Since September of this year, OCASI has been working with a consulting consortium to overhaul our Anti-Racism, Anti-Oppression (ARAO) policies and to undertake a series of training sessions with the Board of Directors, Senior Management, Program Managers and Employees. The Council, after years of looking outward at the sector- implementing the Positive Spaces Initiative; developing and delivering extensive training on issues of (dis)abilities and intersecting identities including immigration status; ensuring opportunities for discussion and training on anti-racism and anti-oppression at our various conferences; vigorously applying an integrated analysis of race, gender, class, age, ability, etc. to our policy work, - believed it time to take an internal look.
Community Legal Education Ontario, CLEO - Public Legal Education (PLE) Learning Exchange
The Public Legal Education (PLE) Learning Exchange is a network of community-based organizations in Ontario that produce or deliver public legal education and are interested in sharing their experience and expertise, as well as learning from others.
OCASI Happenings
#CdnImm Event #10: Youth & Settlement
The aim of the event is to understand current challenges and practices in youth settlement services and newcomer youth integration, and to chart a way forward. Join us on Thursday, December 13, 2012 from 1:00-4:00 p.m. in the North York Central Library Auditorium. Click to learn more about this upcoming event.
OCASI Learn At Work
Recently, we ran two, eight-week consecutive facilitated training on “Understanding and Responding to Women Abuse”. This training focused on violence against immigrant and refugee women that are vulnerable and/or isolated in their communities.
This training is intended for immigrant service and other community-based organizations with the capacity to reach immigrant and refugee women, women without legal immigration status, trafficked women and women from racialized low-income communities. We encourage you to register for this self-drected training. Login is required.
Making Ontario Home
We continue our feature of specific findings from the MOH study. In this issue of the newsletter we focus on another important finding; how the period of arrival correlates with significant differences in use of and satisfaction with services:
Interestingly, compared to those arriving between 2000 and 2005, respondents arriving from 2006 to 2010 were more likely to have used services, more likely to have accessed them within their first year, and were significantly more satisfied specifically with LINC and bridge training programs for regulated professions or trades. For more Key Findings, go to pages 8 and 9 of the report.
Sector Happenings
Social Assistance Review Final Report
Commission for the Review of Social Assistance in Ontario released its final report, “Brighter Prospects: Transforming Social Assistance in Ontario” at the end of October 2012. The Ontario government established the Commission in November 2010 to review Ontario Works and Ontario Disability Support Program. OCASI facilitated the participation of member agencies in the review through community engagement sessions and submitted two reports on the outcome.
City of London - Faces of Immigration
The London & Middlesex Local Immigration Partnership (LMLIP), the London & Middlesex Immigration Portal and the City of London have launch of a new video designed to welcome international newcomers to the city. Six new Canadians share their experience in the seven-minute film. The idea behind the video is to make integration easier for immigrants who choose to settle in London.
Evaluation of Legal Aid Ontario's Multi-language Services:
SPR Associates Inc is conducting an independent evaluation of Legal Aid Ontario's translation and interpretation services for persons who are eligible for legal aid, but who do not speak either English or French. The research will be conducted between December 2012 and March, 2013.
Participation of community organizations that work with individuals who require access to interpretation and translation support is a key part of this study. Information on how to participate can be obtained from Dr. Ted Harvey, Project Director ted.harvey@spr.ca Legal Aid Ontario multilingual interpretation services
Since September of this year, OCASI has been working with a consulting consortium to overhaul our Anti-Racism, Anti-Oppression (ARAO) policies and to undertake a series of training sessions with the Board of Directors, Senior Management, Program Managers and Employees. The Council, after years of looking outward at the sector- implementing the Positive Spaces Initiative; developing and delivering extensive training on issues of (dis)abilities and intersecting identities including immigration status; ensuring opportunities for discussion and training on anti-racism and anti-oppression at our various conferences; vigorously applying an integrated analysis of race, gender, class, age, ability, etc. to our policy work, - believed it time to take an internal look.
