multicultural & immigrant services association of...

Multicultural & Immigrant Services Association

of North Vancouver Island

Annual Report 2017 ̵ 2018

MISA North Vancouver Island

Annual Report 2017 - 2018

Table of Contents

Mission, Vision, Values .................................... 1

Vital Statistics ................................................. 2

President’s Report to Members ........................ 3

Executive Director’s Report to Members ........... 4

Community Partners........................................ 5

Members and Funders ..................................... 6

Founders and Past Presidents .......................... 7

Settlement Services ........................................ 8

Quotes from our Program Participants .............. 9

Programs & Community Engagement ..............10

Financial Report .............................................11

MISA History .................................................13

Quotes from our Clients .................................15

Campbell River

A114-740 Robron Road,

Campbell River, BC V9W 6J7

250-830-0171

[email protected]

Comox Valley

407 A 5th Street,

Courtenay, BC V9N 1J7

250-338-6359

[email protected]

North Island:

Call toll free 1-855-805-0171

Skype by appointment

www.ImmigrantWelcome.ca

Multicultural & Immigrant Services Association

of North Vancouver Island

Vision

A North Island region that embraces diversity and inclusivity while actively engaging with the vibrant cultures in the region, and where newcomers feel welcome, safe and respected.

Mission

The Multicultural and Immigrant Services Association of North Vancouver Island (MISA) assists local communities in attracting and retaining newcomers by providing education and

professional services to members of those communities while offering advocacy for vulnerable populations and settlement services, thereby fostering welcoming and inclusive communities.

Values Statement

MISA believes that:

All people have a right to be treated, and feel that they are treated, with respect, dignity,

and fairness

All people have a right to privacy, and to be treated and feel that they are treated with

confidentiality and respect to personal boundaries

All people have a right to be and feel safe in their communities, neighbourhoods, and

workplaces

All people have a right to self-determination and to build their capacities to be self-reliant

and independent

All individuals, community groups, organizations, and employers need to understand and

fully implement all related government statutes, regulations, and case law

All people have a right to be included, and to not be discriminated against for reasons of

gender, age, culture, race, language, religion, ability, social class, and sexual orientation

All organizations have a responsibility for continuing to learn and implement best practices

Commitments Statement

MISA is committed to implementing and being a model for these ethics statements in all of its

work, and, in addition, to being in its relations with customers, clients, funders, and stakeholders:

Transparent

Professional

Accountable

Page 1

MISA North Vancouver Island 2017-2018

Vital Statistics

40,301 km2

total area served

Page 2

26

Years serving the North Island region

Top Ten Countries of client origin

1. Philippines

2. Vietnam

3. China

4. Great Britain

5. India

6. South Korea

7. U.S.A.

8. Germany

9. Mexico

10. Syria

128,000

Total population

of region served

99 Countries of

origin represented

by our clients

MISA

Board of Directors

2017-2018

Layne Marshal, President

Lisa Blackburn, Vice President

Cathy Voth, Secretary/

Treasurer

Leanne Brunt, Director

Maria Kirley, Director

Lorraine Theron, Director

Cathy Reyno, Director

President’s Report to Members

In British Columbia, organizations like the Immigrant

Welcome Centre are required to have a board of directors.

Most members of most organizations don’t spend much time

contemplating whether or not there is a board and what it

does. The IWC is not much different in that regard. Our

members generally interact with the board at the Annual

General Meeting and perhaps once in a while when board

members visit ongoing programs or activities. The rest of the

time, we pretty much go our individual – but hopefully not

separate – ways. The IWC board wants to change that

relationship.

The IWC board sees itself as representing an indistinct group

of people who have given us the responsibility of making life

better for immigrants and newcomers to north Vancouver

Island. We have a mission statement and a formal policy that

define what we think we should do to meet that

responsibility.

Does our mission statement capture what the IWC should

do? Does the board policy focus our energies to produce the

right benefits for the right people, and are the costs we incur

right for what we accomplish? To answer these questions,

we need to meet and talk with “those” people who hold us

responsible.

Figuring out who “they” are has been a challenge for the

board this past year or so and something that we’ll address

this coming year. We would love for you to help us meet this

challenge. Your thoughts and ideas will be valuable

contributions to this work. Contact the board directly at

[email protected] or provide your comments

through the IWC staff and management at the office. Also

look for announcements about board events for members,

community groups and others through our Facebook page

and emails.

This is your chance to make a difference in the IWC.

Layne Marshal, President 2017-2018

Layne Marshal

President 2017-2018

mailto:[email protected]

Executive Director’s Report to Members

This year the outcomes of our achievements focused on three

key areas of our mission statement: our communities, our

clients and our sustainability.

Our Communities

This year MISA more than ever spent a considerable amount

of time analysing how we collectively build welcoming and

inclusive communities. The result focused on making a

concentrated effort to build strategic relationships with key

stakeholders in order to have identifiable and measurable

sustained outcomes. A key outcome of these efforts is that

MISA now has a voice at the federal, provincial and local

decision making tables.

At the federal level, MISA was a small centre “Local

Immigrant Partnerships” representative for BC at the National

Settlement Conference in Ottawa. The National Settlement

Conference is a mechanism for national dialogue, consultation

and planning on settlement policy and programming with the

aim of enhancing outcomes for immigrants and resettled

refugees.

Provincially MISA was elected to represent Vancouver Island

on the Immigrant Integration Coordinating Committee (IICC).

This committee is responsible for coordination of services,

advocacy, policy development, facilitating consultation and

developing professional standards in service delivery in the

areas of immigration, resettlement and multiculturalism. This

committee also advises the National Settlement Committee on

provincial issues within the settlement sector.

Regionally and locally MISA has been busy connecting with

key organizations to work together to build our community

capacity to compete for funding that typically gets awarded to

larger urban centres. This effort will result in new

Memorandums of Understanding with North Island College

(NIC) and North Island Employment Society (NIEFS).

MISA Staff 2017-2018

Jim Brennan, Executive Director

Settlement Services

Thuy Sin, Manager

Sylvia Boss

Sarah Callander

Alyssa Christensen

Claudia Figueroa

Amy Gibson

Chris Gunn

Deborah Hall

Babe Hancock

Margaret Heppleston-Smith

Marie Irving

Esther Karasova

Julie Kosolofski

Lori Koyanagi

Ann McLeod

Rayna Nalleweg

Kim Nanuan

Ana Mena

Lydia Stratemann

Ai Guo Zhang

Welcoming Communities

Coalition Coordinator

Jorgina Little

Page 4

Community Partners

Adult Learning Centre

Campbell River Aboriginal Visioning and Empowerment (CRAVE)

Campbell River Chamber of Commerce

Campbell River Community Arts Council

Campbell River Family Services Society

Campbell River Literacy Association

Campbell River Syrian Refugee Support Committee

Campbell River Women's Resource Centre

City of Campbell River

Comox Military Family Resource Centre

Comox Valley Community Justice Centre

Comox Valley Family Services Association

Comox Valley Refugee Support Group

Comox Valley Transition Society

Creative Employment Access Society

District of Port Hardy

John Howard Society North Island

Kwakiutl District Council

Laichwiltach Family Life Society

North Island College

North Island Employment Foundation Society

RCMP, Campbell River Detachment

School District 71

School District 72

Service BC

Service Canada

Success By Six, Comox Valley

Town of Port McNeill

Vancouver Island Regional Library, Campbell River

Vancouver Island Regional Library, Comox Valley

Volunteer Campbell River

Wachiay Friendship Centre

Our Clients

At MISA we are committed to using Best Practices

in the provision of our professional settlement

services. We continue to assess our Settlement,

Language (LINC) and Employment programs as

well as research new programs that assist us in

accomplishing our organizational ends policy

outcomes: Ensuring immigrants to North

Vancouver Island are an integral part of their

communities, have language skills, social

opportunities, sustainable employment and

adequate housing as well as access to medical

care, education and citizenship.

This year, as a result of ongoing Best Practice

assessment, MISA was awarded a long term

contract for our LINC program ensuring ongoing

access to language training for immigrants in the

North Island.

Sustainability

At MISA we are always in the business of ensuring

that we are a core force that enriches our

communities and ultimately the lives of those who

live in our communities. This endeavour starts

with great governance and we have continued to

enhance our policy governance team with best

practice training. The board and management

team have recently been engaged in new

governance training that will enhance and sustain

our future as an organization. Moreover, MISA

continues to identify collaborative opportunities

throughout the North Island to build welcoming

communities that attract and retain newcomers as

a part of their strategic, sustainable planning.

Looking forward, MISA and its team will continue

to identify opportunities to improve all that we do

because what we do matters... a lot!

Jim Brennan, Executive Director 2017-2018

Members

Lisa Blackburn ● Monica Brown ● Leanne Brunt● Wendy Burke ● Comox Valley Family Services Association ● Si Duong & Suong Nguyen ● Sue Grant ● Peggy Guenter ● Tomoko Ikeda ● John Howard Society of the North Island ● Eleanor Kane ● Salah Kharief ● Maria Kirley ● Sudesh Kumar ● Hui-Ju Lee ● Samuel Lichty ● Lim Family ● Chau Luong ● Wayne Mann ● Ruenrudee Mapol ● Layne Marshal ● Miyuki Matsuzawa ● Lorie McDiarmio ● Ruby McNiff ● Analie Mencio ● Emerita Mendoza ● Dong Nguyen ● Yvonne O’Driscoll ● Mitzi Ogasawara ● Justine Opay ● Amar Patel ● Mila Penaflor ● William Phaneuf ● Khammy Quan ● Daniel Strnad ● Helen Sun ● Ulrike Sunder Harding ● Lorraine Theron ● David Thrasher ● Priscilla Tylak ● Marie Virtucio ● Christoph Vom Bruck ● Catherine Voth ● Brenda Wagman ● Maggie Whillans ● Mark Wing ● Naomi Wolfe ● Jeong K. Woo ● Betsy Yu●

Funders

Immigration, Refugees and

Citizenship Canada

Province of BC Ministry of

Jobs, Tourism & Skills

Training

Province of BC Gaming

Policy & Enforcement Branch

Employment & Social

Development Canada

North Island Employment

Foundations Society

Province of BC Ministry of

International Trade

Thank You!

Page 6

Founding Members:

Naomi Marchand

Heather Downing

Susan Doby

Past Presidents

Maggie Whillans

Mark Grenier

Naomi Marchand

Colleen McClure

Caerol Pusifer-Seibel

Hardy Gill

Brian Lukyn

Marlene Knowles

Natalia Grundle

Diane McNeill

Helen Henley

Brenda Hanrahan

Frances Lake

Barbara Walker

Patricia Gagnon

Layne Marshal

Thank You!


Settlement Services

Page 8

Client Services:

Help with Forms &

Documents

Citizenship,

Immigration &

Refugee Protection

Support

Employment

Services

LINC English

Classes

Interpretation &

Translation

Housing

Information

Health Care

Information

Addressing

Education Needs

Citizenship

Preparation

Child Care & Family

Concerns

Income Tax

Preparation

Access to Legal

Advocate &

Canadian Law

Human Rights

1115 Clients served

Clients from 99 countries of origin

47 Employment

Clients served

200 Hours of language

interpretation

3256 Services Provided

32 Total Language

Students

Quotes from our

program participants

“Friendly, helpful and got me

the information I needed.”

“For one thing I love the potluck

because all people enrolled bring

different foods and our get

together is fun and educational

as well!”

12 Students - Campbell River

15 Students - Comox Valley

5 Students - Port Hardy

LINC - Language Instruction for

Newcomers to Canada 2017-2018

Language Classes

2 classrooms

1 virtual, North Island

Canadian Language Benchmark

Placement Tests - Assessment Centre

51 Language Assessments Provided

18 Clients registered for LINC

Home study


Programs & Community Engagement

Page 10

Client Programs:

International

Seniors Group

International

Women’s Group

International Adult

Co-ed Soccer

International Family

Recreation Group

Conversation Group

Book Club

Citizenship

Preparation Classes

Technological

Literacy Workshops

WorkSafe BC

Workshops

Languages

Spoken by Staff:

English

Spanish

Vietnamese

Tagalog

French

Mandarin

German


Welcoming Communities Coalition

52

Coalition Members in Campbell River

& Courtenay

201 Client

Program Sessions 68 Volunteers

2357 Volunteer Hours

Prepared by Anton, Bryson & Schindler Chartered Professional Accountants LLP

MISA North Vancouver Island History

1997

Hosted the first annual Walk for the

Elimination of Racism

1992

MISA is Incorporated

2005

Safe Harbour program introduced to the community

2002

Started the English Conversation and Social Group for

immigrants 50 years and older

2007

First International Dialogue on Racism

is hosted

2009

Youth 4 Diversity received the Nesika

Award

2003

Youth 4 Diversity started

2011

Opening of the Comox Valley office

MISA North Vancouver Island History

Page 14

2012

MISA accepted the Welcoming

Communities Award on behalf of

Campbell River

2015

New Staff position created for

settlement in North Island

2013

MISA awarded Not-for-Profit of the Year by Campbell River

Chamber of Commerce

2016

20th Anniversary of the “Walk Away From Racism”

2014 Funding transition to CIC

MISA awarded the Riasat Ali Khan Diversity Award

by AMSSA

2017 MISA celebrates their 25th anniversary and new logo

MISA represents Vancouver Island at IICC table

2015

MISA appoints new Executive Director,

Jim Brennan

2018 Successful completion of

LINC pilot program.

MISA represents BC LIPS at National Settlement

Conference

Quotes from our clients

“(I appreciated) the patience, support and thoroughness that was given by the

Settlement staff. I felt welcomed right away! The Settlement staff’s

encouragement made me relax have confidence.”

“Very friendly and helpful.”

“I got an answer to all my questions professionally, even got good advice and help with my application.”

“The information helped for my career.”

“Super helpful, eager to give information.”

“They explained all the things I needed to know.”

407 A 5th Street

Courtenay, BC

V9N 1J7

T: (250) 338-6359

F: (250) 331-9032

A114 -740 Robron Road

Campbell River, BC

V9W 6J7

T: (250) 830-0171

F: (250) 830-1010

[email protected] www.ImmigrantWelcome.ca