Homelessness is a risk for growing numbers of immigrants. Largely as a result of low incomes, newcomers are more likely than the Canadian‐born to spend over 50 percent of total household income on housing costs. Many newcomers suffer ‘hidden homelessness’. They do not use shelters and other services, but share accommodation, couch‐surf and rely on their social contacts for temporary and precarious housing. The adverse impact of low incomes on the housing experiences of Canadian newcomers is exacerbated in the outer suburbs of metropolitan areas where the supply of affordable housing is limited. This study explores the social backgrounds and housing experiences of immigrant households that are vulnerable to homelessness in outer suburbs through analysis of special tabulations from the 2001 census for York Region and interviews with representatives from local community organisations serving immigrant and low‐income populations. The initial findings confirm that a high proportion of newcomers in York Region are at‐risk of homelessness during the first 10 years of residence in Canada. Although renters are more vulnerable than homeowners, a substantial percentage of newcomers who are homeowners pay more than 30 percent of their total income on housing costs. The shortage of affordable rental housing in the outer suburbs exacerbates the impacts of low incomes, immigration status, household size and ethnoracial identities on immigrants' housing.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to evaluate whether unstructured graduate student research internships conducted in collaboration with community agencies build capacity and knowledge for students and community.Design/methodology/approach -The paper reports the results of four semi-structured interviews and 20 pre-and post-internship surveys of students' perceptions of their internship activities; whether participation built research capacity in students and community resulted in the creation of new knowledge and promoted ongoing partnerships and relationships.Findings -Students reported generating concrete outcomes for community partners, the acquisition of new research and professional skills, plus an increased understanding of theoretical knowledge. Many students also maintained ongoing relationships with their organizational partners beyond the terms of their internship.Research limitations/implications -Limitations to this study are the relatively small sample size and reliance on self-report measures.Practical implications -The paper describes a model for student-community engagement that benefits both community and students.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to evaluate whether unstructured graduate student research internships conducted in collaboration with community agencies build capacity and knowledge for students and community.Design/methodology/approach -The paper reports the results of four semi-structured interviews and 20 pre-and post-internship surveys of students' perceptions of their internship activities; whether participation built research capacity in students and community resulted in the creation of new knowledge and promoted ongoing partnerships and relationships.Findings -Students reported generating concrete outcomes for community partners, the acquisition of new research and professional skills, plus an increased understanding of theoretical knowledge. Many students also maintained ongoing relationships with their organizational partners beyond the terms of their internship.Research limitations/implications -Limitations to this study are the relatively small sample size and reliance on self-report measures.Practical implications -The paper describes a model for student-community engagement that benefits both community and students.

Knowledge mobilization seeks to identify and support authentic research collaborations between community and university so that benefits of the research accrue to both partners. Knowledge brokering is a key knowledge mobilization mechanism that helps community and university partners connect and build relationships in order to share expertise for mutual opportunity. There remains a need to describe in detail the typical knowledge brokering devices and methodologies. This paper presents a detailed description of York University's knowledge brokering service which is based on eight years of knowledge mobilization practice. The process is broken into 5 broad stages: 1) in progress; 2) no match; 3) match and no activity; 4) match and activity; 5) match and project. Stage 5 includes a step to identify the non-academic impacts of the collaborative research project. This process is illustrated using examples from York University's practice in which a match was brokered for 82% of the 342 knowledge mobilization opportunities

Knowledge mobilization seeks to identify and support authentic research collaborations between community and university so that benefits of the research accrue to both partners. Knowledge brokering is a key knowledge mobilization mechanism that helps community and university partners connect and build relationships in order to share expertise for mutual opportunity. There remains a need to describe in detail the typical knowledge brokering devices and methodologies. This paper presents a detailed description of York University's knowledge brokering service which is based on eight years of knowledge mobilization practice. The process is broken into 5 broad stages: 1) in progress; 2) no match; 3) match and no activity; 4) match and activity; 5) match and project. Stage 5 includes a step to identify the non-academic impacts of the collaborative research project. This process is illustrated using examples from York University's practice in which a match was brokered for 82% of the 342 knowledge mobilization opportunities