For mothers without a high school diploma, higher education can seem like an impossible dream – and the effects of poverty on health are well documented. That’s why a Faculty of Medicine official helped welcome more than 50 moms to campus May 9 to learn that their dream could become a reality.
The second annual Role Model Moms Post-Secondary Academy, hosted at Hart House, was an inspiring field trip for participants of the Toronto City Mission’s Role Model Moms program. The program gives mothers the academic knowledge, confidence, and life skills necessary to pass the high school equivalency exam.
Representatives from U of T, Humber College, Centennial College, Ryerson University, and the City of Toronto offered information about support and resources available to people looking to further their education.
“We’re excited to welcome and inspire women who might otherwise feel that college or university are out of reach,” says Roxanne Wright, Community Health Placement Officer at U of T’s Faculty of Medicine. “Higher education can be within everyone’s grasp. This event is one way we can help ensure that is realized by all.”
Almost half of Canadian-born students living in lower-income neighbourhoods don’t pursue higher education due to lack of information, money, child care and support.
To address these barriers, participants connected with other student moms who successfully navigated the opaque process of becoming a first-generation post-secondary student.
Nineteen researchers at the University of Toronto and partner hospitals have received almost $60 million from the Canada Foundation for Innovation through its Innovation Fund.
Twenty faculty members from the University of Toronto — including seven at Temerty Medicine — have been awarded Canada Research Chairs in support of their research, in areas ranging from LGBTQ2S+ youth mental health to quantum photonic technologies and sustainable suburban housing.
The Centre for Research and Applications in Fluidic Technologies, or CRAFT, is a partnership between U of T, the National Research Council of Canada and, now, Unity Health Toronto.