Second Rise is a social enterprise that creates supportive employment opportunities for people facing barriers.

It began as a job training program that sought to address the lack of supportive employment opportunities for Indigenous men living in transitional housing.

The project evolved from the Employment Essentials Class/Job Training Program at Sagatay (Na-Me-Res) facilitated by Shauna Kearns. Kearns started Second Rise in consultation with Job Training Program Pilot members (funded by the Conn Smythe Foundation) in May 2024. She has facilitated programming with Sagatay since 2021.

Second Rise is committed to doing work that supports reconciliation within the communities we are a part of. We create opportunities for community members to share food, engage and learn collaboratively through employment, community outreach and workshops.

Second Rise operations are overseen by the Advisory Committee, made up of past and current Second Rise members. Based on feedback from community members and the Advisory Committee, the business structure is a work in progress.

As the Honourable Murray Sinclair once said: “Education is the key to reconciliation. Education got us into this mess, and education will get us out of it.”