This project, led by Andrew Hartman (PhD student),  is a qualitatively focused evaluation of OUTSaskatoon's Pride Home program.  Pride Home is Canada's first long-term group home for queer youth. Individual interviews will be conducted with current Pride Home residents, queer youth waiting to enter Pride Home, and staff/volunteers. The goal of this evaluation is to better understand queer youth's experiences around homelessness, accessing community supports/services, and residing within Pride Home. Learn more about Pride Home here - http://www.outsaskatoon.ca/pridehome

Contact Andrew.hartman@usask.ca for more information on this evaluation project.

AUDEAMUS is a national holistic psychiatric service dog training program for military veterans across Canada who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Problematic use of illicit and licit substances is common among veterans suffering from PTSD. The purpose of the current project is to evaluate the effectiveness of the AUDEAMUS trained service dogs in reducing PTSD symptoms and substance use for veterans, and specifically how performing technical tasks/training and forming a bond/connection with the dog leads to these outcomes. This research is essential for AUDEAMUS to ensure that they are achieving their desired outcomes, but also contributes to the paucity of literature on the efficacy of service dogs. Linzi’s involvement with this project is the result of receiving a scholarship through the Saskatchewan Centre for Patient-Oriented Research (SCPOR) in the final year of her PhD. Much to her delight, Linzi has been given the opportunity to train and foster dogs with AUDEAMUS. Learn more about AUDEAMUS here - http://www.audeamus.ca/