Breaking the cycle of poverty for children and youth

Projects supported in 2017 are:

Centre 3 for Print & Media Arts, Hamilton

  • Amount Received: $272,600
  • Project: The organization will measure the impact of post-program support to help youth in Hamilton stay employed after they finish an employment program or entering the workforce through a provider. (Also included under Employment and Income Security.)

John Howard Society of Ontario, Thunder Bay

  • Amount Received: $346,600
  • Project: The organization will measure the impact of an extension to the Residential Reintegration Program (RRP), where youth and those that identify as First Nations, Métis, Inuit or urban Indigenous in Thunder Bay will enroll in Recreational Therapy (RT) to help identify high-risk behaviours and replace them with positive psycho-social skills, build confidence and an increased sense of community. This will help them use the RRP services and programming as they move into housing. (Also included under Employment and Income Security.)

London District Catholic School Board, London

  • Amount received: $438,100
  • Project: The organization will measure the impact of MindUP, a social and emotional learning pilot program that will use classroom activities and learning strategies to improve academic performance, attendance, and self-regulation of children living in poverty.

London Family Court Clinic, London

  • Amount Received: $570,400
  • Project: The organization will measure the impact of a trauma-informed approach to counselling and community support services that ensure that at risk court-involved youth who are challenged by serious mental health concerns have a comprehensive and coordinated trauma informed plan of care. The program is led by a trauma-informed mental health team which is actively supported by a trauma-informed community-based response team in the London-Middlesex area. (Also included under Employment and Income Security).

Niagara Region, Welland

  • Amount Received: $476,800
  • Project: The organization will measure the impact of the Niagara Prosperity Initiative (NPI) which will provide insights into best practices and recommendations for poverty reduction strategies through learnings from 339 projects that impacted the lives of over 100,000 people living in poverty in the Niagara Region since 2008.

Pinecrest-Queensway Community Health Centre, Ottawa

  • Amount received: $740,000
  • Project: The organization will measure the impact of Student Parent Support Workers on youth’s ability to access services, overcome barriers to educational progress and graduate from high school. The workers build relationships with the youth and coordinate supports based on strengths and needs of students and families.

Employment and income security

Projects supported in 2017 are:

Access Community Capital Fund, Toronto

  • Amount received: $291,400
  • Project: This organization will measure the impact of its program to provide entrepreneurship training and skills, and microloans to visible minorities, newcomers, women, youth, and others facing barriers in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, so they can enter and remain in the labor market.

Canadore College, Nipissing

  • Amount received: $791,500
  • Project: The organization will measure the impact of its Indigenous Poverty Reduction Education (I-PREP) program. The project is receiving support to help vulnerable populations including Indigenous youth to complete postsecondary education or training so they can enter and remain in the labor market.

Hospitality Workers Training Centre, Toronto

  • Amount received: $455,000
  • Project: This organization will adapt, scale-up and evaluate the impact of the collaborative Kitchen Masters pilot training program for Black youth facing complex barriers to success in priority Toronto neighborhoods. This builds on learnings and outcomes of the current collaboration between Hospitality Workers Training Centre (HWTC) and the Centre for Black Youth Professionals (CEE). (Also included under Breaking the cycle of poverty for children and youth.)

Kitchener-Waterloo Multicultural Centre, Kitchener

  • Amount received: $107,600
  • Project: This organization will evaluate the “Let’s Talk” program which supports newcomer youth in their economic and overall wellbeing through workshops that provide a safe space to explore their academic and career aspirations and connect with resources through artful facilitation, development of interpersonal relationships, community engagement, and youth empowerment. (Also included under Breaking the Cycle of Poverty for Children and Youth.)

Mackay Manor Inc., Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke

  • Amount Received: $364,700
  • Project: The organization will measure the impact of a comprehensive smoking cessation project which will help vulnerable individuals quit smoking by combining deep-healing counselling, in-person follow-up, nicotine replacement therapy, and advanced addiction recovery tools to improve their socioeconomic status.

Operation Springboard, Toronto

  • Amount received: $339,500
  • Project: The organization will measure the impact of the I-Innovate program. The program helps  at risk youth be more engaged in their communities through employment, obtaining their GED, developing their ‘start-ups’, or enrolling in postsecondary education or training. It provides them with entrepreneurial skills, employment and training opportunities, life skills development and mentorship support. (Also included under Breaking the Cycle of Poverty for Children and Youth.)

Start Me Up Niagara, St. Catharines

  • Amount Received: $205,200
  • Project: The organization will measure the impact of an enhanced, person-centred self-employment program and access to start-up capital on lowering the rate of long-term unemployment rates of people living with disabilities.

The Phoenix Centre for Children and Families, Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke

  • Amount received: $381,000
  • Project: The organization will measure the impact of a wrap-around program and peer-to-peer focused support system to help single mothers overcome social isolation by developing and implementing family plans using navigators and peer-to-peer facilitators to increase education, training, and skills, reduce long-term unemployment and increase financially stability.

United Way/Centraide Windsor-Essex County, Windsor, Leamington

  • Amount received: $82,100
  • Project: The organization will expand its measurement of the On Track to Success program which provides academic tutoring, social and career mentoring, and financial support to youth from low income families to increase high school graduation rates and post-secondary enrollment. (Also included under Breaking the Cycle of Poverty for Children and Youth.)

Ending homelessness

Projects supported in 2017 are:

Argus Residence for Young People, Cambridge

  • Amount Received: $492,600
  • Project: This project will measure the impact and scalability of a homelessness prevention and diversion tool for youth between the ages of 16-29 which uses “Housing First” and “Family First” as a primary diversion option to an emergency shelter. (Also included under Breaking the Cycle of Poverty for Children and Youth.)

Cochrane District Social Planning Council, Timmins

  • Amount received: $160,500
  • Project: The organization will measure the impact of its community social services hub and emergency shelter program. The project is receiving support to prevent and reduce homelessness for marginalized youth, Indigenous people and other vulnerable populations.

Egale Canada Human Rights Trust, Toronto

  • Amount received: $95,300
  • Project: This organization will evaluate the effectiveness of Egale Youth OUTreach programs and services for homeless and at risk of homelessness LGBTQI2S youth in Toronto. (Also included under Breaking the Cycle of Poverty for Children and Youth.)

Laurentian University, Cochrane

  • Amount received: $244,700
  • Project: The organization will evaluate the effectiveness of two different approaches to enumerating hidden homelessness, the Point in Time (PiT) Count and the Period Prevalence Count (PPC). This evaluation will help establish a knowledge base for northern, rural Ontario by measuring the rate of homelessness in Cochrane, which will help inform policy and programming in the future.

Niagara Furniture Bank, St. Catharines

  • Amount received: $86,300
  • Project: This organization will evaluate the impact that having an adequately furnished home has on the housing stability of people who are homeless, transitioning from homelessness, or at risk of becoming homeless in Niagara Region including new immigrants.

oneROOF, Kitchener

  • Amount Received: $476,500
  • Project: The organization will measure the impact of a UK-based model called Host Homes that helps youth with an alternative to the shelter systems through housing plans that may include family reconnection/meditation, educational or employment options, life skills development and goal setting. (Also included under Employment and Income Security and Breaking the Cycle of Poverty for Children and Youth.)

Parkdale Activity Rec Centre, Toronto

  • Amount Received: $486,900
  • Project: The organization will measure the impact of addressing homelessness for people living in at-risk rooming houses in Parkdale by helping them find permanent affordable social housing through the Community Land Trust model. It will identify sites for acquisition, organize funding and financing, and collaborate with non-profit housing operating partners who will bring expertise and experience in managing affordable and supportive housing.

Perth and Smith Falls District Hospital, Lanark-Frontenac-Lennox and Addington

  • Amount Received: $310,600
  • Project: The organization will measure the impact of a program for individuals who struggle with severe hoarding and are at risk of homelessness in rural Lanark County, which includes group programming, individual home support, a community wide hoarding coalition and mobile emergency response.

Providence St. Joseph’s and St. Michael’s Healthcare, Toronto

  • Amount Received: $114,900
  • Project: The organization will measure the impact of a 12 week program for 40 homeless young people, aged 16 – 24 years, who have transitioned out of homelessness within the past three years. The project will address critical gaps in knowledge about how best to help them move forward in life after they are housed by building identity capital and career direction. (Also included under Breaking the Cycle of Poverty for Children and Youth.)

United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, Leeds and Grenville

  • Amount Received: $111,300
  • Project: The organization will measure the impact of the Circles™ Getting Ahead Program which provides workshops about poverty, the impact it has on people’s lives and resources to overcome it to single parents, youth and those at risk of homelessness in Leeds and Grenville.

Unity Project for Relief of Homelessness, London

  • Amount received: $232,800
  • Project: The organization will measure the impact and effectiveness of a housing first approach in an emergency shelter context by helping people obtain and maintain housing through community-integrated casework, diversion and supports.

Food security

Projects supported in 2017 are:

Community Food Centres Canada, Davenport

  • Amount Received: $427,600
  • Project: The organization will measure the impact of providing fresh fruit and vegetable market vouchers that 320 low-income single parents and families in Stratford and Midland can redeem at an affordable produce market to improve school readiness by addressing food insecurity among children aged 0-6. (Also included under Breaking the Cycle of Poverty for Children and Youth.)

Food4Kids Hamilton, Halton, Niagara, Brantford, Kitchener-Waterloo

  • Amount received: $265,700
  • Project: The organization will measure the impact of the Weekends Without Hunger program, which helps single parent families and newcomers by delivering food directly to their homes on weekends, when school nutrition programs are not running. (Also included under Employment and Income Security under Breaking the Cycle of Poverty for Children and Youth.)

Guelph Community Health Centre, Guelph

  • Amount received: $216,100
  • Project: This organization will evaluate the impact and the effectiveness of scaling the SEED’s food-based social enterprises to create job opportunities focusing on reducing the rates of youth not in education, employment, or training (NEET) in Guelph. (Also included under Employment and Income Security.)

Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board, Peterborough

  • Amount Received: $144,200
  • Project: The organization will measure the impact of expanding The Single Parent Project, which improves food security for lives of single parents and children in Peterborough through experimental culinary skills training and increased employment opportunities to help improve high school graduation rates and reduce poverty rates of vulnerable populations. (Also included under Employment and Income Security.)

Kingston Community Health Centre, Kingston

  • Amount received: $437,900
  • Project: The organization will measure the effectiveness and impact of integrating healthy food programming into the Circles™ program, an evidence-based poverty reduction program to increase food security and financial self-sufficiency of Ontario Works recipients. (Also included under Employment and Income Security.)

Social Planning Council of Sudbury, Sudbury

  • Amount received: $108,000
  • Project: The organization will measure the impact of the Flour Mill Community Farm Programs use of agriculture to train marginalized youth by helping them gain job skills and experience through food literacy, entrepreneurship training in the agri-food industry, and paid work experience. (Also included under Employment and Income Security under Breaking the Cycle of Poverty for Children and Youth.)

YWCA Peterborough Haliburton, Peterborough

  • Amount received: $397,900
  • Project: The organization will measure the impact of a comprehensive food-based program that empowers women and their communities by helping people living in poverty build social capital and move towards employment and income security through activities delivered in four locations: Peterborough, Havelock and Lakefield (rural communities) and Curve Lake First Nation. (Also included under Employment and Income Security.)

Indigenous stream

Projects supported in 2017 are:

Biminaawzogin Regional Aboriginal Women’s Circle, Orillia

  • Amount received: $194,200
  • Project: The organization will measure the impact of The Women’s Transition Bridging program to help disadvantaged Indigenous women increase their education and pre-employment skills through culturally-relevant therapeutic supports that help build self-confidence and empower Indigenous women in urban settings to transition to a learning or employment environment.

Fort Albany Farmer’s Market, Fort Albany First Nation

  • Amount received: $110,500
  • Project: This organization will evaluate their long-running not-for-profit produce market in order to understand its impact on local household food insecurity and to implement sustainability-focused recommendations.

Fort Severn First Nation, Fort Severn

  • Amount received: $599,600
  • Project: This community will measure the impact of a pilot that will support up to 300 young mothers and their children to return to school so they can graduate. This pilot will provide them with traditional Cree and Western-based parenting and life skills through self-paced online learning modules. It will also engage children to help them stay in school.

Kasabonika Lake First Nation, Kasabonika

  • Amount received: $503,500
  • Project: This community will measure the impact of Back to Our Roots, an economic and food security project that aims to revitalize traditional food harvesting to subsidize income and provide food to community members living in poverty. Youth will receive education and mentorship opportunities about traditional methods of hunting, gathering, preparing, and storing food. The project will also develop a comprehensive food protection strategy.

Kinna-aweya Legal Clinic, Thunder Bay

  • Amount received: $217,800
  • Project: This organization will help vulnerable people get the identification they need to access housing, income support, education, banking services, employment or government benefits and services. This program will cover the upfront cost of applications and will help people complete forms by gathering the required information. The clinic will also provide ongoing case management and referrals to appropriate community and governmental services and benefits.

M’Wikwedong Native Cultural Resource Centre, Grey County

  • Amount received: $56,900
  • Project: The organization will pilot, test and measure the impact of a new Indigenous-led partnership, the Giiwe Project which will foster a more coordinated and culturally-safe system of supports so that more individuals can be housed. Staff from housing-related agencies will receive continuous cultural safety training and participate in collaborative case-management roundtables. A developmental evaluation approach will assess the process and impact of the project and measure how much Giiwe has helped reduce Indigenous homeless in Grey County.

Mamaweswen, the North Shore Tribal Council, Cutler

  • Amount received: $40,000
  • Project: This community will measure the viability of a regional, non-profit and self-sustaining Community Nutrition Cupboards support system that will teach low income earners a broad scope of traditional practices including communal hunts, fishing, gardening, preserving and eating based on seasonal availability of foods based on traditional Anishnawbe values to reduce poverty by reducing the cost of food.

Miziwe Biik Aboriginal Employment and Training, Toronto

  • Amount received: $435,800
  • Project: The organization will use the Waaywiyeyaa Evaluation Tool to measure the impact of a skill development program including academic upgrading, Indigenous Studies and career exploration to provide clients with clear and supported pathways to advanced education and long-term, meaningful employment.

Nigigoonsiminikaaning First Nation, Fort Frances

  • Amount received: $182,900
  • Project: This community will measure the impact of the Anishinaabe Ashandiiziwin food security project, which organizes lessons by community members with expertise in traditional methods of food harvesting. Participants will learn traditional skills to harvest foods and relevant cultural teachings as well as practice traditional ceremonies.

Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN), Thunder Bay

  • Amount received: $832,100
  • Project: This provincial territorial organization will provide resources to multiple NAN communities that are working to increase access to safe and nutritious food through the Kiitigaan Megwe-Nishnawbe, or Good Things Growing Among People program, to develop ways to measure the effectiveness of culturally-appropriate Indigenous food systems evaluation practices. Local food developers will help each community determine how and what they measure to guide their community food practices and innovations.

Noojmowin Teg Health Centre, Manitoulin (Little Current)

  • Amount received: $435,400
  • Project: The organization will measure the impact of the Manitoulin Community Fresh Food Initiative (MCFFI), which will create a sustainable environment of healthy locally harvested food for seven First Nation communities and nine municipal regions of Manitoulin through a comprehensive set of tailored practical and educational food security activities to increase access, knowledge and skills related to building and utilizing local food sources.

Ottawa Inuit Children’s Centre, Ottawa

  • Amount received: $668,300
  • Project: The organization will measure the impact of their Inuit-specific, trauma-informed and community based Silatuniq Inuit Youth Engagement Program, which provides tutoring, mentorship, life skills, youth leadership, advocacy and case management to Inuit youth aged 14-24 living in eastern Ontario as they complete high school, enroll in post-secondary education or gain meaningful employment.

Pikangikum First Nation, Pikangikum

  • Amount received: $696,700
  • Project: This community will measure the impact of Kahminoshkahkemakahkiin miijiman imaa tahshiikewiinik, an initiative that aims to have a positive impact on the community by improving nutrition and economic opportunities. The initiative will teach 75 high school students how to prepare food and will support the school nutrition and lunch program by helping purchase locally harvested food from local traditional food procurers. It will also provide educational opportunities for youth and Elders on food-based knowledge.

Temiskaming Native Women’s Support Group, Temiskaming

  • Amount received: $298,600
  • Project: This organization will evaluate the impact of Indigenous Learning Circles™, a program designed to create supportive, intentional, and reciprocal relationships between individuals and families at differing skill levels who mentor each other and provide long-term support around decision-making that addresses lifestyle factors contributing to poverty.