Projects

Employment Connections: A Transition Tool Kit for Youth with Disabilities

Navigating the Waters

Navigating the Waters is a national employment project of the Canadian Association of Independent Living Centres (CAILC). The program is available in 22 Independent Living Centres across the country to anyone who is unemployed and has a disability. The purpose of Navigating the Waters is to promote the full integration of people with disabilities into the labour market within their own communities.

Participants are employed in public and private sector job opportunities, or are provided with assistance to start up their own business. The program helped 18 new businesses get off the ground last year alone. Participants work one-on-one with Career Development Facilitators, based in local Independent Living Centres, identifying barriers to labour market participation, and tailoring supports to suit their own employment goals.

Independent Living Centres are run by and for people with disabilities in communities across Canada. The Independent Living philosophy seeks to empower people with disabilities to have control over their own lives. Navigating the Waters began in 1997, and has since helped over 2000 people fulfill employment-related goals. For more information contact:

Susan Forster, National Project Manager
Canadian Association of Independent Living Centres
170 Laurier Ave. W., Suite 1104
Ottawa, ON
K1P 5V5

Transition and Employment Programs Across Canada
Tel: 613-563-2581 ext. 14
Fax: 613-563-3861
TTY: 613-563-4215
Email: projects@cailc.ca
Web site: www.cailc.ca