Heritage Skills Development Centre ( HSDC )

Published purpose

This 24-month project will develop, pilot and disseminate a community-based pandemic recovery model to address the root causes of gender-based violence. Heritage Skills Development Centre will achieve this by conducting a participatory needs assessment, creating and piloting a community pandemic recovery model for preventing and addressing violence against women, and disseminating the model and recommendations among community and policy makers. At the end of the project, the organization will have developed a promising practice that increased networks and collaboration to accelerate systemic change, supported positive distribution of authority, voices, and decision-making power, and advanced inclusive policies and practices. This project will engage organizations, sector experts, and women with lived experience from the Scarborough community to identify specific needs and priorities, and pilot the pandemic recovery model and action plans developed. Toronto Community Housing (TCHC), Women Multicultural Resource and Counselling Centre (WMRCC), Management Advisory Services of Toronto (MAS) and Cross Edge Community Network will directly participate in the delivery and evaluation of the project. The effectiveness of the recovery model will be carefully documented through ongoing evaluation.