Team, 2021 was a challenge nobody could have predicted, but it was a position to have action taken upon it. Throughout the pandemic, the mission and goal continue to remain crystal clear in being the change we wish to see. In support of the Greater Toronto Area, Eva’s continues to be a leader in what it means to truly give at-risk youth a chance to be great once again. In doing so, please see the following as an in-depth [...]
To our staff, volunteers, donors, and community of supporters: Our 2020-21 fiscal year was a challenging one, but it was also a time of positive momentum for our organization. I had the pleasure of leading Eva’s this past year as the interim Executive Director, and formally assumed the role of Executive Director in September 2021. This year, we prioritized meeting the heightened needs of young people experiencing homelessness while keeping our staff safe. We also continued to move forward [...]
To our community of supporters: As the pandemic continued into 2021, we saw Eva’s staff continue to rise up and support young people when they needed it most. At the Board level, we continued focusing on our equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) goals and led the appointment of Eva’s Executive Director. Equity at the Board level In June 2019, we began to diversify the Board of Directors gradually and intentionally, with the recruitment of new Board members. These recruitment [...]
Eva’s Family Reconnect program helps prevent the cycle of youth homelessness. By building bridges to reconnect youth to themselves, their families (immediate or chosen), and their communities, our program helps young people re-establish, keep, and expand healthy and supportive relationships. Family Reconnect offers a trauma-informed and strengths-based approach, recognizing the trauma young people have experienced and how it impacts their behaviour and actions. Through coping mechanisms, family counselling, community connections, and skill-based training, we help youth decide how they [...]
As we enter a new fiscal year at Eva’s, the Board of Directors is pleased to announce an important milestone at Eva’s Initiatives: an organizational leadership update. Today we are pleased to announce our decision to appoint Louise Smith as Eva's Executive Director, Aisha Francis as Chair of the Eva’s Board and Jessica Hardy-Henry as Vice Chair. The Executive Director Appointment Louise joined Eva’s in 2019. She comes to the organization with 20 years of experience working with youth in the non-profit sector, having spent [...]
A key part of Eva’s is our Print Shop. It is a commercial printer and social enterprise that provides print and graphic arts training and life skills to youth experiencing homelessness and barriers to accessing housing. The Print Shop reinvests any profits back into our shelter system and the youth we serve. The social enterprise provides a paid employment training course, where students learn about customer service, digital printing, bindery, clothing printing, large-format printing, prepress and graphic arts using Adobe Creative Suite. [...]
There is no doubt that this is a very different world than just a few weeks ago. For young people, no matter their situation, adolescence can be a difficult and challenging time, but for youth experiencing homelessness, their challenges are heightened and exacerbated by their circumstances. Trying to navigate a pandemic and manage existing traumas can increase anxiety levels and set youth who have been making progress back even further. Here at Eva’s, the young people we serve are [...]
Last updated June 09, 2023 How is Eva’s managing COVID-19? As we continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, our organization remains committed to protecting the health and safety of young people and staff. This includes abiding by protocols to reduce the risk of transmission within our shelters and housing programs while continuing to provide wraparound supports for young people in need. We have put in place several changes including: Adapting our programs to be able to support young people [...]
Meet Eugene Silva. He has been the chef at Eva’s Place for 22 years. He started as a cleaner in 1996 then became the cook a year later. At Eva’s providing healthy nutritious food is central to ensuring that young people are able to grow and progress to a life of inter-dependence. As a chef at Eva’s Eugene is central to this. When it comes to his dishes, Eugene tries to cook food that reflects the cultural makeup of [...]
This month we are proud to celebrate the many achievements and accomplishments of Canadians of African descent, including our founder Eva Smith and her many friends, colleagues and contemporaries, whose advocacy and resistance contributed so much to the City of Toronto, our country and laid the ground-work for our organization. We stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us. We are grateful and honoured to celebrate their legacy. Kamala-Jean Gopie https://youtu.be/7VU8bcgx_14 At Eva‘s Initiatives we [...]
