There is a sense of resignation setting in as we head into the fall season and what is fast becoming a peaking second wave of COVID-19 infections. The numbers are alarming. Although the health impact on the vast majority of those who are showing up positive - the under forties - isn’t as severe as it was for seniors at the beginning of the pandemic.
TNO - The Neighbourhood Organization 2020 Top Settlement Agency
TNO - The Neighbourhood Organization was recognized 2020 Top Settlement Agency by RBC and Canadian Immigrant Magazine. TNO services and activities support low-income, marginalized and newcomer communities across Toronto and are provided free in more than 50 languages. The agency was established in 1985 as a family and newcomer support organization and now has more than 170 staff and 300 volunteers.
OCASI's 42nd Annual General Meeting / La 42e assemblée générale annuelle d’OCASI
You are invited to our virtual AGM. Thursday, October 29, 2020 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Guest Speaker - The Honourable Marco Mendicino, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
Vous êtes invité(e)s à notre AGA virtuelle. Jeudi 29 octobre 2020 15 h 00 — 17 h 00. Conférencier invité: l'honorable Marco Mendicino, Ministre d'Immigration, Réfugiés et Citoyenneté Canada.
Registration is open for the OCASI Executive Directors’ Forum (online) October 27-29, 2020. The theme of this year’s conference is: Transformation: Race, Recovery and Belonging. To see the full programme and to register please visit edforum.ocasi.org
Keynote by john a. Powell
Not attending the OCASI ED Forum but want to hear the keynote address? john a. powell is an internationally recognized expert in civil rights, civil liberties, structural racism and more. Introduction by Debbie Douglas of OCASI. Moderated by Avvy Go Chinese & Southeast Asian Legal Clinic. No need to register again if you are registered for the Forum.
We have updated our online English language curriculum for self-directed learning. Register now to access updated information on terms used, laws, infographics and more. Our goal is to support you to better understand and respond to the needs of the LGBTQIA+ Newcomer communities. Register now at OCASI's Learnatwork platform. Contact us with any questions psi@ocasi.org
New! Youth Advisory Group
Do you work with newcomer youth or know of youth that might be interested in this paid opportunity? We are looking for your guidance and input as part of our NewYouth.ca Youth Advisory Group!
Mental Health and Trauma Informed Care for Service Providers
This 6-day webinar series is designed for service providers across the province working with newcomer communities. The series will provide an overview of fundamental mental health principles and follow with approaches to culturally competent and trauma informed care. The series will end with a crisis intervention workshop focusing on conflict resolution and promoting resiliency.
Want your content on the community to be highlighted? Let the SettleNet.org team know before the 3rd Thursday of each month when the newsletter is sent.
Why Agencies Love OCMS
An OCMS user tells us, "OCMS is a great tool. For case management of our clients, it is extremely helpful. All of the client's information is located on this system... Workers can then see everything that has been done for the client. Furthermore, action plans and follow-ups can be done more easily..."
Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR) consultation provides a key opportunity for all those in the refugee and immigrant serving sector to connect with others across Canada, to dialogue with government and to learn from experts in many areas. With views from all Canadian provinces, the Consultation offers opportunities for professional development, networking and strategy. 26 November - 11 December 2020.
The Community Knowledge Program at the Wellesley Institute seeks to bridge migration research, policy, and practice. We want to understand how stakeholders in the immigrant and refugee-serving sector in the GTA conduct, share, and use research about migration and settlement, to inform our new training for front-line workers. Please complete our survey before October 23: if you support newcomers, we want to hear from you!
2020 marks Social Justice Week’s 10th anniversary. Since its inception in 2011, SJW has brought together Ryerson students, staff and faculty, and the broader community on topics related to social justice and solidarity. This year under the theme “Beyond Walls, Beyond Borders,” SJW features ten events focussing on justice, critical geography, democracy, political mobilization, labour, global resistance, and feminist activism.
DemocracyXChange is the annual summit for Canada’s emerging democracy sector to connect, learn and share. From neighbourhood change-makers to thought leaders and national campaigners, DemocracyXChange is a meeting place for practitioners demonstrating the power of explicit engagement, technology and new ways of organizing to make change happen. The Summit will be held virtually on October 13 – 22, 2020.
211 Ontario is asking 211 Ambassadors to help share the message that the 211 helpline is to help Ontario residents find the right help in their community during the covid-19 pandemic.
Please share as many of the posts as you wish on your own social media channels when you wish using the text provided or your own. Use hashtag #dial211.
Community Legal Education Ontario and Ontario Justice Education Network invite you to “Law and Community in 2020: Updates and action for community workers”, October 29, 2020, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Community workers from across Ontario can hear from lawyers working on the frontlines of housing, income security, and worker safety for low-income and marginalized people. Free virtual event.
As Canada's national statistical organization, Statistics Canada is committed to sharing knowledge and expertise to help all Canadians develop their data literacy skills. This free training is aimed at those who are new to data or those who have some experience with data but may need a refresher or want to expand their knowledge. Check it out!
Canada Healthy Communities Initiative - Call for Proposals
Infrastructure Canada is currently accepting applications from non-governmental not-for-profit organizations interested in supporting community responses to COVID-19 across Canada through the Canada Healthy Communities Initiative. Applications are due by October 16, 2020, by 23:59 PDT
On October 5th, 2020 the federal government released the final installment of the $350 million Fund to continue to flow support to charities and non-profit organizations serving the most vulnerable. Community organizations can apply for funding through Community Foundations of Canada, the Canadian Red Cross and United Way Centraide Canada. Deadline Oct 31 2020 02:59 AM (EDT).
The Opportunities Fund is an open call submission process for innovative ideas and compelling approaches working towards creating sustainable economic opportunities and decent work for low-income people in Toronto. Download program guidelines. There will only be one round of funding for the Opportunities Fund in 2021. Deadline for letters of interest is November 23, 2020.
TOntario Native Women’s Association has released “Reconciliation with Indigenous Women: Changing the Story of MMIWG (2020). The report advocates self-determined solutions to systemic problems underlying the ongoing crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. It outlines 13 key recommendations covering 28 systems that Indigenous women navigate throughout their lifetime and the forms of violence they face within them.
“The Role of Post-Secondary Institutions in Building International Student Resilience, Policy preview – Lessons from Windsor-Essex, Series Report – 3” was released by the Building Migrant Resilience in Cities/Immigration et resilience en milieu urbain (BMRC-IRMU) – York University on September 20, 2020. Read about the experiences of international students in the small Ontario community of Windsor.
Statistics Canada recently released “Immigration and Firm Productivity: Evidence from the Canadian Employer-Employee Dynamics Database”. The study finds a positive association between changes in the share of immigrants in a firm and changes in firm productivity. The effect is larger for low-skilled /less-educated immigrants. There is a positive effect of immigration on worker wages and business profits.
