Working for Change
This organization has already been registered
Someone in your organization has already registered and setup an account. would you like to join their team?Profile owner : a***a@w**************e.ca
Mission Statement
To provide training and employment opportunities to people who have been marginalized by mental health/addictions challenges, poverty, homelessness, violence and refugee/new comer issues; to speak out against marginalization; to work to change policies that adversely affect our communities.
About This Cause
Working for Change (WFC) is a grassroots Social Justice organization, built by community members to create our own solutions to poverty, stigma and various forms of marginalization. Rooted in the psychiatric survivor movement, Working for Change believes strongly in the wisdom, value and skills of people with lived experience of mental health, addiction and other disabilities, homelessness, refugee challenges, gender-based violence, and many other barriers to economic and social well being. The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) projects that Working for Change’s constituency experiences unemployment rates of 70-90% resulting in extreme rates of poverty and social exclusion driven deeper by high rates of housing and food insecurity. Employment and education are essential elements of recovery for people with mental illness, providing enormous dividends in quality of life and improved health resulting from labour force participation. Formerly the Ontario Council of Alternative Businesses, WfC was established in 1994 to respond to the need for employment opportunities for our community members as a systemic response to this devastating poverty. Unlike other charitable organizations, rather than merely provide emergency services, we believe that supportive, accommodated, trauma informed employment is a powerful tool that can help to mitigate poverty and to restore the independence and dignity of people living in the margins. While providing income which leads to improvements in food insecurity and housing instability, this approach also creates a warm space of inclusion, belonging and hope – leading to a dramatic overall improvement in health and well-being. The majority of our staff are on income assistance (OW and ODSP) and the work we provide serves as a lifeline for recovery and socio-economic mobility. The non-profit Social Enterprise model is how we provide these services to our community and WfC serves as the charitable umbrella for several non-profit enterprises in the food and horticulture industries. Our vision: A home, a job, a friend and social change. We envision a society where everyone has access to meaningful employment, adequate housing, a society that no longer stigmatizes people with mental health/addictions issues, a society where no one is hungry, and where social enterprises are a thriving and vibrant sector of the Canadian economy. Our Values Working for Change is an organization that values: The lived experience and knowledge of people disadvantaged by mental health/addictions challenges, poverty, homelessness, violence and refugee/newcomer issues Diversity and respect for difference Efforts to combat stigma related to mental health challenges and addictions Peer Support Social enterprise as a means to promote economic and social well-being Employment as a critical component of recovery and social and economic well being Personal growth and increased self-esteem through education and training The leadership of people with lived experience Ongoing individual support for employees and participants