By Dominique Delmas, Communications Intern

Krystle Maki believes her research into welfare surveillance in Ontario can make a difference in the world beyond the walls of academia.

“I have this vision of positive social change,” says Ms. Maki, a PhD candidate in the Department of Sociology. “There’s stigmatization on so many different fronts, and my research is intended to dismantle stereotypes. I also want to shed light on the labour conditions social assistance case workers often face and the single mothers within the system who are so often silenced.”

Krystle Maki, a Vanier Scholar, is nearing the end of her doctorate work investigating the ways welfare surveillance in the Ontario Works program impacts social assistance recipients, service providers and community advocacy groups.

Ms. Maki, who is nearing the end of doctorate work, is investigating the ways in which welfare surveillance in the Ontario Works program impacts social assistance recipients, service providers and community advocacy groups. She has used the support from the prestigious Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship she received in 2011 to conduct 35 in-depth interviews across Ontario with single mothers on social assistance, case workers, frontline workers and antipoverty advocates.

“After sitting with single mothers who shared with me their trauma, violence, abuse and poverty, I would just leave the interviews shell-shocked. Their powerful stories speak to why I do the work I do,” she says.

Her experience with poverty has driven her to get involved in the Kingston community. Currently, Ms. Maki sits on the board for the Kingston Interval House, a service for women and their children who have been victimized by violence. In the past, she has volunteered for the Elizabeth Fry Society, investigated human rights violations in penitentiaries for women, helped organize Kingston international women’s week activities and was a co-organizer of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) funded Instigate 2010 anti-poverty conference.

Ms. Maki came to Queen’s for her Master’s degree in 2007 after completing her undergraduate studies at Trent University in Women’s Studies and Sociology. She was drawn to the Sociology graduate program at Queen’s because of feminist legal scholar Laureen Snider (Professor Emerita, Sociology), who first introduced Ms. Maki to the field of surveillance studies.

After sitting with single mothers who shared with me their trauma, violence, abuse and poverty, I would just leave the interviews shell-shocked. Their powerful stories speak to why I do the work I do.

PhD candidate Krystle Maki

She chose to stay at Queen’s following her Master’s degree to pursue her doctorate studies under the supervision of Margaret Little (Gender Studies/Political Studies) and Catherine Krull (Sociology/Cultural Studies).

“Dr. Little’s work as an anti-poverty activist and academic was essential in transforming me into the activist scholar I am today. I was being offered the chance to work with my idol,” she says. “Dr. Krull has also been a huge inspiration. I’m lucky to have the chance to work with people whose work I really admire and respect.”

Ms. Maki looks forward to teaching ‘Advanced Studies in Gender’ in the Sociology Department in the 2015 winter term. Her future ambitions include raising awareness on social justice issues and developing community resources for low-income populations.

“We often forget that poverty is an incredibly isolating experience. I plan on continuing to participate in academic and non-academic workshops and seminars. Knowledge is power and that’s what my research is about: giving knowledge back to the people who have to use these services.”