Dr. Lara Nixon
Affiliations
Associate Professor
Cumming School of Medicine, Department of Family Medicine
Contact information
Web presence
Phone number
Office: +1 (403) 210-9228
Location
Academic office: Health SciencesG012L
Background
Educational Background
Bachelor of Education Biology, University of British Columbia, 1992
Bachelor of Science Zoology, University of British Columbia, 1990
Doctor of Medicine University of British Columbia, 1999
Teaching Scholars in Medicine University of Calgary, 2008
Projects
ExCHANGE Calgary (March 17–18, 2026) brought together 35 participants from across Canada to address the growing challenge of late-life homelessness.
The issue: Older adults experiencing homelessness face unique and complex challenges, including:
- Premature aging
- Increased health and care needs
- Siloed housing, healthcare, and social support systems
Meeting Aims
To promote:
- Meaningful inclusion of lived experience experts
- Integrated care models of health, social, and housing support
Meeting Outcomes
A shared commitment to advancing scalable, person-centred
solutions that promote housing stability, health, dignity, and belonging for older adults experiencing homelessness.
Next Steps
- Develop a Practice Support Network
- Advocacy and policy action
With longer-term goals to contribute to a national strategy on late-life homelessness.
Interested in learning more? Please see our full report attached, and the appendices at
https://obrieniph.ucalgary.ca/sites/default/files/teams/8/2026_ExCHANGE_Appendices.pdf
Please contact Lara Nixon, lnixon@ucalgary.ca
Exchange & GROWTH (Generating Resilience Outcomes through Community Wisdom: Transforming Homelessness in Later Life) is a collaborative project that brings together older adults with lived experience of homelessness, researchers, health and social care providers, community organizations, and policy leaders. The project aims to better understand and address the unique challenges faced by older people experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity.
Guided by The Exchange, a group of older adults with lived experience, the project uses conversation, storytelling, and creative arts-based approaches to identify priorities for more equitable health, housing, and social services. Together, participants will co-create resources, advocacy tools, and recommendations to inform policy and practice. Ultimately, the project seeks to amplify lived experience, improve health equity, and build a national coalition to support older adults facing homelessness across Canada.
Awards
- Vision Award - in collaboration with The Exchange, (lived-experience co-researchers) for countering ageism and stigma, Canadian Academy of Geriatric Psychiatry and the Canadian Coalition for Seniors’ Mental Health (CAGP-CCSMH). 2025
- Patient Voice “Highly Recommended” Presentation: “From Delivery to Dialogue: Co-designing Educational Messages about the Lived Experience of Aging with Housing Precarity.”, University of British Columbia’s Patient’s Voice 2025. 2025
- The 2022 O'Brien Institute Societal Impact Award , O'Brien Institute for Public Health, University of Calgary . 2022
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