A local non-profit鈥檚 new project is helping Okanagan women in a new way.

HOPE Outreach launched its new initiative, Jewels of Hope, on Sept. 18. The program will give marginalized and exploited women, often living in the streets, have the opportunity to earn a little bit of money while learning some skills in crafting and retail that they can use in their resumes and help them find work.

Participants learn how to make bracelets, which are then sold through the project鈥檚 website or through pop-up markets. This way, they get to learn how to handle online and physical sales.

Lorraine Richmond is HOPE Outreach鈥檚 project lead and she said the goal of the initiative is to bring resources to women who otherwise won鈥檛 get access to them.

鈥淲e teach them something tangible, a horizontal skill. For now, we鈥檝e started with bracelets because it鈥檚 simple,鈥� she said.

鈥淏asically, we鈥檙e teaching them skills for potential sustainable employment.鈥�

Besides making learning accessible, Richmond said the goal of the project is to give dignity back to vulnerable women and for them to realize that they, and the work they do, matter.

鈥淲omen are given a five-dollar honorarium鈥� and we give them a gift card to a store so they can buy food and other necessities,鈥� she said.

鈥淚t鈥檚 about human dignity and because finances are often an issue, this way they can supply their own bare and basic needs. It鈥檚 a safe place and will bring them belonging and help them build a community.鈥�

Richmond said they鈥檙e also partnering with other community organizations for retail education.

鈥淪HARE Society, for example, has a retail training program. So for the women that make these bracelets, it鈥檚 something they can put on their resume,鈥� she said.

鈥淪HARE can teach them WHMIS (Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System) or Foodsafe. This way they can have put together their own table at the farmers鈥� market or grow their own business. Some places, once the women gain the skills and confidence, want to hire them.鈥�

She added that another important part of the program is the product itself: the bracelet, which features yellow, white, black, and red beads, with a silver pendant in the shape of the word HOPE. The colours are reminiscent of the traditional Indigenous medicine wheel.

Now with the initiative live, Richmond said they鈥檙e looking for stores they can partner with and sell the bracelets, as well as volunteers who can help HOPE Outreach鈥檚 clients in making the bracelets.

More information on Jewels of Hope is available through .

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twila.amato@blackpress.ca
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