YWCA Hamilton announces early literacy program for vulnerable families

YWCA Hamilton has announced an early literacy pilot program for vulnerable women and their children.

All families have been through so much during the pandemic, but families facing domestic violence, housing precarity and financial insecurity have faced even more momentous challenges," child and youth services director Sandra Parker said in a release. This program will help families heal, move forward and start a new post-pandemic chapter."

The pilot, called Safe-Space for an Early Learning Foundation (SELF), targets families living in Phoenix Place, a transitional home for women and children fleeing violence, and the new Putman Family YWCA, which offers safe, permanent affordable housing to women and families.

The local YWCA received a grant of $416,000 from Mothers Matter Centre, a not-for-profit organization based in Vancouver, B.C., for the program.

Participating families will receive weekly visits from trained YWCA staff and be invited to attend support groups for parents and play groups for their children.

Mothers will also have access to an at-home curriculum designed to give their children a head start at school, including digital literacy skills and tools to help with preschool learning in transitional housing.

SELF is based on a Mothers Matter early learning curriculum and support program called the Home Instruction Program for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY), but is tailored to post-pandemic needs and families in transitional housing.

The pilot is funded through the Government of Canada's Early Learning and Child Care Innovation Program. YWCA Hamilton is one of four locations in Canada to pilot SELF over the next three years.

Innovative practices can help develop solutions that better meet the needs of children across Canada," Karina Gould, the federal minister for children, families and social development, said in a release. Projects like SELF help ensure that every child has the best possible start in life and has a fair chance to succeed."

On Sept. 14, the local YWCA is hosting Walk A Mile in Their Shoes, a walk to help raise funds for programs that support violence survivors, including the families participating in the SELF program. For more information, visit www.ywcahamilton.org/walk-a-mile-in-their-shoes/.

Beatriz Baleeiro is a reporter at The Hamilton Spectator bbaleeiro@torstar.ca