Dr. Cheryl Forchuk, Order of Canada Appointee (Photo courtesy of Dr. Forchuk)
By John-Paul Bonadonna
Cheryl Forchuk, a proud alum of the University of Windsor, has been appointed to the Order of Canada in recognition of her transformative work advocating for people experiencing homelessness and those facing mental health challenges.
The award is one of Canada’s highest civilian honours, naming Dr. Forchuk an Officer Appointee on June 30.
“It’s a wonderful recognition,” said Forchuk.
“But none of the work I do is done alone. This honours a whole community of people including researchers, frontline workers and especially those with lived experience, all of whom helped make systems change possible.”
A Distinguished University Professor at Western University and scientist at Lawson Research Institute, Forchuk has spent decades pioneering solutions to some of society’s most complex issues. Her work has reshaped the way we think about psychiatric care, transitional housing and homelessness in Canada.
Her journey began at the University of Windsor.
Forchuk earned both her nursing and psychology degrees at UWindsor, a dual pathway that shaped her holistic approach to health care.
“We had a lot of psychology integrated into our nursing curriculum,” she recalled.
“That interdisciplinary focus was one of the program’s great strengths.”
It was during her clinical placements that she found her calling.
“Mental health care demanded creativity and critical thinking,” said Forchuk.
“I liked the unpredictability and the complexity. I knew that’s where I belonged.”
Fifty years later, she is still working in those settings and still connected with her University of Windsor classmates, some of whom are also still in practice.
“We’re having our 50th reunion next year. It’s a testament to how strong the program was.”
Forchuk’s drive to improve systems, rather than simply treat symptoms, led her to pursue a PhD and focus on large-scale research initiatives.
Her early work centred on therapeutic relationships in psychiatric care. This led to the development of the Transitional Discharge Model, now an internationally recognized approach that helps people reintegrate into the community with appropriate supports.
The World Health Organization includes the model in its list of good mental health practices worldwide.
“It focuses on ensuring no one is discharged from psychiatric care into isolation,” said Forchuk.
“It’s simple, but incredibly impactful.”
Building on that success, she turned her attention to homelessness, particularly among people with mental health challenges.
Her research has been instrumental in preventing hospital discharges into homelessness and developing, testing and monitoring specialized interventions for youth, veterans, families and women.
Her work helped launch the first national study on veteran homelessness in Canada and is influencing federal policy through Veterans Affairs and the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness.
Forchuk is clear-eyed about the scale of the homelessness crisis in Canada but also insists that it is solvable. She connects with audiences through the use of a musical chairs metaphor.
“The chairs are affordable housing units, and the people circling are those in deep poverty,” she explained.
“If there are more people than chairs, someone’s going to end up without a place to live.”
Forchuk says the causes of this imbalance are rooted in decades-old policy failures, most notably the downloading of responsibility from federal to provincial to municipal governments in the 1990s, which drastically reduced the supply of affordable housing.
“It was a disaster in slow motion,” she said.
“And now we’re living the consequences.”
Yet Forchuk refuses to dwell in despair.
Her research is relentlessly solutions-focused. Whether it is advocating for rent supplements, social enterprises, or improved data collection, her goal is always the same: practical interventions that respect people’s dignity and autonomy.
Forchuk is quick to credit the University of Windsor with giving her the foundation to think differently.
“We were trained not just to follow orders, but to think critically, to lead and to innovate, especially in community settings,” she said.
“That education shaped who I became as a nurse, researcher and advocate.”
As she and her classmates prepare to celebrate five decades since graduation, Cheryl Forchuk has another milestone to mark: becoming one of Canada’s most decorated advocates for the voiceless.
Dr. Cheryl Forchuk. Officer of the Order of Canada Appointee.
Congratulations, Cheryl!