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Toronto Central : 791 St. Clair Avenue West, Toronto, Ontario416-658-3101

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Skills for Change is a charity and non-profit agency. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are fundamental to achieving its vision that every immigrant and refugee succeed in Canada through learning and training opportunities. This organization started 40 years ago because of English training for immigrant people. In that context, the teachers identified that people also needed to develop their skills to find jobs and maximize their potential.

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The focus of this agency is the development of skills to insert into the society immigrant, newcomers, and refugees. However, it fits as a multi-issue, power-based organization because they have diverse programs, such as:

-          Employment services.

-          Immigrant, refugee, and settlement hub.

-          Youth program.

-          Newcomer entrepreneurship hub.

-          Language training.

-          Women programs.

-          Mentoring for change.

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Hub@791 is the Skills for Change program. Its focus is to provide programs and services to support newcomers' social, civic, and economic integration into Canada.
IRS programs operate like a “hub,” delivering a hybrid model of classroom and online learning, as well as itinerant programs and services to meet the needs of immigrants and refugees in the various communities within the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

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At Skills for Change, every program and service starts with settlement counsellors who facilitate the social, economic, and civic integration of immigrants and refugees in Canada.

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Settlement Services for Adults

Information sessions

Workshops

Referrals

Mentoring support

Individual and/or family counselling.

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Settlement Services for Youth (ages 16-29)

Peer-to-peer mentoring

Workshops

Homework clubs

Settlement Counselling

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Ukrainian Canadian Social Services Toronto

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Ukrainian Canadian Social Services Toronto

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Ukrainian Canadian Social Services ( Toronto) Inc.
2445 Bloor Street West

Toronto, ON

M6S 1P7

Telephone Number: 416-763-4982

Fax Number: 416-763-3997

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Ukrainian Canadian Social Services Toronto Inc. (UCSS-Toronto) is a non-profit charitable organization serving all demographic population and  Ukrainian ethnocultural community in the Greater Toronto, was established in 1945 to assist Ukrainian refugees arriving in Canada after World War II.
In 1971, the organization was registered as a charity with Revenue Canada and facility at 2445 Bloor Street West in Toronto was purchased. In 1981, approval as an Elderly Persons Centre was received from the Provincial Ministry of Community and Social Services.
In 2001, were offered for the first time in support groups for abused women, seniors’ abuse, clients with Alzheimer’s Disease.
Since 2010 the Agency offered free Tax Clinic, English classes for youth, technology and holiday events for seniors.
March 2022- settlement and accommodation for displaced Ukrainians.

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Missions
To provide social programs and services to enhance the quality of life for newcomers, people with low income, any clients not just from Ukrainian Canadian community, but any nations who live in Toronto.
Guided by the needs of individuals and families in the community, who experience language and cultural barriers, they provide a range of social services and support programs.

Goals

To provide culturally and linguistically sensitive social support services, and social and recreational group programs, based on identified community needs.

To encourage and promote volunteerism in the community.

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In connection with the increase in the entry of resettled Ukrainians under the CUAET (Canada Ukraine Authorization Emergency Traveling) program for temporary residence due to the war, the Agency partially changed its activities and began to provide new types of services.
Namely, consultations, assistance in adaptation through involvement in the community and Canadian society in general.  The main services are:
- health card application to Service Ontario,
- SIN application to Service Canada,
- registration to school for kids age 4-18,
- registration to Food Bank,
- helping with translations and first finding first bank institution in Canada,
-  medical exam registration (main requirements for those who have work permit and study permit),
-  helping with application for financial assistance,
- help with registration for English assessment before stating LINC and ESL schools, finding schools in cooperation with YMCA.
The programs provided by the agency are free English language lessons, twice a week for three lessons each time.  Also, a one-day French language lesson for those children who went to the French immersion school at their place of residence, this is my personal project that started 4 weeks ago.  A program for seniors who feel like strangers here and would never have planned to travel 11000 kilometers to spend one, two or three years, but that's how the circumstances turned out.  Therefore, the program for seniors on Friday offers "bingo game, coffee and conversation club".  There is also a humanitarian station for displaced persons, after consultation or provision of services, families or individuals can go down to the basement and take medicines, clothes, shoes, toys and books for children, and hygiene products.
There is also a lot of support in finding housing, for the first period of time, until they find a job and are able to pay the first and last month.  This housing is temporary and is available all over Ontario, but it helps in the first weeks or months.  Over a period of eight months, the Agency settled more than a one thousand people in temporary free housing, not shelters and not rentals.
In cooperation with the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, free summer camps for children and children's festivals were held.

References:
1. http://www.tor.ucss.info/contact.html

2. https://ucsst.ca/about/

3. https://www.canada.ca/en.html

4. Own observations and reflections during my placement.

5. Photo credit by Olena Lezhanska and Olena Nabesna.

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The Stop Community Food Centre
1884 Davenport Road
601 Christie Street
729 St. Clair West

Telephone: 416-652-7867
Fax: 416-652-2298

The Stop Community Food Centre was one of Canada’s first Food Banks in 1980s, therefore; they are considered pioneer in challenging food insecurity and advocating to improve community’s life. Their services are available for the Toronto’s West End focusing on the Davenport and Saint Clair West communities. In their value, they believe that food access and security is basic human rights. For that reason, they have been striving to ensure the emergency needs of communities’ members on accessing to healthy food through Food Bank and Drop-in programs. While working alongside community members, they also recognize there are many related issues causing food insecurity and food access such as homelessness, substance abuse, unemployment, and settlement for newcomers.

During the COVID-19 period, The Stop adjusted their service delivery method from open indoor to takeaway packages for both Food Bank and Drop-in, and temporarily expanded their catchment area to provide emergency support to as many community members as possible.

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Community Advocacy Office during Covid-19 quarantine

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According to the monthly record from the Stop Food Bank, 50% of new service users is newcomers who usually need help with filling applications, forms for social benefits, tax filling, housing, family doctor, legal issues, etc. And the Stop Community Advocacy Office plays a vital role in reponse to these issues.
Community Advocacy Office
This is a peer-run office with advocates who have lived experience with poverty, therefore, they are able to support and provide adequate information, and referrals to fellow community members.
Advocacy Office provides numerous of supports such as:

Filling forms and applications for OHIP (healthcare) application, Social Insurance Number (SIN), school registration for kids, etc.

Providing information regarding events, news, updates in the communities as flyers/hand-outs

Healthy Beginnings program

Referrals to other specialized organizations

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This program offers perinatal nutrition, health and social support to anyone who is living in Toronto, pregnant and on low income regardless of their immigration status. Participants can join at any stage of their pregnancy and stay six months postpartum. In addition to food hamper, voucher for The Stop’s Good Food Market, and gift cards, participants also have access to webinars and workshops discussing self-care, financial empowerment and useful information and services they need to have a healthier pregnancy and birth.

With a majority of community members speaking Spanish, Portuguese and Italian, to be able to communicate directly with participants and provide services, The Stop advocates are also multilingual members.

https://www.thestop.org/wp-content/uploads/The-Stop_Annual_2019.pdf

https://www.thestop.org/blog/healthy-beginnings-feature/

https://www.thestop.org/whats-on/1884-davenport/

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https://skillsforchange.org/

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Humankind has been on the move from almost its beginnings. Migration is the movement from one country, place, or locality to another caused by wars, disasters, and climate changes.

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Article 13:

1. Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.

2. Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.

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Immigration is a central topic in Canadian history. It has created a multicultural society despite being considered economically self-serving and ethnically or racially discriminatory throughout history.

Immigration and population policies were revised in 1975 till creating the new Immigration Act of 1976.
It established for the first time in law the main objectives of Canada's immigration policy. These included promoting Canada's demographic, economic, social, and cultural goals and the priorities of family reunion, diversity, and non-discrimination.

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Immigrants are an essential part of Canada, and according to the new census, they count for 23 % of the population; this growing population needs help to settle and call Canada their home. Transitioning and adjusting to a new life is never an easy process and people going through this requires a lot of support every step of the way to navigate their way through. Most agencies in Canada have taken the responsibility to help with the settlement process of this growing population.

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https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/migration

https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/immigration#

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/immigration-policy

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Working Women Community Centre

Victoria Park Hub

1527 Victoria Park Ave, 2nd Floor

Toronto, ON M1L2T3
Phone (416)750-9600

Working Women Community Centre is a women-focused settlement agent that has been providing support to newcomers since 1974 and has four locations across Greater Toronto Area. They have a variety of programs and services to make the process of settling as smooth as possible for newcomers and their families.

Support in five key program areas:

They offer a wide range of major programs to assist women in their new life. Their aim is to break the cycle of isolation and dependency by providing responsive, culturally sensitive, and effective programs and services in the five key areas.

Settlement and Integration:

Women's Support Services:

Education and Learning:

Leadership and Development:

Civic Engagement:

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Newcomer Day 2022:  an inspiring speech during the first event since the pandemic

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Tai Chi with collaboration with Parkdale Foundation

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Tai Chi with collaboration with Parkdale Foundation

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Partnership with Major Humanitarian Station

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Partnership with Major Humanitarian Station

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Newcomer Settlement:
Their newcomer settlement services are one-to-one information, orientation, referrals, and counselling support which is provided in different languages that cover many areas such as.

Temporary or permanent housing.

Child care services and public education for children.

English language classes.

Employment services.

Government services help with (Social Insurance Numbers, and health cards).

Completion and assistance with immigration forms and processes.

Legal services and legal aid.

Access to Health Services.

Training and adult education programs.

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Women often hold the key to their families well being,

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Working Women Community Centre offers a safe space for women to chat about what is most important to them and provide a support system for women who access their services.

1-1 Counselling:
They offer one on one counselling sessions to help women who are struggling with feelings of isolation, and separation from family to adapt to the newness of life in Canada, by working closely with clients and using a variety of techniques to provide support. Women’s 1-on-1 counselling sessions are offered in Arabic, Farsi, Mandarin, Portuguese, Spanish and English at our Gladstone location and Victoria Park HUB.

Language-specific women's groups:

They also have support groups focused on enabling women to develop leadership skills through self-development in a safe and supportive environment. this group program helps women who are facing barriers to engaging in society, by giving them a sense of community among their peers and integrating into Canadian life faster. They encourage women to build a new personal network. The group focuses on topics of interest such as self-esteem building, employment, women's rights in Canada and many more. These groups run for 8 to 12 weeks for newcomer women and they also provide child minding.

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Working Women Community Centre believes education and learning is the key to so many paths to success and it never stops no matter how old you are and where you are. They have designed their education programs for all stages to support newcomer parents in finding their voice and the confidence to speak for their children's future.

HIPPY: (home instruction for parents of preschool youngsters):

This is one of the internationally recognized programs that are run exclusively by working women community centers in the city of Toronto. This program empowers the parents of newcomer families by providing the tools and support that allow them to make a real difference in their children's lives  Families who are part of the HIPPY program will have home visitors who will help them for a period of two years by teaching the parents how to teach their kids, and how to navigate the education system to become better advocates for their children. The HIPPY program is running in this neighbourhood. Downtown West Community, Malvern community, Thorncliffe Park/ Flemingdon, Victoria Village communities, and Jane and Finch community.

On Your Mark:

On Your Mark, is one of their signature mentoring/tutoring program that provides one-to-one support in small groups, tutoring students who are struggling with literacy and numeracy standards for their grade level and attending special education support services. This program also addresses drop-out prevention and encourages the pursuit of post-secondary education. In addition to the academic support, sessions provide mentoring, foster friendships, and help build self-esteem, for newcomer kids.

LINC Care for Newcomer Children:

LINC (Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada) has become a vital part of the settlement and integration of newcomers to Canada. Funded by Immigration Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), LINC provides their clients with the opportunity to not only learn English but to learn about life in Canada. They do have part-time and full-time classes.

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5, Leadership Development/ Civic Engagement:

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5, Leadership Development/ Civic Engagement:

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Leadership Development:

This program works to cultivate community strengths and resident engagement to foster positive change. From resident councils, ambassador initiatives, and community planning tables, by encouraging clients to participate in training that develops their leadership skills and builds an effective community voice. leadership training is a hands-on training course for individuals who want to strengthen their leadership skills and develop their understanding of civic engagement, community development, social justice, and advocacy.

Civic Engagement​:

Civic engagement programs are key to building resilient, healthy, and thriving communities. They offer newcomers and immigrants several opportunities for community involvement and to build on their own personal networks. In the Arts programs of the Working Women Community Centre, the artists work together with the community on developing and creating projects that reflect the realities of the community. They work with concepts that are based on current affairs such as social justice and environmental issues.

Turtle House Family Arts program:

Turtle House Family Arts Program is a free art and community engagement program specifically designed for newcomer or refugee parents and their children 4 – 12 years of age. The program aims to create a safe space for families to develop strong connections to their new communities by engaging participants in multi-disciplinary arts such as painting, clay-making, and music. In addition, Turtle House also focuses on engaging parents through a series of Conversation Circles which discusses topics related to settlement and parenting, increasing parents’ knowledge and access to community resources and services.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APNiTFloKoc&t=3s

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https://www.workingwomencc.org/about-us/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taBzcvAN_dE&t=2s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnY0S2JdlZM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APNiTFloKoc&t=3s