Muskoka Bridges out of Poverty Project 

The Muskoka  Bridges out of Poverty Project is a poverty reduction strategy that  includes three inter-related components:  

1) Bridges out of Poverty: a one-day workshop for service providers and community members designed for participants to learn the realities of living in poverty and barriers caused by the “Hidden Rules” of different income groups. Bridges workshop participants can become involved as an Ally in Circles.

2) Getting Ahead: a 15-session program for individuals experiencing poverty. Participants may become involved in the Circles program as a Leader. 

3) Circles Program:  a weekly meeting of families (Leaders) and Allies where food is shared, trust is fostered and practical solutions to individual problems are developed. 

CAP Consulting was contracted by the YWCA Muskoka to conduct an evaluation, with a focus on implementation and outcomes, as part of an Ontario Trillium Foundation five-year  grant (starting in 2015), Currently in its second year, the evaluation is collecting information through surveys and interviews with program participants in the Bridges, Getting Ahead and Circles components as well as from the Project's Advisory Committee.