Pilot project aims to bring newcomer mothers back into the workforce

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to disproportionately take its toll on working women, anew program in St. John's hopes to help some of the most marginalized newcomer mothers in Newfoundland and Labrador create their own jobs to join the workforce.

The YWCA in St. John's is in the midst of a rolling out a pilot project to help women create home-based daycares.

The idea for the project predates the pandemic, andsprang from two years of research into what was keeping such women from finding work and participating more in the community around them.

That research found a tangled web of interconnected issues, from language barriers, to getting credentials recognized, to experiences of discrimination, to the challenge that is finding someone to look after your children.

The woman leading the pilot projectknows it first-hand, and all too well.

"I am living this project," said ConstanzaSafatle, the newcomer services co-ordinator at the YWCA.

A lawyer back in Chile, Safatle came to Canada as her husband pursued graduate studies at Memorial University. She found herself in the city with few language skills, and attempting to navigate a different culture and bureaucracy to find work.

On top of all that, she said, it took her two years to findchild care, and she's one of the lucky ones.

"It is a huge deal for mothers. Some of them wait five years to return to the labour market," she said.

Creating child care

The project is creating a series of training workshops, where participants will gather both entrepreneurial and child-care skills, with the goal to have two to three women be able to open up a home-based daycare by next winter.

"Home-based child care, it has huge need in the province," said Safatle.

The opportunities are there. It's not easy to navigate the system, but you can do it.- Constanza Safatle

"It is a good opportunity for newcomer women who want to explore entrepreneurship, and also, it's a good service for the community."

Beyond the child-care training, the projectinvolves mentoring and support, as well as access to small loans, as Safatle said these in combination canhelp reduce barriers and createa successful business.

Beyond the dire need for more daycaresin general, multicultural ones appeal to parents who may be looking for care that involves different languages, food and diversity, "so you create community," she said.

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She hopes to offer herself as inspiration to others, as someone who may have struggled upon arrival to St. John's but has now found her place in the city.

"The opportunities are there. It's not easy to navigate the system, but you can do it," she said.

More information on the program is available through the YWCA's website and social media channels.

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