Community Vitality 2024 - London InterCommunity Health Centre
Community Vitality 2024
London InterCommunity Health Centre
Women of the World (WOW) Childcare Provision
GRANT: $63,000 FOR 3 YEARS
Milly Ruiz, Shashi Sharma, Selma Tobah, and Anne-Marie Sanchez outside London InterCommunity Health Centre
A Community Vitality grant of $63,000 over three years will help the London InterCommunity Health Centre expand its successful peer-led program for newcomer women by incorporating childcare.
Known as Women of the World, or WOW, the program supports the healthy integration of newcomer women as they navigate the challenges of settling in London. The health centre currently hosts three WOW groups: a Farsi-language group for Afghan women, a Kurmanji-language group for Yazidi women, and a multicultural English language group.
“As a community health centre, Women of the World has a wellness focus where we promote multiple facets of well-being by supporting mental, physical, emotional, and social health. WOW also fosters a sense of belonging and helps to create social support networks as women adapt to life in a new country,” says Selma Tobah, Community Development Worker at the London InterCommunity Health Centre.
The Community Vitality grant, which builds on core program funding from United Way Elgin Middlesex, will enable London InterCommunity Health Centre to hire, train, and support newcomer women to provide childcare at Women of the World gatherings. The integration of childcare within the WOW program will make it possible for more women to participate.
The health centre aims to hire women who have work experience in the child education sector in their countries of origin to provide childcare services for Women of the World. This approach recognizes and values foreign-trained credentials and addresses barriers to employment, such as ‘Canadian experience,’ which is often a tacit requirement for securing a job.
The grant will also enable WOW to expand and reimagine the type of childcare offered with the goal of providing more robust, structured, and culturally aware activities for children, including a focus on health and well-being.
“Incorporating childcare into Women of the World will help us better respond to the needs of newcomer women and the program’s long-term goal of building their capacity so they are empowered to thrive in their new home community,” says Tobah.
Find out more about the other Community Vitality recipients:
Canadian Mental Health Association Thames Valley Addiction and Mental Health Services: Francophone Ethnocultural Friendship Bench ($140,181 for 3 years)
Changing Ways: Collaborating for a Safer London ($150,000 for 2 years)
Forest City Gallery: Collaboratory Community Outreach Program ($120,775 for 3 years)
London InterCommunity Health Centre: Women of the World (WOW) – Childcare provision ($63,000 for 3 years)
London Public Library: Transitional Case Worker Program ($280,000 for 3 years)
Low-Income Family Empowerment Sole-Support Parents Information Network (LIFE*SPIN): Empowering London's Low-Income Families: A Fresh Approach to Food Security ($350,000 for 3 years)
Regional HIV/AIDS Connection: MAGICAL (Multicultural Accessible Gatherings Improving 2SLGBTQIA+ Community Affirmation in London) ($67,000 for 1 year)
Urban Roots London in partnership with Siloam United Church: Cultivating Food Security Through Urban Agriculture ($282,354 for 3 years)