MISSION AND MANDATE:
Riverdale Immigrant Women’s Centre’s mandate is to support Chinese speaking and South Asian women and their families in taking greater control of their lives. RIWC provides culturally specific settlement and counselling support services with the use of community- determined strategies, that are developed and delivered by immigrant women.
RIWC is a multilingual agency with more than 25 years of experience in delivering settlement, language training and employment services for newcomers across four locations in the Greater Toronto area. These services are delivered using an intergeneration approach to women, seniors and youth in Arabic, Bengali, Cantonese, English, Farsi, French, Gujarati, Hunan, Hindi, Katchi, Mandarin, Marathi, Punjabi, Spanish, Swahili, Tamil, Tagalog, Turkish and Urdu.
Contact Information:
Riverdale Immigrant Womens Centre
1326 Gerrard St. E
Toronto, Ontario M4L 1Z1
Telephone: 416.465.6021
Fax: 416.465.4785
Email: riwc@bellnet.ca
Membership:
If you are interested in becoming a member of the Riverdale Immigrant
Women's Centre. Please click on the link below to download the
Membership Application form. Please submit a completed application along
with the membership fee by mail or in person.
Membership Form
SERVICES:
Settlement and Integration Programs
Promotes the settlement and integration of newcomer
communities to Canada
Services that are offered through RIWC’s two settlement
programs include:
· Reception and assessment services
· Orientation for newcomers to Canada
· Translation and interpretation services
· Referrals to other community programs
and services
· Job Search Workshops (JSW program)
and other employment related services
· Community Service Bridging
· Solution focused Counselling
Violence Against Women and Children
Supports women and children in choosing a life free from
abuse
Services that are offered through the VAW program
include:
· Crisis, sexual assault and long-term
therapeutic counselling for women,
children and on a group basis
· Assistance in finding safe housing or
shelter
· Translation and interpretation services for
a range of services including legal and
healthcare
· Referrals to other community programs
and services
· Safety Planning
· Long-term housing support
Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC)
Facilitates the integration and settlement processes of
newcomer communities through language training
In addition to classroom instruction, students can
access:
· Free childminding and
transportation
allowances
· Guest speakers and class
fieldtrips
· Access to all core
settlement services
provided by RIWC
· Computer based language
training and
computer lab access
Youth Empowerment Action! (YEA)
A youth centred program that focuses on youth leadership
development, anti-violence education and marketable
skill development
Services that are offered through the YEA! Program
includes:
· Youth leadership development sessions
· Community networking and outreach
· Information and referral services
· One-on-one counseling support
· Preventative anti-violence education for
youth and children
Employment & Community Economic Development (CED)
Offers women and youth made vulnerable through poverty
and migration opportunities to build on existing skills
and experiences in order to achieve economic
self-sufficiency
Training opportunities provided through CED initiatives
include:
· Customer service, hospitality, and food
service training
· Computer training and retail experience
· Marketing and outreach placements
· Tutoring opportunities
Volunteer & Student Placement Program
Offers community members and students the chance to
build marketable skills through skill development and
job-placement opportunities
Student Placement and Volunteer Opportunities
include:
· Placements with Settlement and VAW
counselors
· Reception/administrative assistant/Data
entry postions
· Translator/interpreter opportunities
· Volunteer childminding opportunities
· Placement within the YEA! Youth
Empowerment Action Project