WoodGreen and Toronto Community Housing partner on Homeward Bound program for women-led households

By AMARACHI AMADIKE

Toronto Community Housing (TCHC) recently announced a collaboration with WoodGreen Community Services to bring more support to some women-led single parent households in TCHC buildings.

In a Thursday, Dec. 5, press release, WoodGreen confirmed that its Homeward Bound program will be extended to 25 TCHC tenants early in 2025.

“This partnership marks a significant step in creating meaningful opportunities for underserved women and their families,” said WoodGreen Community Services President and CEO, Anne Babcock.

Homeward Bound, a program that has been operated by WoodGreen since it was created 20 years ago, supports mothers that are homeless, or at risk of becoming homeless, through a guided four-year program that leads to economic self-sufficiency. 

WoodGreen provides “intensive wrap-around services that eliminate the barriers that single mothers face in trying to move out of poverty”, helping them earn college diplomas and kickstart their professional journeys.

In the program, mothers, aged 19 and over, can upgrade their academic portfolio for college entrance. WoodGreen fully funds a two-year college program, all while providing goal oriented case management and child care in order to allow participants more freedom to focus on career plans.

“Homeward Bound has a proven track record of breaking down barriers and empowering women to achieve their goals,” said Babcock. “This collaboration with TCHC will bring the program’s benefits to more families, helping them build new paths toward stability and success”

Over the years, Homeward Bound, supported by the generosity of the Clark Family Foundation, has transitioned 320 women and 476 children from a life attached to social assistance to financial independence.

Now gearing up for a three-year pilot program with TCHC, WoodGreen hopes to assist even more Toronto mothers to reach their full potential and secure a future for their children.

“We want these women to chase their aspirations knowing that they always have a stable, supportive place to call home,” said Toronto Community Housing CEO Sean Baird. “Entire households will benefit from both the economic opportunity and personal growth that Homeward Bound offers, and we can’t wait to see what they accomplish when these women realize their full potential.”

According to TCHC, 53 percent of their households are women-led.

Yordanka Petrova, the Senior Manager of Homeward Bound, told Beach Metro Community News that this has resulted in a high number of interested participants, although only 25 can be accepted.

“We’ve had a great show of interest from the women at TCHC, and we are hopeful that the program will continue to enroll many more cohorts of determined participants after this first pilot group,” said Petrova.

Considering the level of interest TCHC tenants have shown towards Homeward Bound, filtering through applicants to find the right candidates involves a thorough intake process.This includes information sessions, self-assessments, soft skills training, and MS Word training that requires a minimum passing score of 75 per cent.

“The application process is intentionally rigorous, partly to increase the opportunity for those who enter the program to succeed,” said Petrova. “It’s a very demanding program, and participants enter while facing challenges.”

Additionally, said Petrova, applicants must successfully complete an academic assessment before progressing to the interview stage in order to ensure that participants are equipped for success in the program.

Anyone interested in participating in the TCHC-WoodGreen Homeward Bound program is encouraged to email homewardbound@woodgreen.org for more information.