We enter this last month of the calendar year with increasing alarm and some frustration as new variants of the COVID-19 are detected here at home and throughout the world. Frustration- or at least mine, comes from the knee jerk response of the Canadian and other high income countries quickly moving to shut their borders primarily to travellers from countries in the Global South and South Africa.
Strides Toronto has formed a task force with infant, child, and youth mental health agencies in Toronto to address anti-Black racism in this sector. The project aims to align the sector’s programs, policies, and practices with best practices in anti-racism and anti-oppression, and provide culturally responsive programs and services to help Black infants, children, and youth thrive.
OCASI hosted a webinar on the “Queer Refugee Hearings Program Toolkit” to assist service providers to better help people claiming refugee protection based on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression, and/or Sex Characteristics (SOGIESC). The webinar was presented by Nicholas Hersh (he/him) an immigration and refugee lawyer at Community Legal Services of Ottawa and for Capital Rainbow Refuge.
How’s it going? A community check-in on settlement-sponsor collaboration
Join Allies for Refugee Integration’s first Roundtable to check in on the settlement-sponsor relationship in Ontario. Tuesday December 14, 2021, 1:00-2:30 pm EST.
Accessibility Initiative Launches New Online Course
After consultation with many community stakeholders and a consultancy firm OCASI is launching the pilot for our new national, self-directed AI course. It will be available in both English and French over 9 weeks, starting on January 10th, 2022.
The seats are limited across Canada, so reserve your spot now! Register for English »
L’Initiative pour l’Accessibilité lance son nouveau cours en ligne
Après une vaste consultation nationale avec les intervenants communautaires et le recrutement d'un cabinet d’experts, l' IA est fière de lancer le projet pilote de son nouveau cours national autodirigé. Ce cours de 9 semaines disponible en anglais et en français, commencera le 10 janvier 2022.
Creating Positive Spaces for LGBTQIA+ Newcomers Level 2 Online Course
OCASI is excited to announce a brand new Positive Spaces Initiative (PSI) online course, Creating Positive Spaces for LGBTQIA+ Newcomers Level 2 for managers and service providers to more effectively serve LGBTQIA+ immigrants, refugees, and newcomers. This 3 week training will be supplementary to the PSI Level 1 course. Registration deadline: January 23, 2022.
The SettleNet.org/Réseau-Étab.org team is looking for enthusiastic ambassadors to help us reach and engage more individuals in the sector by promoting the platform by posting on social media, presenting at conferences, creating content, etc. This is a highly flexible opportunity with training, support, and promotional kit provided. Email mbeker@ocasi.org for more details and to apply
OCASI Client Management System (OCMS)
Are you looking for a client management system that works well for your agency? Try OCMS! Please watch the OCMS video or sign up for a webinar. We are proud of our work and our clients. To join our growing list of clients contact us at ocmssupport@ocasi.org.
OCASI Maximizing Governance Project - Training Recordings Now Available
Maximizing Governance is a 2-year OCASI project aimed to increase the governance capacity of public benefit organizations, in particular, those emerging or small. The project delivered governance training to boards of directors and senior leadership of organizations across Ontario.
Francisco Rico-Martinez worked all his life for justice. The Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR) has established the Francisco Rico-Martinez Access to Justice Fund to support projects aligned with Francisco’s core commitments. The CCR is collecting donations to the Fund.
Service Provider Roundtable: Supporting Afghan Women
Canadian Women’s Foundation held a webinar with OCASI on December 7, 2021 on what women and girls from Afghanistan will encounter on arrival in Canada, their specific service needs and support for rebuilding their lives. View the recorded webinar on Youtube in English and French.
Table ronde des prestataires de services : soutenir les femmes afghanes
La Fondation canadienne des femmes présente un Women’s webinaire sur ce que les femmes et les filles d'Afghanistan rencontreront à leur arrivée au Canada, sur leurs besoins spécifiques en matière de services et sur le soutien à leur apporter pour reconstruire leur vie.
The second annual children’s writing competition is underway! It is a chance for children and young people to engage with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UN CRC) in English and French, and reflect on how it matters in their own lives. This contest is open to children and young people in Canada ages 7-17.
No One Left Behind: Strategies for an Inclusive Recovery marks the 32nd anniversary of the federal government's promise to end child poverty by the year 2000. The report card finds that poverty reduction is stalling, children are living in deeper poverty and inequality is widening.
Vertical Legacy: The Case for Revitalizing the GTA’s Aging Rental Tower Communities
This new report from United Way Greater Toronto finds high-rise renters face issues of affordability and suitability. It offers recommendations on helping income rental tower residents make rent and access eviction protection; encourage tower owners to maintain good repair and affordability; and strengthen social infrastructure, services and opportunities for the people and neighbourhoods.
Community Knowledge Program Needs Assessment Report
The report provides an overview of the current landscape for research into migration, settlement, and immigration in the Greater Toronto Area, and offers recommendations for closing gaps, strengthening research relationships, and ensuring a solid base of knowledge and evidence for policy and practice among academics, policy-makers, and community organizations and service providers.
A new report presents findings from a study exploring relationships between refugee legal aid, quality of counsel, the fairness and efficiency of asylum procedures, and access to justice for refugee claimants in Canada. Read “Access to Justice for Refugees: How Legal Aid and Quality of Counsel Impact Fairness and Efficiency in Canada's Asylum System” released on December 8, 2021.
Unacceptable: Responding to Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence Guide
The guide defines and describes different forms of technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV). The guide also outlines steps that people experiencing TFGBV can take to address the violence, including potential legal remedies.
