ChiChi had high hopes when she moved to Canada from the Philippines in 2012 to pursue a career in nursing.
But her life took an unexpected turn when she found herself unemployed, with a 10-month-old child, living alone in Toronto.
“I remember thinking I was done," said ChiChi, who asked to be identified by only her first name.
"I can’t move forward. This is my life. My thought was that this was the end,” recalled ChiChi, who describes that time in her life as “rock bottom.”
She connected with a social worker who recommended she apply to the Homeward Bound program, an initiative run by WoodGreen Community Services.
The innovative Toronto-based program supports single mothers with intensive services, helping them move from financial insecurity and homelessness to sustainable employment. Participants in the program receive four years of stable housing, a fully funded two-year college education in a practical, in-demand field, childcare, after-school programs, mentorship, mental health support, and family counselling.
In the final year of the program, participants get placed in a 14-week unpaid internship program to gain work experience, while receiving job search support and networking opportunities.
ChiChi completed the program in April 2021, graduating with a business degree from George Brown College. A few months later, she landed an interview with TD and secured a job as a wealth operations officer for TD Wealth, where she works today.
In her role, ChiChi supports advisors and clients by processing account requests to ensure transactions are accurate and compliant with policies.
“I was so grateful for the support system to get me on my feet,” she said.
“Through the program, I learned that there are people that believe and invest in women, no matter what happened in their life. That was a big thing for me. I could never imagine that I would be this happy.”
Impact that extends across generations
Homeward Bound's success when it comes to helping single mothers on the path to financial independence demonstrates how investing in women pays dividends for not only the participants, but their children and the greater community.
In 2018, WoodGreen engaged the Constellation Consulting Group to objectively assess the success of the program and found that 88% of the women who completed the program were gainfully employed or in school within five years of graduating. The data also showed that 94% were stably housed, with 67% living in market rentals and 8% owning their own home. On average, full-time employed participants in the program earned approximately $43,000 per year.
The Bank's support of the program goes back more than 20 years, to its inception, when Ed Clark, a former TD CEO, made a personal donation of $1 million to the program to purchase a building in Toronto’s East End to help provide stable housing for women and their children.
Clark also created what’s become known as the Homeward Bound Industry Council, which connects corporate leaders with the program to create real opportunities for the participants.
The Bank's support has continued, said Yordanka Petrova, Director of Homeward Bound and Neighbourhood Programs.
The Bank recently donated $500,000 to the program, for a total of $1,792,000 in donations to WoodGreen since 2018 through the TD Ready Commitment, the Bank’s corporate citizenship platform.
WoodGreen was also a $1 million grant recipient of the 2023 TD Ready Challenge, when that year, the Challenge focused on organizations with innovative programs to address systemic barriers to affordable housing.
Support for these programs can directly change not just the trajectory of these women’s lives but their children as well, Petrova said. She shared a story of how a few years ago, a college student taking a social services program at George Brown College reached out to her after choosing the Homeward Bound program as the focus of his assignment.
At the interview, Petrova said she remembered being quite impressed with this student’s knowledge of the Homeward Bound model, including the housing component, childcare, and academic support. Near the end of the interview – when they could both hear the children playing outside of her office —the college student paused and told Petrova that he had been one of those kids.
“He shared that without the program, he wasn’t sure where he and his mother would have ended up. He talked about the sense of safety his mother gained through the program and how it changed the course of both of their lives,” she said.
By the time he got to university, he felt passionate about working in the social services sector, knowing firsthand the impact of the support and how the sector bolsters families.
“It was a very powerful moment. It captured everything the Homeward Bound program is all about,” Petrova said.
'Their skills really matter:' Creating economic opportunities for women
Support from TD goes beyond the financial investment, Petrova said. Senior executives from the Bank have chaired the Industry Council and have been instrumental in shaping Homeward Bound’s strategy and partnerships, ensuring that corporations contribute in meaningful ways, through internships, employment, mentorships, and advocacy.
The Bank also provides employment, with 41 internships for participants and 39 job opportunities for graduates to date.
“Many women we support have multiple overlapping barriers and challenges, like poverty, homelessness, limited access to jobs, to education, to childcare, just to name a few. With the Bank's support, we help level the playing field for these families," Petrova said.
"Through the Bank's support, it sends a clear message that there is space for these women in the corporate sector, that their skills really matter, and their successes are worth investing in. It's economic justice for women."
Homeward Bound graduates bring a unique perspective to their workplaces, having had to juggle employment, personal commitments, education, parenting, and navigating complex bureaucratic systems, all while surviving on a very limited budget. Overcoming these obstacles has provided them with unique problem-solving skills and insights, she said.
The program, which celebrates its 22nd year in 2026, continues to evolve. WoodGreen recently secured a partnership with Toronto Community Housing to provide services to over 50 families, who are already housed but require Homeward Bound’s other wraparound services.
They're also expanding the industries they partner with to include nursing and construction. A few weeks ago, Petrova said, one of their participants landed a job with a starting salary of $72,000.
'More than I could have asked for'
Amrita Ghosh, an executive assistant in corporate affairs at TD, graduated from the Homeward Bound program more than 10 years ago.
Like ChiChi she recalled arriving in Canada from India as a new immigrant. She'd been in the country less than a year when she realized her situation with her husband was unsustainable and she needed to leave him. Her son was only two-and-a-half years old at the time.
“I didn’t have any relatives; I didn’t know anybody, not a soul. I had just landed my first job, and things at home were getting more and more difficult," Ghosh said.
She started to look for options to move out and connected with a social service organization for information.
Back in India, it would have been unheard of in her family to move to a shelter, but when one called back, offering Ghosh a spot, she jumped at the opportunity.
Ghosh remembers leaving work, packing up as much as she could at home for herself and her son, and picking him up from daycare in a taxi.
“It seemed like a story from a movie,” she recalled.
Soon after, Ghosh was forced to leave her job to take care of her son and remained at the shelter for two months before learning about the Homeward Bound program. Ghosh was desperate to carve out a better life for her family, so she applied and was accepted.
“It was more than I could have asked for. When you’re alone in a new country, with a child, experiencing fear and isolation, the first thing that you look for is a community of people who can help,” Ghosh said.
“I had a degree in political science and previous work experience, but going through a personal challenge like this was overwhelming. Homeward Bound gave me hope that I was going to be okay.”
During her time in the program, she completed a post-graduate in human resources. Despite this, Ghosh said landing a job wasn’t easy. She was competing with many other qualified candidates. But after a few rounds of interviews, she was hired at TD.
“When TD supports organizations like these, they’re not just supporting moms, they are supporting the next generation. When moms are employed and stable, their kids are directly impacted,” said Ghosh.
The experience has also encouraged Ghosh to support other women – mothers in particular – who need help navigating similar personal crises. She’s even recommended people to the Homeward Bound program.
“I find it rewarding to help others who may be in a similar situation. I am open to sharing with others what I have learned, because it wasn’t easy to learn all of this – especially in a new country,” she said.
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