Regent Park is the oldest public housing project and one of the most economically disadvantaged regions in Canada. While extremely rich in diversity, it is a community that faces many race, language and cultural barriers. The numbers speak for themselves:

• Over 80% of residents are visible minorities, and for many English is a second language;
• Few families are earning more than $18,000 per year (less than 1/3 the national average);
• The region has twice the number of single parent families as the rest of Toronto.

With an average of 850 high school age kids and no secondary schools in the community, 56% of them (twice the Toronto average) were dropping out - until Pathways came along.

Beginning in September 2001, Pathways enrolled 95% of the eligible grade nine high school students (and their parents) in an innovative program that addresses many of the challenges elaborated by the Regent Park community. Now in our seventh year, The Pathways to Education Program continues to enroll and re-enroll over 95% of the eligible grades nine, ten, eleven and twelve students as the program has expanded to include over 835 kids that attend over 60 different high schools.

In creating The Pathways to Education Program, the vision of the Regent Park Community Health Centre is to transform the life chances of a generation of young people who will become the community's future leaders. The specific objectives of the program are to increase both retention in high school and academic success of students from the Regent Park area, giving increased opportunities and encouragement for young people to pursue post-secondary education, develop their careers, and be part of the knowledge-based economy. We have already begun to see this happen.