Employ to Empower Inc

We believe that every person is capable of achieving self confidence, financial well-being, and a sense of belonging, while contributing to their community.

We focus on providing personalized support. Our mission is to empower people who face work and social barriers to cultivate community connections through entrepreneurship and self-advocacy opportunities.

We are not an organization that embodies traditional entrepreneurship. Nearly a quarter of residents in the Downtown Eastside (DTES) are striving to become entrepreneurs as an avenue for earning supplemental income, developing confidence, and most importantly, contributing back to their community - thus creating ripples of change.

We learned from our community that entrepreneurial success for many people is not always measured by traditional profit models. For Employ to Empower (ETE), entrepreneurial success is about pursuing one’s passion, developing a business, generating revenues, and as a result, reinforcing who they are, what their potential could be, and most importantly, how they feel about themselves. Self esteem, self worth, and confidence are the building blocks of change. At Employ to Empower, success is measured by the human experience, not by the growth of their business.