From Abuse and Addiction to New Career Opportunities

Employment, Indigenous, Stories

John* was nine-years-old when he first used hard drugs and started his decades-long struggle with addiction. ‘Shooting up’ was a way to deal with his horrific childhood, which included sexual abuse by his father. He ran away at age 11 and after trying to shoot his...

Pairing Her Loves of Teaching and Children

Employment, Stories

Before immigrating to Canada in 2012, Amandeep had worked as an elementary school teacher in India. Despite having a Master’s Degree in English, she found it difficult to find a suitable job here, since her teaching credentials were not transferrable. She ended up...

A Career in Caring

Employment, Stories

Elizabeth was always on the “lucky end” of lay-offs until that luck ran out in 2017. While she enjoyed her work at production companies the industry wasn’t always stable and didn’t provide additional training or opportunities for advancement.As a single mother in her...

There in Crisis

Fundraisers, Stories

Bridges The Bridges program seeks to bridge youth services to clients that have aged out of government care. “We had a 22 year old girl who was fleeing domestic abuse, couch surfing, unemployed and very distraught from the traumatic experience of being alone...

Hope Restored

Fundraisers, Legal Advocacy & Information, Stories

Like many of us, Navor wants nothing more than to provide for his family. That’s why, in 2010, he started coming to Canada—first for five to six months at a time, then for eight. “I came because I wanted to help my family,” he tells us. “I have a daughter, sister, and...

From Volunteer Match to Lifelong Friends and Co-workers

Immigrant Integration, Staff, Stories

Perfect Strangers In her homeland of Colombia, Claudia was a lawyer with a busy career and family life. Everything changed when she immigrated to Canada with her husband and young son in 2009. Unable to speak English and without her family and friends, she found...