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Wellesley Institute works in research and policy to improve health and health equity in the GTA through action on the social determinants of health.

Home Blog Health systems and Health equity First UforChange grads celebrate their successes with family, friends, community

Michael Shapcott

First UforChange grads celebrate their successes with family, friends, community

The first graduating class of UforChange – almost 50 dynamic youth from Toronto’s St James Town neighbourhood – got their certificates and celebrated their success in a day-long showcase on Sunday, May 16, at the jam-packed Parliament Street studio space. They were cheered on by proud parents, sisters and brothers, friends and many others from the community. Many of the grads of the arts-based youth training project are now moving on to placements in the arts sector – everything from television production to dog-grooming. The Wellesley Institute is proud to be the lead agency in the community collaboration that is supporting UforChange.

The youth participated in a series of workshops over the past few months that provided them with training and practical information in arts, employment and community issues. The initiative is supported by funding from Citizenship and Immigration Canada, along with contributions from the Wellesley Institute, Low Income Families Together, Banyan Youth, Cabbagetown Community Arts Centre and Canadian Community Initiatives.

During the five-hour Sunday showcase, UforChange grads performed dance, spoken word and music – and displayed their fashion design and photography skills. UforChange also launched a CD compilation of the work of the participants. The youth in the program have been labeled ‘at risk’  – they have been socially and economically excluded from the mainstream. The goal of UforChange is to provide training and other practical supports to the youth.

UforChange has already started to recruit for its second cohort – which will be double the size of the first graduating class, with as many as 115 youth participants.

In addition to providing administrative and project management support to the UforChange steering committee and project team, the Wellesley Institute is leading the internal evaluation process. By identifying issues and documenting successful strategies, we aim to provide practical information to assist in the development of similar initiatives in other communities across Canada.

Social inclusion and meaningful employment are two important components of personal health, and also the health of communities.

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Michael Shapcott

Michael Shapcott

Michael Shapcott is Director, Affordable Housing and Social Innovation at Wellesley Institute. Michael has worked extensively in Toronto, in many parts of Canada, nationally and internationally on social innovation, the non-profit sector, civic engagement, housing and housing rights, poverty, social exclusion, urban health and health equity. He is recognized as one of Canada’s leading community-based housing and homelessness experts. He is currently on secondment to the Princes' Charities Canada.

Acknowledgement of Traditional Land

We wish to acknowledge this land on which the Wellesley Institute operates. For thousands of years, it has been the traditional land of the Huron-Wendat, the Seneca, and the Mississaugas of the Credit. Today, this meeting place is still the home to many Indigenous people from across Turtle Island and we are grateful to have the opportunity to work on this land.

Revised by the Ceremonial Committee at the University of Toronto Office of Indigenous Initiatives in April 2021.