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OUR PROGRAMS AND SERVICES
We provide different types of supports such as programming for women and gender-diverse people from communities facing barriers to equity. It includes advocacy, development and skills-building programs, peer support, referrals, and low-barrier services to help our communities move forward.
Our programs and services centres the rights, access, and unique needs of women and gender-diverse people.
Connect with us to learn more about our services, receive assistance in navigating available options, or discover which program is best for you.
This website gives general information about our main offerings.
Click “LEARN MORE” to find out more information about each program. Scroll to the bottom of this page for the Frequently Asked Questions.
Programs are free for eligible members within our priority communities. They are available both online and select in-person, with sessions offered throughout the year.
EMPOWERING CARE PROGRAM
We offer practical support through our Empowering Care Program (ECP). This humanitarian relief-based program provides direct assistance to women* and gender-diverse individuals experiencing the impacts of gender-based violence, systemic racism, and institutional barriers hindering justice, dignity, and basic rights, and who need urgent survival support. The supports from this program are intended to provide participants (community members receiving support) with immediate relief for their basic costs of living, to provide a sense of security, and to invest in their well-being and safety on their terms.
The program addresses immediate community needs by deploying aid strategies while creating a safe environment for women and gender-diverse individuals in crisis to seek support and access resources that help them rebuild their lives with safety, dignity, and independence.
We are dedicated to ensuring that women and gender-diverse individuals—who often encounter unfair barriers and inequalities—have access to the resources, opportunities, referrals, and support they need. Our approach is personalized to unique situations, rather than adopting a one-size-fits-all solution for all. We believe people are best placed to determine the support they need. That’s why we emphasize the importance of centring community member needs and respecting their self-determination by providing support without conditions.
Please note that this program has a waitlist and an application doesn’t guarantee supports. GOOD TO BE GOOD works to expand financial resources, but we can only support a limited number of applications. All completed applications are processed and reviewed by the program team. If we cannot confirm assistance from the first application submission, we will automatically put it on our waitlist for the next round of emergency and relief supports. We encourage you to visit our Resources webpage for additional help. As we grow, we hope to consistently support more community members through this program. Financial assistance will not be provided to applicants with reasonable financial means or access to sufficient housing and income.
The Empowering Care Program provides one-time, case-by-case humanitarian relief to support community members facing urgent basic needs. It helps restore safety, dignity, and agency, reducing barriers to support and empowering women and gender-diverse individuals to build safe, thriving lives. Rooted in trauma-informed and anti-oppressive care, the program centres community voices while promoting gender equity through resource redistribution and advocacy.
The program provides support for emergency basic needs, prioritizing individuals from our key communities. These include Black, Indigenous, and racialized women and gender-diverse people facing barriers and injustices such as violence, housing instability, low income, immigration difficulties, or limited access to essential services. Please review the policy to determine eligibility. Applications are prioritized based on eligibility such as urgency, need, and income.
Essential emergency supports through this program may include:
– Transportation Assistance: Stipend for travel expenses for appointments, or accessing critical services.
– Connectivity Support: Assistance with phone or internet costs to maintain communication and access to resources and support lines.
– Gift Cards for Essentials: Providing gift cards for groceries, clothing, and other basic necessities.
– Menstrual and Wellness Products: Access to hygiene and wellness supplies.
– Supports for Leaving Violence: Financial aid for essential costs associated with escaping violence and abuse.
– Health Assistance: Support for reproductive health services and gender-affirming care services.
– Emergency Housing: Helping survivors of abuse secure safe housing and develop resource plans for long-term stability.
– Comprehensive Case Management: Offering referrals, information, advocacy, and wraparound support tailored to individual needs.
– Peer Support Counselling: Providing empathetic, personalized support through peer counselling sessions.
Outreach services can also be provided to partner agencies that serve women, girls, and gender-diverse communities. The program policy is included in the application or can be shared directly upon request.
To view the program policy, click here.
Empowering Care Program Contact:
Email: [email protected]
Phone or Text: 647-503-4663
MENSTRUAL PRODUCTS PROGRAM
Through the Empowering Care Program, we provide access to free, clean, safe, and culturally appropriate menstrual products for people with high needs in our communities. This initiative ensures that individuals from priority groups have the necessary resources to participate in essential activities without facing barriers or exclusion.
This program offers reusable or sustainable products to enhance women’s quality of life by reducing the need for frequent purchases of costly hygiene items.
This Program Prioritizes:
– Black Women, Indigenous Women, Women of Colour, Transgender, Non-binary, 2-spirit, and gender-expansive community members;
– Low-income individuals who are over 18 years of age, if not parents or guardians can apply on behalf of their child who menstruates.
– Residing in Canada
The service operates on a need-to-need basis without heavy administration or policing of bodies and needs. To apply for a free menstrual product, email our team at [email protected].
PEER SUPPORT SERVICES
We offer free, confidential Peer Support Services for women and gender-diverse members over 18 years of age from our priority communities. These services are strengths-based, compassionate, non-directive, feminist, trauma-informed, and community-focused forms of social support and care.
Our trained and interdisciplinary Support Workers and Community Workers provide community members assistance in the following ways:
- Social and Community Work Services (including resource support and advocacy interventions)
- Short-term Case Management (including goal planning and follow-up services)
- Monthly Peer Support Groups (including workshops and training sessions)
- 6-month 1:1 Peer-based Support Counselling (including referrals to community resources and emergency services)
Through this tailored service, we connect women and gender-diverse individuals with community programs, support services, recreational opportunities, and essential information to support their well-being, safety, and healing journey. Additionally, we offer peer mentorship, goal-setting support, and crisis risk assessment.
Our team promotes empowerment, respect, and self-determination during program participation and adheres to a Code of Conduct and Ethics.
1:1- ONE-ON-ONE PEER SUPPORT
Our Peer Support Services offer 1:1 (one-on-one) support and case management tailored to a community member’s specific needs, situation, and reasons for seeking assistance. Following intake, we develop a trust-based, person-centred relationship that encompasses supportive listening, self-advocacy, and finding solutions as needed. Services are free to eligible community members, and available through phone or video calls by appointment only. Services are confidential and available in English and select languages.
This service can help community members to:
– Access social and practical support and/or specialized referrals to services;
– Connect with services tailored to fit individual needs, goals, and abilities;
– Connect with other community leaders and individuals in their support systems or with service agencies;
– Advocate for individual choices and actions, ones that lead to positive outcomes and opportunities.
We are committed to empowering women and gender-diverse members of our community by supporting their needs, promoting their autonomy, and providing access to information, advocacy, and personalized resources, with the hope of enabling them to make informed life choices on their terms. Referrals to other agencies or services are made with the utmost care to ensure that individuals receive support from a gender-responsive approach. Please note that while our Support and Community Workers may offer social, emotional, and practical support, they do not provide medical or scientific advice or diagnosis.
For intake, email to connect or set up a video call. After connecting through email or phone, you will be connected to a Support Worker or Community Worker who confirms information about the issue(s) you are facing and schedules services based on requirements, availability, and needs. Our team can help with a range of needs, including interpersonal challenges, stress, inability to access social services, anxiety, grief, advocacy, and more.
Peer Support Program and 1:1 Services Contact:
Aramí Galeano, Manager of Support Services
Email: [email protected]
Phone or Text: 647-503-GOOD (4663)
We do not provide crisis or medical services. If you, or someone you love is at immediate risk please contact your local emergency services.
PEER SUPPORT GROUPS
Community and connection hold great power. Sharing space with others in similar situations and learning from each other can be incredibly transformative.
Our Peer Support Groups program runs monthly through our Peer Support Services. It is a free, community-based space and network for community members to connect in a peer-to-peer setting. Peer Support Groups are a place for women and gender-diverse community members to share resources and experiences related to mental health and well-being, challenge gender norms together, foster healing and recovery, and create a community that nurtures a sense of belonging.
Monthly groups run throughout the year. New members are welcome and no referrals are needed. Due to limited group space, participants are required to register for each session in advance. This service is free and no commitment is required.
Groups are guided and facilitated by our Peer Support Services team who share similar backgrounds and lived experiences. We also aim to reduce barriers to accessing services by providing advocacy, resources, and referrals. The monthly program has grown to offer support groups that include guest speakers and focus on health and wellness activities, receiving positive feedback from our community!
During the monthly Peer Support sessions, the group explores resources, shares experiences and challenges, and exchanges knowledge and skill-building tips that nurture well-being and foster connection. We aim to provide a safe, non-clinical, compassionate space where women and gender-diverse participants can share their experiences, emotions, coping strategies, interests, and experiences with systemic and interpersonal challenges. Our goal is to help participants feel less alone, anxious, or isolated, more empowered and connected, and to reduce the stigma around conversations about women’s mental health and wellbeing. Group topics can include but are not limited to:
Recovering From Traumas
Work-Life Balance
Navigating Systems as a BIPOC Woman
Interpersonal Relationships
Developing and Maintaining Healthy Relationships
Care-Giver Support Self-Care
Collective Care Practices
Before joining the program, our team can help participants explore how we can make connecting in an online group comfortable, safe, and welcoming by using Group Guidelines and Safety Standards. Peer Support Groups require all participants to adhere to our Group Guidelines prior to joining their first session to ensure privacy and confidentiality. We strive to meet accommodation and accessibility requests—examples include audio descriptions, closed captioning, breakout rooms, and sensory items.
This program is only offered to those who identity as part of our priority communities. To ensure a safe and supportive space, organizations or representatives from an institution for organizational purposes will not be admitted to groups.
Peer Support Groups and General Program Contact:
Mecca Ongy, Community Worker and Program Coordinator
Email: [email protected]
Call or Text: 647-503-GOOD (4663)
CHANGE MAKE-HER - ENTREPRENEURSHIP SUPPORT GROUP PROGRAM
Empowering Women and Gender-Diverse Folks through Entrepreneurial Development Workshops and Opportunities.
The Change Make-Her Program is a free interactive virtual program for women, non-binary and gender-diverse folks* focused on developing entrepreneurship and leadership skills through mentorship-based training and development workshops, community-building, peer support, and inclusive resources and tools.
This is a community-led program that aims to bridge the gap for women and gender-diverse individuals with entrepreneurial motivations and skills, overcoming systemic and interpersonal obstacles by guiding them through foundational economic-readiness workshops with a low-barrier, intersectional, and compassionate approach.
GOOD TO BE GOOD believes that entrepreneurship can provide a meaningful pathway for women and gender-diverse individuals facing multiple barriers to independence and well-being. It can enable them to generate income, build confidence and community, and self-determine aspects of their economic and social circumstances. This program aims to uphold the principle that, regardless of circumstances, women and gender-diverse individuals have the right to pursue economic and social justice with safety, support, and self-agency.
ALERT: COHORT 5 IS NOW CLOSED. COHORT 6 TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON! JOIN OUR MONTHLY NEWSLETTER TO GET NOTIFIED.
The Change Make-Her Program is built through the power of connection, knowledge-sharing, community, and empowerment! This program aims to empower women and gender-diverse individuals* with the fundamentals of growing a new micro or small business, or developing income-generating venture (such as freelancing, gig worker, contracting) on their terms. This program provides participants with workshop-based training opportunities facilitated by established entrepreneurs and industry professionals, fellow peers, relevant information and resources, and tools, providing a solid foundation for adapting to a changing economy.
Through this program, participants will cultivate their entrepreneurial mindset and:
Build Entrepreneurship & Leadership Skills
Navigate Business Fundamentals
Bolster Empowerment, Social Inclusion & Personal Development
Enhance Independence & Interdependence
Through a series of facilitated mentor-led group training sessions in entrepreneurship, admitted participants have the opportunity to establish connections, learn and interact with industry professionals, gain start-up strategies, and develop fundamental business and leadership skills and knowledge in marketing, communications, audience building, brand, business development and planning, and financial literacy. They will also explore self-care practices and connect with other women and gender-diverse individuals facing similar challenges in a supportive, inclusive space. Participants will engage in sessions that prepare them for daily applications and situations, fostering inspiration, inclusion, and implementation.
Upon program completion, successful participants receive a completion certificate and a micro-grant to meet their business needs. Participants also receive take-home, low-barrier tools and resources to drive their ventures to the next phase.
At this time, sessions are delivered in the English language, online and take place once per week during the 8-week program schedule. The program is offered entirely free to our priority communities—with no course or application fees!
To ensure equitable participation, participants are provided with available personalized wraparound supports, such as peer engagement, community resources, accessibility accommodations, and tech assistance. Learning and communication needs will also be assessed during this process.
The program combines culturally responsive business theories with practical tools and real-life experiences. Each workshop offers relevant, developmentally-appropriate content, including group exercises and “best practices” in today’s Western capitalist context. We prioritize trauma-informed, feminist, and intersectional approaches to address diverse learning styles and experiences. All sessions align with GOOD TO BE GOOD’s mission and values, aiming to empower participants to achieve not just financial stability but a life of freedom, safety, connection, and dignity.
Cohort 5 Program Contact:
Arezoo Najibzadeh, Program Manager
Email: [email protected]
Our program team is responsible for evaluating applications based on set criteria.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Our Priority Communities (Who We Serve)
We recognize that discrimination exists, and certain groups face disproportionate barriers to economic, social, and developmental opportunities, as well as to their rights.
As an equity-driven nonprofit with a mission to break down barriers and create opportunities for marginalized communities, we prioritize women and gender-diverse individuals from historically under-served, under-resourced, and marginalized groups. This includes those who identify as Indigenous, Black, newcomers, survivors, migrants, refugees, landed immigrants, 2SLGBTQIAA+, unemployed or underemployed, living with disabilities, and those facing systemic barriers to economic and social participation and access to resources.
Our priority community refers to the people we are committed to serving, who experience greater barriers and vulnerabilities compared to others. These communities, often subject to systemic challenges and injustices, are the focus of our efforts to address equity and provide intersectional-rooted support.
Website Language
*For the purposes of our website and program communications, we use the words “women” and “women and gender-diverse people” to reference an inclusive term that include and encompass Two-Spirit, gender non-conforming, gender queer, trans, cis, femmes, non-binary people, gender-diverse people, and people of marginalized genders who identify with the term. Where brevity is required, we use these words as an umbrella term to refer to our priority community in our mandate. We recognize and uphold the fact that gender is not homogenous and not defined by biology.
Using inclusive language is important, particularly for people who have historically been excluded and marginalized based on their identities and characteristics. We use the term “marginalization” or “marginalized to refer to the inequality certain individuals and groups face in society due to power imbalances built in our systems. The term “marginalized” is used throughout website information and program documents. We recognize that marginalization is intersectional, meaning that individuals can experience multiple forms of oppression and discrimination simultaneously based on their intersecting identities.
Accessibility
We strive to provide accessibility for team members and community members across all functions of GOOD TO BE GOOD by removing barriers and providing accommodations and/or modifying expectations if necessary. Closed captioning is available for online programs, meetings and external and internal webinars. We take positive steps to increase accessibility by improving learning, virtual, and physical accessibility to our services through feedback loop, continued reassessments on our practices and assumptions, knowledge-sharing, consultive partnerships, and collaborative approaches. Technical assistance is also available to address specific access needs throughout communication and engagement to better serve and support community members who identify as neurodiverse. We respect and uphold the requirements set forth under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) and follow the recommendations found on the Ontario Human Rights Commission as best as possible. We ask all community members accessing our programs and services to inform us how we can make their experience with us better.
Accessing a Program or Service and Intake Process
For community members accessing Good To Be Good programs and services for the first time, we collect self-identification data confidentially during intake or through sign-up forms, using ethical practices. These practices include limiting the number of team members who can access this information, maintaining privacy and confidentiality, and clearly communicating the purpose of data collection and its usage for services. Data can be deleted according to our applicable personal information privacy policy. We also aim to address any formal or perceived barriers and obstacles to access and provision. We aim to reduce the frequency with which community members participating in our programs are asked to undergo formal intake processes and continue to expand eligibility and availability.
During program or service registration or intake, community members are asked to verify specific and only necessary information about their identity, such as name, gender, country, date of birth, etc. We will never collect biometric data (such as face or fingerprints) or the data of minors. Verified information helps ensure authenticity and accuracy, allowing our team to know with whom we are interacting and fostering trusted, safe, and meaningful interactions. We can accommodate community members with alternative methods such as video verification, where exceptions may apply.
To ensure community members feel safe and respected during their access, each program has established participation or service-user guidelines or a code of conduct. By joining our community, program or service participants agree to abide by our terms. We reserve the right to modify or update this code of conduct as necessary.
All services provided by Good To Be Good are confidential, within the limits of the law. This means that outside of a closed program, no one will know you have used it unless consent is provided to the organization.
Consent
When processing and handling information for a program or service, we uphold consent and adhere to applicable laws and regulations
We aim to uphold the right to free, prior, and informed consent of Indigenous Peoples in Canada accessing our programs and services and when we take actions which impact them and their rights, including their lands, territories and resources.
Program Participation Privacy
All programs and services that are online are delivered on Zoom and compliant with all federal and provincial privacy legislation and HIPAA, PIPEDA & PHIPA.
Website Privacy
Good To Be Good is committed to respecting your privacy and protecting personal information. We have taken appropriate measures to protect the privacy of any personal information that you provide to us or that we collect when you visit our website. When you browse this website, we typically do not ask you to provide your personal information or personal health information through this platform.
In the event that personal information needs to be provided to us, for example, when applying for a service online, the collection will be limited to that which is absolutely necessary, and, a privacy statement that complies with the applicable privacy law will be provided on the page that you enter your information in to. The privacy statement will, at a minimum, provide the reason for the collection of your personal information, as well as whom you can contact for questions about the collection. View our Web Privacy Policy here.
Stay Safer Online
Security of our community is one of our top priorities. GOOD TO BE GOOD and its employees and contractors will only communicate through our official social media channels, phone line, email, and through partner channels. If you receive a suspicious message, text, phone call, letter, or email, or if you’re unsure about the authenticity of any communication, please contact us directly at [email protected].
Always confirm the identity of the sender before responding to any request for personal information or data. A directory of current staff can be found on our website. Official GOOD TO BE GOOD communications will come from our email domain (@goodtobegood.ca) and verified social media accounts. Avoid clicking on links or downloading attachments from unknown or unsolicited emails, WhatsApp users, or social media accounts. We recommend to hover over links to see where they lead before clicking. View our Web Privacy Policy here.
Feedback
If you have ideas or suggestions for our programs and services, or feedback on your experience with any components of the organization or this website, email [email protected] or call 647-503-4663. We welcome your comments, concerns, and suggestions.
To submit a formal complaint or compliment, download the General Complaints Policy (opens in new window) and follow the steps accordingly.