Our Programs and Initiatives

United Way has a long, rich history in Peel Region. We’ve been making a difference in the lives of people in Brampton, Caledon and Mississauga since 1967.

We fund programs and services that provide a circle of care in our community: prevention, intervention, crisis management and counselling. This circle of care focuses on five funding priorities:

Strengthening families and children
Helping abused women and children
Reducing hunger, homelessness and poverty
Supporting seniors to live healthy and independent lives
Helping newcomers and immigrants settle and integrate

United Way of Peel Region engages in community-wide capacity-building activities. We have developed a comprehensive strategy to build the capacity and ability of the non-profit sector to respond to the human and social service needs of our community. These capacity-building activities take several forms, from assisting human service agencies in measuring their effectiveness, providing resources to strengthen the infrastructure of agencies, to increasing the number of individuals prepared to take leadership roles in our community.

We are working to build a better community by bringing people and organizations together to work on issues that affect Peel Region. Below are the current programs, initiatives and partnerships.

Success By 6 Peel is a collaborative of more than 60 partners in business, labour, education, recreation, healthy, social services and government that are working together to ensure that every child in Peel thrives.

United Way is providing oversight to this initiative.

Visit www.successbysixpeel.com for more information.

Through Strategic Transformations , United Way is increasing the ability of the non-profit sector in Peel to meet the needs of the community. Volunteers provide workshops, seminars and private consultations related to every aspect of non-profit management for community agencies.

Strategic Transformations also maintains a resource library of current literature that covers a broad range of subjects. These are available to agencies on request.

Launched in December 2003 with Ontario Trillium Foundation funding, the Outcomes Measurement Training Project helped non-profit agencies become more effective at measuring, improving and communicating their impact. Resources from this project are currently being developed and will be posted an this website. Check back soon for these resources.

In collaboration with the Region of Peel and Service Canada, United Way provides funding and strategic support to the mentoring partnership.

The program matches internationally trained immigrants with established professionals in their field.

The program is part of a larger initiative of the Maytree Foundation and the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council. It is delivered in Peel by Dixie-Bloor Neighbourhood Centre and was launched in February 2005. For more information, contact the program coordinator at 905-624-2442 or visit www.thementoringpartnership.com.

United Way is an active partner in the Peel Learning Institute, an initiative of the Peel Capacity Building Committee and the Peel Funders Consortium. The vision of the Institute is, "A strong, sustainable non profit human services sector in Peel". Its mission is to, "To cultivate, enhance and support the leadership of the non profit human services sector in Peel". The institute will feature training and learning opportunities for senior staff and board members in the sector. The project is funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation with oversight provided by a steering committee of human service sector leaders and funders. For more information, contact the Program Manager at 905-602-3650 ext 6168 or peellearninginstitute@unitedwaypeel.org.

United Way partners with two local utilities on "Winter Warmth", a program providing grants to low-income residents faced with the threat of service disconnection due to being in arrears on their utility payments. Enbridge Gas (Peel) and Enersource Mississauga provide full funding for the program that began in 2004. The lead agency for Enbridge Winter Warmth is Caledon Community Services (905-584-9460 or 1-800-985-2471) and for Enersource Mississauga Winter Warmth, Dixie Bloor Neighbourhood Centre is the lead agency (905-629-1873).

The Peel Newcomer Strategy Group is comprised of key stakeholders that came together because of a growing recognition that there was a need to develop a coordinated newcomer/immigrant services strategy. The signed Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement reinforced the need for developing such a strategy and propelled this planning group towards a quick call to action. A visioning meeting was held on February 7th, 2006 with stakeholders from various sectors such as health, child care, employment, physical health, mental health, legal services, housing, language training, education, corporations, small business, Brampton and Mississauga boards of trade, Economic Development Offices, and funders. The vision for a coordinated service strategy is to develop a client -focused service model. As such, a key strategy in the development of the community plan will be to seek input directly from newcomers/immigrants, employers, service providers, funders and other community partners. Research, current literature and best practices will inform the development of this community plan. For more information on this initiative, please contact Evelyn Myrie at 905-602-3650 ext. 2466 or email emyrie@unitedwaypeel.org.

United Way is a member organization of the Healthy City Stewardship Centre (HCSC) which was created in 2004 and whose mandate is to work proactively and collaboratively toward the betterment of the health of the people of Mississauga. The development of a health plan is the first priority of the Stewardship Centre; the health plan would outline priority local health concerns which the HCSC member organizations would proactively and collectively work to better over the next 5 years (2006 - 2010).

The vision and goals of the HCSC are as follows:

Vision: Mississauga will be a healthy city of people with optimal physical, mental and spiritual health.

Goals:

All people in Mississauga will value and strive for optimal health.
All people in Mississauga will feel safe in their communities.
All people in Mississauga will have equal access to information and services.
All people in Mississauga will live in and contribute to a clean and sustainable environment.
All people in Mississauga will feel part of a larger community and will know that they will be cared for in times of need.

For more information, visit http://www.mississauga.ca/portal/cityhall/stewardship.

The United Ways of Ontario (UWO) is pleased to acknowledge the commitment by the Honourable Madeleine Meilleur, Ontario Minister of Community and Social Services, for $1.4 million in start up funding for UWO and its partners to establish a province-wide 211 community services information line.

211 is a simple to use, easy to remember telephone service where trained Information and Referral specialists connect families and individuals with the most appropriate information and services for their needs.

Between now and April 2007, the Ontario211 project will work intensively with four new communities in Ottawa, Thunder Bay, Halton Region and Windsor to build capacity for their on-call telephone service. They will join the three existing operations in Collingwood, Niagara Region and Toronto to form the backbone of province-wide telephone connection between Ontarians and human services.

United Way of Peel Region is actively working with United Ways of Ontario to develop plans in partnership with community stakeholders to bring 211 into Peel Region in the future.

Title	Description	Last updated	Size (kB)
211 Feasibility Study and Business Case	Results of a 2002 broad based community consultation to explore existing interest, capacity, and gaps related to information and referral and 211.	March 2004	463.140	Download

The Internal Diversity Program celebrates cultural diversity to foster an atmosphere of understanding, engage the diverse communities of Peel, increase United Way's knowledge of different perspectives and enhance internal diversity capacity. During the evolution of this initiative, United Way will review identified policies, develop and deliver diversity training for volunteers, staff, and Board; and actively outreach to and engage the diverse communities of Peel in the activities and work of United Way.

United Way will also initiate and facilitate the development of three ethno-specific Community Advisory Councils that will strategically enhance the organization's ability to build relationships with the diverse communities of Peel.

The Chinese Advisory Council officially launched at United Way's annual general meeting in June 2006. The aim of the Council is to establish and cultivate relationships within the Chinese community and to identify and understand the needs and challenges faced within the community.

The establishment of Advisory Councils is a strategy initiated to build relationships within the ethno-specific communities in Peel. This will be an opportunity to encourage and engage the diverse communities in the work and activities of United Way.

For more information about this initiative, please contact Sharon Douglas at 905-602-3620 or sdouglas@unitedwaypeel.org.

The Regional Diversity Roundtable (RDR) is a network of organizations and institutions committed to building inclusion and diversity competence that results in the institutionalization of equity in their core values, structures, workforce, policies and services

The RDR is committed to being a leader in supporting organizations and institutions to be diverse and equitable in order to provide services that are fair, inclusive and culturally appropriate.

The membership of the RDR is comprised of Peel District School Board, Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board., Trillium Health Centre, Credit Valley Hospital, William Osler Health Centre, Peel Regional Police, Region of Peel, Region of Peel Health Department, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Brampton Library, Peel Children's Aid Society, Community Care Access Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Peel Children's Centre and United Way of Peel Region.

For more information about this initiative please contact Njeri Damali Campbell at 905-602-3650 ext. 2327 or diversityroundtable@unitedwaypeel.org.

The Strong Communities Coalition is an alliance of the United Ways in Peel, York, Durham and Halton, and the GTA/905 Health Care Alliance. It was created in 2005 to speak out about the need to improve local and timely access to health and social services for the three million residents living in the 905 area code region of the GTA. The Coalition is advocating that the provincial government provide growth funding for health and social services in the GTA/905 and revise the way provincial funds are allocated so that funds are distributed on the basis of population size, growth and characteristics.

More information about the Coalition and its work can be obtained in two reports released in October 2006: Growing Pains: An Urgent Message from the Strong Communities Coalition and Assessing the Gap in Health and Social Service Funding Between the GTA/905 and the Rest of Ontario, prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The Nonprofit Library Network brings together The Imagine Canada - John Hodgson Library and United Way of Peel Region with partners across Ontario to provide information, resources and training to support the successful delivery of their service, outreach and fundraising programs.

Visit the Nonprofit Library Commons for more information. The Nonprofit Library Network is generously supported by the Ontario Trillium Foundation.

Labour, management and United Way share many of the same goals. We all want to ensure that our community thrives and the people who live here have access to the services and programs they need to live happy, healthy and productive lives. By working together to conduct a joint union-management United Way campaign in your workplace, you can help strengthen our community and improve individual lives.

Click here for more information about Labour and United Way.