Amanda Butler PhD Candidate

I am a PhD Candidate in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University (SFU) and research assistant in the UBC Department of Psychiatry. I hold an MA in criminology from SFU and BA in criminal justice and public policy from the University of Guelph. My PhD research involves retrospective cohort analyses of characteristics and criminal justice outcomes for people with mental illness and substance use disorders in provincial BC correctional facilities. I am the Vice Chair of the Board of Directors for the Elizabeth Fry Society of Greater Vancouver, a non-profit organization which supports women and children involved in or at-risk of involvement in the criminal justice system.

What are your key research interests?

Improving outcomes for justice-involved people with mental illness and substance use disorders, dual diagnosis and complex comorbidity, continuity of care, therapeutic jurisprudence, and prison reentry.

What drew you to working with Transformative Health & Justice?

I have learned through my graduate research and community work that health and criminal justice involvement are intricately linked. I believe that correctional services (including jails) hold enormous potential to play an active role in the continuum of care. In an ‘ideal world’, health and justice services work in synergy, practices are evidence-based, and policy action is grounded in structural and social determinants of health. The THJRC provides an avenue for consultation and mobilization of key stakeholders, creating a shared vision for policy activities and action-oriented research in this important area.