Building up confidence and kick-starting careers

Toronto Enterprise Fund works to help those facing barriers in the traditional labour market

Yuki Chen’s story is not unlike that of many newcomers to Canada. In 2014, the single mother moved to Toronto from China to start a new life with her 10-year-old son.

“When I came here, my English was not that great, and I didn’t have any Canadian work experience,” Chen says. Her transition to Canada was a period of time she describes as “lonely and scary.”

It wasn’t until a social worker referred Chen to Ontario Works that she found an employer willing to provide her with training, a living wage and real career advancement opportunities: Carefirst Cleaning Solutions. A social enterprise, Carefirst provides homecare to seniors in the Chinese community. In addition to providing newcomers such as Chen with work experience, it also feeds the bottom line of Carefirst Seniors and Community Services Association, a non-profit organization.

“This is one of the ways we can make ourselves a bit more financially self-reliant, but at the same time do the community social good,” says Helen Leung, CEO of Carefirst Seniors and Community Services Association.

Carefirst Cleaning Solutions is just one of the 22 employment social enterprises (ESEs) funded by United Way’s Toronto Enterprise Fund (TEF). Since 2000, TEF — with the support of all three levels of government — has provided seed money to help non-profits in the GTA launch social enterprises that provide employment opportunities to people who may have trouble accessing the traditional labour market.

“There are not a lot of businesses that provide accommodations in the workplace for folks with really severe barriers to employment,” says Anne Jamieson, TEF’s senior manager, referring to peo- ple with mental health issues, intellectual, physical or developmental disabilities, newcomers or the homeless — all of whom may require additional training, flexible scheduling or counselling.

In 2017 to 2018 alone, TEF-funded enterprises employed or trained 521 participants, who generated more than $7.5 million for non-profits. Now, with an ambitious new strategic plan, TEF is expanding, and aims to create 15,000 new jobs in the Toronto, York and Peel regions over the next 10 years.

TEF isn’t just about providing grant money. United Way also supports the launching, scaling and sustaining of ESEs with mentorship and coaching, including with its Accelerator workshops. Through this program, participants are given the business tools they need, plus the opportunity to pitch for a grant allowing them to conduct a feasibility study and develop a business plan.

“Capacity-building is one of the things the United Way does very well,” says Deborah Riddle, executive director of the Elizabeth Fry Society, a United Waysupported agency participating in the Accelerator program. It is developing an ESE that will employ women at risk or in conflict with the law, all while generating money for new programs such as housing and daycare.

With TEF’s expansion, United Way is also open to working with those outside of the charitable sector.

“Millennials are getting into business in different ways from their parents or grandparents and want to do something that’s socially minded,” Jamieson says. “We don’t care where you come from — if you have an idea, come to us and we’ll see how we can help you.”

“We see gains in confidence. People coming from isolated situations feel like part of a community — and that’s what’s driving our expansion,” Jamieson says.

That has been Chen’s experience. This spring, Chen was promoted to the role of service co-ordinator at Carefirst.

“At Carefirst, I feel like I have a big family behind me,” she says.