In Her Shoes
At 9 am the In Her Shoes (Women) program participants start arriving for a full day of employment and entrepreneurship training. For some of these newcomer women, they are with us to gain experience and build employment skills in a Canadian context to help reach their goal of gainful employment and financial security.
“The In Her Shoes Program has given me confidence, knowledge and has equipped me in so many ways I did not imagine to be able to start a new chapter of my life.”
– In Her Shoes (Women) Participant
For others, they are with us to develop their business idea and officially launch their business to the community. The groundwork and skills to achieve this goal, built over their 8-weeks in program with us.
“During my development in the In Her Shoes program, I have felt in a warm and cozy environment. I have met very kind and talented people that are always willing to help. I’ve learned to use more social networks. I’ve created my new business cards. My small business is formalizing, growing and becoming known.”
– In Her Shoes (Women) Participant
At 2:00 pm they bundle up (because, Canadian winters!), their day here is over and it’s time to move onto the next task in their busy lives. As they leave, a new group of people are trickling in, our In Her Shoes (Youth) employment program participants whose shift with us goes until 8 pm. Youth is a bit flexible with this program, which supports women, trans and gender non-binary individuals between the ages of 16-30. This group both trains with us and are employed as In Her Shoes Store Associates. Their time with us is all about working hard to learn new life skills, build their resumes, train for job interviews and gain hands-on job experience in our social enterprise by being some of the best store associates and team members we could ask for. For most of our youth, a fair shot at gainful employment, financial stability, and working towards their future goals are at the front of their minds.
“I am so thankful for the In Her Shoes (Youth) program because it has helped me gain valuable skills that will help me with my future career. In addition to the amazing employment skills, I have developed well rounded practical skills through the various workshops and life skills sessions we had throughout our training program. I am very optimistic that with the skills that I have learnt here I will be able to obtain a career in my chosen field.”
– In Her Shoes (Youth) Participant
We are proud to say that In Her Shoes is able to provide 11 hours of programming daily Monday-Friday thanks to grants from Service Canada, Immigration Refugee Citizenship Canada, and Libro Credit Union. This work matters because we are launching dreams, launching businesses, launching careers and recognizing and promoting the skills and abilities of individuals in our community that matter but are often overlooked.
