by Dawar Naeem
(Dawar is a volunteer journalist for RPTV and the FOCUS Media Arts Centre)

The Regent Park Social Development Plan (SDP) is a community-wide initiative that seeks to ensure that social inclusion and cohesion is at the heart of the revitalization of Regent Park.  To meet this goal, the work of the SDP is structured around four primary committees or working groups each consisting of Toronto Community Housing residents, market residents, grassroots groups and service providers.  

The Employment & Economic Development Committee (EED) is one of the four working groups of the SDP. The goal of the EED committee is to increase employment rates and entrepreneurial opportunities for residents of Regent Park.

Considered among the lowest income neighborhoods in Toronto, antidotal evidence suggests that many Regent Park households are struggling with employment barriers related to language, lack of skills, lack of accreditation, mental health, Islamophobia, systemic racism and more.

According to Murwan Khogali, a resident co-chair of the EED committee, “The task laid before us was to identify the major barriers preventing individuals from finding sustainable employment.”  To meet this task one of the first initiatives of the EED Committee was to hire a researcher and conduct a needs assessment survey among residents. Fully aware that there are existing employment support organizations in the community such as the Dixon Hall Employment Services and the City of Toronto Employment and Social Services (TESS), both of which provide employment services to residents of Regent Park, Khogali feels that the EED survey will also help service providers by identifying the gaps and unmet needs that prevent residents from finding long-term sustainable employment.  

This is reiterated by Gail Lynch, another resident co-chair of the EED committee, “once we know what the gaps are, we can begin to develop collaborative strategies to address these employment needs and gaps”.

Another area of priority for the EED committee is the need to support the entrepreneurial aspirations of residents in the community.  According to Gail, an immigrant from Jamaica, many newcomers to Canada come from countries in which entrepreneurship is a way of life. Families survived by operating small businesses or shops or been a vendor in a marketplace.  Arriving in Canada, many families lack the opportunities, support and resources to utilize the skills they crafted running businesses in their previous home country.  “Residents would like to open new businesses here in Canada but don’t know how to get started or lack access to finances.” says Gail.  Gail hopes that the EED committee can change this and is encouraging residents aspiring to develop, manage and own a business to reach out to the committee and let their needs be known. Regardless of whether you have a business or not, if you are interested in the activities of the Employment and Economic Development Committee then this committee is for you!