Social Change and Community Development Work

The Antigonish Women’s Resource Centre is a feminist organization with a vision for social change resulting in a more just, equitable and caring society. We believe it is important to combine our direct services and programs with social change initiatives that address the root causes of poverty, violence and discrimination.

Social Assistance Reform in Nova Scotia: Moving Forward a Woman-Positive Public Policy Agenda

Moving Forward is a joint initiative of the Antigonish Women’s Resource Centre, the Pictou County Women’s Centre, New Glasgow, and Every Woman’s Centre, Sydney. In 2001, the Nova Scotia Department of Community Services replaced the Family Benefits Act and the Municipal Social Assistance Act with a standardized single tiered policy known as Employment Support and Income Assistance (ESIA). The focus of the new policy was a more stringent welfare to work mandate with a concentrated focus on self sufficiency.

In response to this new policy and its anticipated effects on women, the Antigonish Women’s Resource Centre, Pictou County Women Centre, and Every Woman Centre, Sydney, partnered on key initiatives, funded by the Women Program, Status of Women Canada. The first two projects, Social Assistance Reform in Nova Scotia: Is it Working for Women? (May-November 2002) and Follow-Up to Social Assistance Reform: Making it Work for Women (October 2003-April 2004) assessed the impacts of the new Employment Support and Income Assistance program on women. Through in-depth participatory research with women in previous or current receipt of income assistance, it became clear that the Employment Support and Income Assistance program does not adequately provide for women economic security and self-sufficiency.

Through the initial projects, women living on the front-lines of poverty made a number of important recommendations for the improvement of social assistance policy and its delivery. Through the Moving Forward Initiative ninety-one women from across Nova Scotia who are in receipt of income assistance prioritized the recommendations from the previous projects into three key recommendations. Subsequently, the recommendations were furthered studied and strengthened in a Working Session which brought women who had participated in prioritizing the recommendations, together with women from women’s equality seeking organizations, social justice and anti-poverty groups, and anti-poverty advocates. Two reports were produced. Struggling to Survive – Women on Employment Support and Income Assistance (ESIA) in Nova Scotia Provide their Key Recommendations for Policy Reform (January 2006) documents how ESIA policies are creating and perpetuating poverty among families in Nova Scotia and tells the stories of some of the women who participated in the research. Survival Strategies (May 2006) documents the recommendations that came from the working session and that were presented to the Department of Community Services. (Trouble viewing this file? Download Adobe PDF Reader.)

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Face to Face: building inter-sectoral collaboration to improve policy responses to disadvantaged single parents’ education and training needs

The Face to Face initiative is a three year project that is designed to gather, develop and share with women and their community-based organizations clear information on women’s education, training and employment options. With information that clearly compares the investments and rewards of the various employment streams, women will be able to make choices that should result in more women selecting higher-paying and more secure and satisfying employment.

The project will make the case for policy improvements through inter-sectoral collaboration and by documenting and presenting compelling information to decision-makers. The project aims to effect policy changes resulting in more complete and appropriate support for single mothers on social assistance and for women in general.

The Face to Face Project has produced an Employment Options Kit (see also EOIK Intro) which serves as an information resource for people considering and comparing their career options.

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Briefs to Government

The AWRC recognizes that the barriers many women face reinforce and are reinforced by inequality and oppression, are systemic, and require policy change as part of broader social change. The AWRC regularly presents briefs to government agencies and committees as a way of analyzing issues affecting women and recommending policy changes. Check out the following links to some of our recently presented briefs:

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Committee Work

The AWRC is involved at the community and provincial levels with committees, organizations and initiatives that address issues affecting women. We have been instrumental in the creation or involved since the inception of several of these committees. Together we share information, develop programs, and collaborate on social change and community development initiatives.

At the Community Level we are involved with:

At the Provincial Level we are involved with:

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