spent ten years as a police officer, 15 years as a member of the Royal Canadian Navy Reserve, and three years doing crisis line work. He has had multiple mental health roles, from case management services for youth to mobile crisis response.

Professionally, he would like to get more involved in the research field to better equip policing organizations and others with best practices surrounding the longevity of officer’s well-being in their careers.

He will attempt to start open-water swimming this summer, something that he has never done before; he tends to sink in water.

Adam has a twin who is 6 minutes older than him 😊  

Chief Medical Officer, 9-8-8

Dr. Allison Crawford, is a psychiatrist and the Director of Virtual Care at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, and Associate Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry, and Dalla Lana School of Public Health, at the University of Toronto. She is the Chief Medical Officer of the Canada Suicide Prevention Service; Medical Director of the Ontario Psychiatric Outreach Program; and a Founder and Co-Chair of ECHO Ontario (www.echoontario.ca), an award-winning, virtual community of practice. These activities advance access to mental health services, with a focus on suicide prevention, community-based care, and Indigenous wellness. 

Co-researcher

Caitlin Tavares is an advanced care paramedic, educator and scholar in the Regional Municipality of Peel Paramedic Services in the Department of Health Services. She specializes in the mental health and wellness of paramedics and is vice chair of the Wellness Committee at the Ontario Paramedic Association. Her graduate work at the University of Toronto focused on suicide prevention and awareness, mental health and addiction, and critical incident resource management in paramedicine contexts. Caitlin brings both a scholarly and practice-based perspective to the RESPond Study.

Staff Scientist, 9-8-8

Dr. Chantalle Clarkin is a Registered Nurse and qualitative health researcher with a doctorate in Education, and a specialization in non-fiction media production. She is also an adjunct lecturer at the Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing at the University of Toronto. Her research combines integrated knowledge translation and patient-oriented approaches in participatory, community-based health research contexts. Dr. Clarkin conducts constructivist research using qualitative and arts-based methods that foster innovative dissemination approaches and engage patients as active partners in all phases of research.

Co-researcher

Chris has been a police officer for 24 years, both in London England before immigrating to Canada in 2005, and is now with Toronto Police. He brings lived experience of combining a career in emergency services with coping with mental health and addiction issues. Chris has worked with Canada Beyond the Blue to promote organizational changes. Chris views his yoga practice as a vital part of his wellness, and loves the peace and balance that his practice brings him (as does his wife!). He hopes to be able to share his experiences with the RESPond study and work towards a day when mental health is just health.

Co-researcher

Danielle Dubé is in her 14th year as a full-time firefighter and is currently completing her officer pool courses as she works toward becoming a Hall Captain. She also brings a breadth of experience from her ice hockey career, where she played both professionally in the men’s minor professional leagues and for the Women’s National Ice Hockey Team.

Danielle considers herself a lifelong learner. At the age of 36 she was asked to attend UBC as a varsity athlete, which led to a bachelor of arts in psychology. Through her interest in continuously learning, Danielle’s degree propelled her into the mental health world of firefighters where she was heavily involved in the development and implementation of several mental health initiatives. This involvement blossomed into a passion to continue her education and she is now in the final stages of completing her master of counselling degree.

Research assistant

Fatima graduated with an Honours Bachelor of Science (HBSc) from the University of Toronto where she studied Mental Health and Anthropology. Previously, she has worked as a crisis responder and program assistant at Talk Suicide (now 9-8-8), where she had the privilege to support individuals in distress and to train and mentor new responders. She is passionate about qualitative research and especially using the voices of people with lived experiences of suicidal thoughts and feelings, in order to understand ways to improve care, hope, and overall recovery. Fatima is a major fan of the Harry Potter series and in her free time, she enjoys trying out new spaghetti recipes.

Research methods specialist

Gisell has worked as research support staff in the health research sector for over 10 years. She completed her Masters in social psychology at Carleton University. She brings a great deal of experience with qualitative research methods, implementation science, and community based research. Her research interests include health equity, interdisciplinary and participatory methods, and patient and public engagement in mental health research. She is a dachshund enthusiast and beginner guitarist.

Co-researcher 

Matt joined the study team in February 2023 and brings experience from a couple sectors that he hopes will positively impact the goals of this project. From 2007 to 2013 he was enlisted in the Canadian Military as an Infantryman for the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry where he had the privilege to deploy on two missions to Afghanistan. Now working in the private sector as an investigator, Matt decided to moonlight with the Canadian Suicide Prevention Service (Now 988) beginning in September 2021. He started as a volunteer and now works on the staff team as a supervisor; however, maintains his position as a responder as well.

Throughout these experiences, Matt has seen the impact of mental health struggles in friends and colleagues alike and hopes to contribute to supporting our communities bravest – First Responders. When not gumshoeing or working the lines at 988, you’ll usually find him hanging out with his family, scuba diving, or chilling with his two fuzzy-Chihuahua-soulmates, John & Grace.

Research coordinator

Thiyake brings a wealth of experience in both qualitative and quantitative research methods that have been cultivated over a decade working in the physical and mental health sector. She completed her Master of Science at Queen's University. Her research interests include using technology to build mental health capacity, adaptive expertise, factors influencing lifelong learning, psychosocial predictors of bariatric surgery outcomes, and evidence-based crisis interventions. Beyond research pursuits, Thiyake finds joy in playing the Veena, a stringed instrument. With a thirst for knowledge and a passion for both research and music, Thiyake is dedicated to continuous growth and exploration in all aspects of her life.