Investing in Women’s Futures (IWF) helps immigrant and visible minority women towards economic self-sufficiency through marketable skills training and employment counseling. IWF includes three main components:

• Industrial Sewing Machine Training
• Industrial sewing machine operation
• Employment preparation skills
• Life skills

• Individual Employment Counseling
• Skills assessment
• Career exploration
• Resume & cover letters
• Interview preparation
• Job search skills
• Labour market information

• Computer Training
• Learn computer fundamentals
• Practice keyboarding & word processing
• Set up email accounts
• Create, save & modify documents
• FREE high speed internet

Childcare and transportation assistance may be available based on need. Contact FEW for upcoming start dates. Program funding provided by the Ontario Women’s Directorate.

The Healthy Lifestyles program enhances the quality of life of immigrant and visible minority women through a program model that emphasizes the woman, then her family, and then her community.

Outreach workshops provide a safe, caring community environment where women can make friends, share experiences, network, gain knowledge, learn about their communities and empower themselves.

• Information on Parenting, Nutrition, Women’s Health, Volunteering, and more
• Helps women successfully integrate into their new neighbourhoods and become leaders in their communities
• Women learn about community resources for the health and well-being of themselves and their families

Read more about the Healthy Lifestyles program.

Various locations across Kitchener-Waterloo. Topics and times vary. Contact FEW for dates and times. Program funding provided by the United Way.

This training program has been administered by the Region of Waterloo Public Health Department since 1988. Peer workers attend training and are certified through this community health department.

Who are Peer Health Workers?

• Community leaders who share similar life experiences with the participants in the programs they design and deliver

What does the job of a Peer Health Worker include?

• Plan and facilitate community-based programs that aim to increase the health of individuals, families and communities
• Build social support systems
• Share information and linkages in their community

New Canadians make excellent peer health workers because they are in an ideal position to bridge the gap between potentially marginalized individuals and existing health promotion services. In this position, visible and immigrant minority women can make a real difference in their communities.

Program funded provided by the Ontario Trillium Foundation and Region of Waterloo.

Funded by the United Way, the Learner Resource Centre includes a library and computer lab.

The library holds a collection of reference materials and multilingual dictionaries. Other resources include English-as-a-Second-Language books and videos for job search, job skills and life skills.