We would like to congratulate our 2009 Public Health Champion Award winners.
Individual Category
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Lillie Johnson Founding and current board member of the Sickle Cell Association of Ontario (SCAO) |
Ms. Johnson is a retired 86 year old registered nurse and educator who has worked tirelessly to promote awareness of sickle cell anemia and its disproportionate impact on racialized populations. She was instrumental in the founding of the SCAO in 1981 as a volunteer advocacy and support group that in its early days operated largely out of her home.
She personally provided counseling and support to many individuals and led advocacy efforts to engage government and health administration officials in adopting coordinated strategies to address the needs of people with sickle cell anemia. Following the receipt by the SCAO of a multi-year funding grant in 2003 from the Trillium Foundation, one of the most significant achievements was the recent inclusion of sickle cell disease to the Ontario newborn screening program.
Organization Category
| Community Matters Toronto (CMT) |
CMT is a dynamic, grassroots organization of St. James Town residents whose motto is "Neighbours helping neighbours" and whose work helps people speak for themselves, develop skills and help others. CMT was founded 10 years ago to provide a local voice on common issues among residents and provides support to families around housing, finances, employment, citizenship, language and parenting. Recent achievements include improving crosswalk access at a local school and preventing the closure of a school pool.
Programs are run with a Community Assistant Model where residents gain skills by becoming actively involved in programming that benefits the whole community. St. James Town is a densely populated and culturally diverse neighbourhood in downtown Toronto.
Past Winners
2008 award winnersLast updated March 2010