Our Story
For more than four decades, we've helped adults with disabilities in Winnipeg find work, build skills, and achieve their goals.
Equal Opportunities West was established in 1979 as a non-profit organization providing adults with disabilities the individualized, supportive services they needed to secure competitive employment.
Over the years, EOW has grown into a burgeoning system of support for adults with developmental disabilities. Our original mandate — helping people find part- or full-time employment — still plays a key role, but our programming has branched out to genuinely change the culture and perceived value of individuals with disabilities.
Today, our program empowers individuals through choice and goal setting, whether career or personal. Through services such as e-waste and recycling, computer refurbishment, and outside employment, individuals choose their own path, earn a paycheque, and achieve their goals. We've placed individuals in restaurants, hotels, care homes, retail, and many other fields — relationships that are mutually beneficial for employer and employee alike.
We also encourage social and personal growth. Our in-house kitchen and lunch program teaches nutrition, cooking, and etiquette, while recreational activities like swimming, bowling, and sporting events build physical health and social skills.
“How can you achieve a dream if you’re never given the chance to do it?”
Equal Opportunities West and its staff are dedicated to making sure each individual in the program is given the opportunity to succeed — and to achieve.