Our Team

The key to the WMF program is partnership. WMF was designed to tap into community expertise in the areas of life skills, literacy and counselling support. With that in mind, WMF brought together community partners who each have a specialty in various aspects of program delivery.

WMF consists of three full-time staff. The rest of the team is comprised of staff from other organizations, who contribute the expertise (i.e. clinical counselling)  needed to provide a comprehensive and wholistic program.

FULL TIME STAFF

Program Manager

The role of the Program Manager is to administer the program and support the WMF team to ensure the program is a success. This includes writing reports, budgeting, fundraising, overseeing evaluation etc. In addition, the Program Manager is responsible for interviewing women during the program intake and supporting staff around case management issues.

Program Worker (Phase I)

The role the Phase I Progarm Worker is to support women as they begin the program and throughout Phase I. This includes recruitment of new participants, intake, orientation to Phase I and ongoing advocacy around issues of childcare, housing and social assistance. In addition, the program worker delivers the Citizen Participation component of the program, where women learn about their rights, social justice, global issues, how government works and community issues.

Program Worker (Phase II)

The role of the Phase II Program Worker is to support women during Phase II and after they graduate from the program. This includes delivering the Career Planning and Professional Development classes in Phases I and II, where women sit down and map out their career paths.  As well, she works to coordinate workshops and socials to keep women connected to the program after graduation.

PART TIME STAFF

Life Skills Coach

In order to succeed along their career paths, it is important for WMF partiicpants to strengthen their day to day skills. Using the traditional life skills model, the Life Skills Coach customizes classes to accommodate the needs of WMF participants. Classes include budgeting, time management, effective communication, conflict resolution, self-awareness and stress management.

English Language Arts (Literacy)

WMF strongly believes that the ability to read and write well is essential to succes.  With this in mind, WMF has ensured that women have a safe and supportive space where they can work on refining their reading and writing skills.  English Language Arts is broken down into two parts: written instruction and book circles.

In the written instruction portion, the facilitator assesses each woman's reading and writing level and creates individualized work plans. By the end of Phase I, women have improved their technical writing skills, with some moving from a high school to a college/university level.

Book circles were designed by Literature for Life, an organization dedicated to improving literacy of among young mothers and their children. In WMF, women read various books and discuss their diverse perspectives in a safe, non-judgemental space. Books cover topics that deal with poverty, race, parenthood, world issues and more.

Clinical Social Worker

In order to move forward successfully, women need a safe and supportive place to talk about what’s going on in their lives.  The Social Worker provides an open discussion format for women to talk about what’s on their mind and to reflect on their past, present and future. Topics include parenting, relationships, abuse, family issues and more. For those who want exttra support, the Social Worker is also available for women to book individual appointments.

Our Partners

Partnership is the key to the success of WMF. Before the project began in 2005, a group of interested organizations were convened to talk about how they could get involved in the program. In 2003, the WMF steering committee worked together to design the first WMF model and has continued to support its evolution. In addition, each partner provides insight about specialized areas of program delivery including: adult education, transitioning to post-secondary studies, mental health, parenting, mentorship, life skills and career planning.

Currently the WMF steering committee is comprised of five community partners. They include:

· Black Creek Community Health Centre

· The Griffin Centre

· Toronto Social Services

· Toronto Public Health

· YMCA of Greater Toronto

Our Funders

WMF is generously funded by the Geoffery H. Wood Foundation and the Ontario Trillium Foundation.