"For me, forgiveness and compassion are always linked: how do we hold people accountable for wrongdoing and yet at the same time remain in touch with their humanity enough to believe in their capacity to be transformed?" ~ bell hooks
LEADERSHIP MESSAGE

Dear friends, 

As 2021 nears its end, I want to reflect on the determination and bravery of our community members, donors, partners and staff and the goals we were able to champion together in a challenging year. Malala Yousafzai captures this collective action best, “When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful.” YWCA Toronto’s work is possible because of those individual and collective powerful voices.

We began the year with a rallying cry. Our 2021-2024 Strategic Plan,
A Bold Purpose, articulates a new vision for our Association: A radical transformation of society where all women, girls and gender diverse people can thrive. We put this vision into action by opening 389 Church Street – a permanent, supportive housing building for 120 women and their families who have experienced homeless. We further built on our affordable housing portfolio through a partnership with the Neighbourhood Land Trust, the City of Toronto and Toronto Community Housing Corporation that will see the transfer of 82 single-family homes and small buildings in Toronto’s west end in early 2022.

 
ADVOCACY CORNER
For 10 provinces and territories across Canada, 2021 will be known as the year a child care deal was finally struck, signaling a new era of high-quality, affordable child care. Sadly, Ontario is not among them.
 
Our advocacy has been strong in the face of this delay. As both an Association and members of the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care Coalition, we are proud of the way we have kept pressure on political decisionmakers, urging them to sign an agreement that will help bring more women to the workforce and reduce the unbearable cost of child care. We need a deal that will support decent working conditions for Early Childhood Educators, many of whom are racialized women.
 
Use your voice to help emphasize the importance of this bilateral agreement for Ontario families: All we want this holiday season is a child care deal! Please consider sharing our meme, created with our YWCA Ontario Coalition partners, to spread this message loud and clear.
 
Photo | Courtesy of Canada's Top 100 Employers 
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PROGRAM UPDATE
Proud to be recognized as a Top Employer in 2022.
 
YWCA Toronto has been selected as one of Greater Toronto's Top Employers for 2022! We are so proud to show up for our staff in a number of important ways, particularly given all of the challenges brought on by the pandemic. In 2022, one of our top priorities will continue to be creating safe and supportive workplaces for our employees. Congratulations to all of this year’s recipients! 
PHILANTHROPY HIGHLIGHT
Because everyone deserves something special for the holidays.
 
Support our community members by donating to YWCA Toronto’s Adopt-A-Family Fund! Your donation will help us purchase gift cards for residents and program participants still dealing with the devastating impacts of COVID-19.
 
Help spread joy to the women, girls and gender diverse people in our programs.

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COMMUNITY RESOURCES
December 6th marked the second National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women observed during a global pandemic – a time in which the “shadow pandemic” of gender-based violence intensified. Fifty-eight women and girls died by femicide in Toronto in 2021 – that’s 21 more than last year.
 
In an op-ed published in the Toronto Star, YWCA Toronto CEO Heather McGregor called government inaction on this an “indictment of our collective failure to keep women and girls safe.”
 
Photo | Courtesy of Canadian Race Relations Foundation(CRRF)
Edgy

Photo | Courtesy of Toronto Life

After Armand was abducted, his mother was not sure she would ever see him again. But she never gave up. Hope’s story is one filled with determination, perseverance and a mother’s love for her son. 

We are so moved by the incredible journey of Hope and so proud for the many ways YWCA Toronto was able to help her.

Photo | Courtesy of Gayatri Malhotra from Unsplash
Our Director of Advocacy and Communications, Jasmine Ramze Rezaee, takes a deep dive into the power of intersectional feminist advocacy! The work of gender justice requires universal child care, deeply affordable housing, and livable incomes for all residents – and sustained action on ending gender-based violence.  
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
YWCA Toronto operates on the traditional territory of the Huron-Wendat and Petun First Nations, the Seneca, and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. We are grateful to work on this territory as we strive to build a more equitable and just city for women, girls, and gender diverse people.