peel-halton settlement planning day · 10/25/2018 · mississauga) is comprised of foreign-born...

2018

EXECUTIVE COUNCIL REPORT

RYELLE STRATEGY GROUP

October 25, 2018

Peel-Halton Settlement Planning Day

1 | P a g e

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We would like to extend our special thanks to the core IRCC Planning Day Committee for its dedication to making the initiative successful.

The committee was comprised of:

Dima Amad Brampton Multicultural Community Centre

Gurpreet Malhotra Indus Community Services

Jocelyn Chadwick Halton Newcomer Strategy Rodel Imbarlina-Ramos Peel Newcomer Strategy Group

LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT

We acknowledge that our work takes place on aboriginal land that has been inhabited by Indigenous peoples from the beginning. We are grateful for the opportunity to work here and we thank all the generations of people who have taken care of this land – for thousands of years. In particular, we acknowledge the Wendat, the Anishnaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Métis, and the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation. We recognize and deeply appreciate their historic connection to this place. We also recognize the contributions of Inuit, and other Indigenous peoples have made, both in shaping and strengthening this community in particular, and our province and country as a whole. This recognition of the contributions and historic importance of Indigenous peoples must also be clearly and overtly connected to our collective commitment to make the promise and the challenge of Truth and Reconciliation real in our communities.

The Planning Day and Report was facilitated and written by Ryelle Strategy Group.

2 | P a g e

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................................... 1

Land Acknowledgment ................................................................................................................................. 1

Chronicled History and Community Context ............................................................................................... 3

Snapshot Peel ............................................................................................................................................ 3

Snapshot Halton ........................................................................................................................................ 5

Francophone Community ......................................................................................................................... 6

Evolution of population/future projections .............................................................................................. 6

Intention/Evolution of Process (June–September 2018) ............................................................................ 7

Survey Outline and Results .......................................................................................................................... 7

Key results across Halton and Peel ........................................................................................................... 7

Identifying Emerging Issues/Critical Need ................................................................................................... 8

Philosophical approach ............................................................................................................................. 8

Community planning 2018 ........................................................................................................................ 8

Identified priorities ................................................................................................................................... 9

Exploring a holistic approach to employment services ............................................................................ 9

Culturally appropriate mental health supports ........................................................................................ 9

Taking a collaborative approach to service delivery and systems navigation ......................................... 10

Building the capacity and knowledge of service providers ..................................................................... 10

System-Wide Solutions – Recommendations/Opportunities ................................................................... 11

Employment ............................................................................................................................................ 11

Mental health .......................................................................................................................................... 11

Collaborative approach to systems navigation ....................................................................................... 12

Build capacity and knowledge of service providers ................................................................................ 12

Conclusion and Next Steps ......................................................................................................................... 13

References .................................................................................................................................................. 14

APPENDIX A – 2018 IRCC Planning Day participants ................................................................................. 15

APPENDIX B – Local discussion tables: flip-chart notes ............................................................................ 16

APPENDIX C – Settlement survey summary .............................................................................................. 24

APPENDIX D – Photos ................................................................................................................................. 26

3 | P a g e

CHRONICLED HISTORY AND COMMUNITY CONTEXT

The regional municipalities of Peel and Halton have seen significant shifts in their populations in the last decade. The demographic makeup of these communities has changed as both regions have experienced unprecedented growth.

In November of 2016, the members of the Peel-Halton Settlement Partnerships Executive Council came together to host a planning day. It brought together the Local Immigration Partnerships (LIP), representatives from the municipal government and service provider organizations (SPOs) from both regions to identify gaps in services and the critical needs facing the settlement sector and the newcomers they serve.

Some of the top issues that emerged from the planning day in 2016 included the need for crisis intervention support specifically when dealing with situations related to mental health, building the capacity of service providers by offering training opportunities and the need for SPOs to develop strong relationships with employers to support newcomer employment.

SNAPSHOT PEEL

According to the Peel Data Centre, 51.5% of Peel Region (made up of Brampton, Caledon and Mississauga) is comprised of foreign-born and newcomer* residents. While the vast majority of newcomers continue to settle in Brampton and Mississauga, Caledon’s rate of newcomer settlement is accelerating.

Peel Newcomer Strategy Group has shared that:

Between 2011 and 2016, Peel welcomed an average of almost 19,000 newcomers annually

Recent immigrants in Peel are highly educated. In fact, Peel has the highest proportion (21.1%) of the total population who earned a post-secondary education outside of Canada. However, their unemployment rate, 15.2%, is significantly higher than that of established immigrants (8.7%) and non-immigrants (8.9%), according to the Region of Peel (2012).

Peel has the second highest percentage (15.5%) of recent immigrants in the GTA.

* arrived to Canada between 2011 - 2016

4 | P a g e

FIGURE 1 - NEWCOMER SETTLEMENT IN PEEL REGION, 2011-2016 (source: Peel Data Centre)

5 | P a g e

SNAPSHOT HALTON

According to Halton Newcomer Strategy, Halton Region’s (made up of Burlington, Halton Hills, Milton and Oakville) population was 548,435, of which the total immigrant population is 160,165; 20,485 newcomers having arrived between 2006 and 2011.

Between 2006 and 2016, Halton’s overall population increased by 9.3% over the previous

period of 2006-2010, growing from 501,674 to 548,435

Between 2006 and 2011, half of all recent immigrants held a university certificate, diploma or

degree at a bachelor level or above.

In Halton, immigrants represent 29.6% of the overall population – 3.5% arriving between 2006 and 2010 and 3.6% arriving between 2011 and 2016

57% of direct immigrants to the region in 2014 were between the ages of 20 to 44

Direct immigrants to Halton primarily land as skilled workers and secondary applicants: Almost three-quarters of newcomers to Oakville are economic immigrants 48.6% of newcomers to Halton Hills are through family sponsorship

The number of newcomers declaring social assistance as an income source since 2010 has decreased dramatically (about 50%), and the numbers have not returned or even compared to pre-2010 numbers

FIGURE 2 HALTON REGION – VISIBLE MINORITY POPULATION BY CENSUS TRACT, 2016

6 | P a g e

FRANCOPHONE COMMUNITY

Conseil Scolaire Catholique MonAvenir made an important presentation to 2018 IRCC Planning Day attendees regarding the Francophone experience within the French school boards and Ontario communities in general:

Within the French language school board, the number of students born abroad between 2008

to 2016 has increased by 62.6%

The top 5 countries where French language students are coming from are: Lebanon (13%),

Haiti (13%), Democratic Republic of Congo (11%), France (8%) and Morocco (8%)

A two-language greeting is essential for newcomers as they can immediately be directed to

French language services

It is important to understand the distinction between French immersion schools and French

language schools and where they fit into the education system

Specific issues to employment in the francophone community include underemployment,

marginalization and the need for more robust orientation programming

EVOLUTION OF POPULATION/FUTURE PROJECTIONS

Both Halton and Peel continue to experience an influx of newcomers settling in their communities as they are, and will continue to be, the desirable destination of choice for newcomers for the foreseeable future. According to the Region of Peel, the population is expected to grow to 1.97 million by 2041. Halton Region is projecting its population to grow to 1 million by 2041, representing a growth of 60.4%; this growth rate is more than double the provincial growth rate of 28.6%.

The Staging Room at the Living Arts Centre in Mississauga hosted 109 stakeholders representing 44 organizations across Halton and Peel regions

7 | P a g e

INTENTION/EVOLUTION OF PROCESS (JUNE – SEPTEMBER 2018)

To ensure a fulsome evaluation of community, service provider and funder needs, the Executive Council came together early and often to plan an extensive community consultation that would build over time.

Beginning in June 2018, the Executive Council set the vision, goals and requirements for the community planning discussion. Recognizing that data was a key ingredient to the effectiveness of this process, a robust conversation took place to determine how data can best be maximized to understand the landscape and build the foundation for fruitful conversations during community planning sessions.

July and August were spent compiling critical data points that captured important regional information regarding newcomers, including: distribution of foreign-born populations, IRCC-funded service providers, change in newcomer settlement patterns, demographic, migrant and ethno-cultural characteristics of the immigrant population, admission categories and more.

To ensure a well-rounded picture of the current landscape in Peel and Halton, an online survey was designed and conducted by the LIPs with a view to understand the newcomer experience through the eyes of newcomer-serving SPOs, including their frontline staff and management.

On September, 14, 2018, 109 stakeholders from 44 organizations attended a full-day community planning session, including SPOs, LIPs from both regions, 14 representatives of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), Peel Region, Halton Region, United Way of Greater Toronto and non-funder/non-settlement service providers, such as Mississauga Halton LHIN, Peel Children’s Aid Society (Peel CAS), Halton Multicultural Centre, Collège Boréal, Halton Community Legal Services and the Regional Diversity Roundtable to name a few. A full list of participants can be found in Appendix A. The planning day intended to take a deeper dive into challenges identified in 2016 as well as provide an opportunity to highlight and explore solutions for emerging issues.

The day began by providing the context and foundation for discussion by sharing community-level data and results from the service provider survey.

SURVEY OUTLINE AND RESULTS

The survey covered several key topics, including the identification of newcomer priorities, systemic barriers, capacity-building needs and client referral pathway challenges. The survey was available for three weeks in August 2018 and received 133 responses from a range of Peel and Halton service providers. The results were weighted and averaged out of 5. A summary of the survey results can be found in Appendix C.

KEY RESULTS ACROSS HALTON AND PEEL

Top 5 priority newcomer issues across Peel and Halton are: employment/job training, cultural adjustment, ethno-cultural and language-specific services, housing/shelter, school/education

Top 5 ranked urgency of systemic barriers across Peel and Halton: language barriers, lack of cultural sensitivity, clients not comfortable navigating services independently, newcomers not

8 | P a g e

having information to access a full suite of services, challenges with transportation and agency locations

When asked about capacity-building/training priorities for settlement workers, both communities ranked settlement best practices & alternative service strategies, referral pathways to other service providers, mental health and crisis and trauma as the top 4 areas of focus.

IDENTIFYING EMERGING ISSUES/CRITICAL NEED

PHILOSOPHICAL APPROACH

Client Focused Outcomes Driven Responsive to Needs Effective use of Resources

COMMUNITY PLANNING 2018

The conversations held throughout the day by participants demonstrated tremendous passion and commitment that service providers in the settlement sector have for newcomers, to ensure that the newcomer experience and their ability to access programs and services are the best they can be in both regions.

Groups were segmented into geographical regions and participants were asked to “do a deep dive” on the issues and critical needs facing those specific communities – building on the issues identified in 2016 as well as distinguishing any emergent priorities. Results were discussed with the broader group. The afternoon consisted of identifying the three most critical issues impacting those particular neighbourhoods and brainstorm solutions.

Step 1

Deep dive: Identify priority issues at the community level

Step 2

Select top three priority issues, brainstorm solutions

Step 3

Aggregate feedback from all nine geographies, identify commonalities

9 | P a g e

IDENTIFIED PRIORITIES

Stakeholders were asked to consider questions through the community-specific lens of newcomers’ and service providers’ wants, fears and needs. Questions included:

Are there any glaring issues that come to mind?

Are there specific underserved/unserved communities/populations/client types that must be identified?

Frontline and management perspectives – are they different?

Consistent priorities across all communities emerged as well as geographic-specific needs. Some consistent themes included the need to:

Explore a holistic approach to support employment services

Adjust mental health supports to be more culturally appropriate

Take a collaborative approach to service delivery and systems navigation

Build the capacity and knowledge of service providers

Provide well-rounded language training

Increase transition supports for youth

Address critical access and transportation issues

Build on cultural adaptation capacity across regions

EXPLORING A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO EMPLOYMENT SERVICES

A critical need identified was the engagement of key stakeholders beyond the settlement sector – including employers, government and education. These are essential partnerships for newcomers to secure and sustain income. The issue of employment for newcomers is complex and not only has an impact on the individual, but their families as well. While highly-educated, many newcomers take survival jobs to meet their immediate needs for income instead of employment commensurate with their experience and education. Some of the barriers identified included: the need for diversified training (such as sector-specific), computer literacy and life skills, access to services, challenges with transportation, affordable housing, working “under the table” jobs and child-minding.

Some groups identified youth employment as an area where more attention needs to be paid, particularly among international students and transitionary youth between ages 18-25. Some in this latter demographic are acting as caregivers for siblings, forcing them to juggle the demands of school and the need to secure employment for themselves. Youth employment programming provided by SPOs are often at capacity, resulting in additional frustrations.

CULTURALLY APPROPRIATE MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORTS

Mental health and trauma support continues to feature prominently in community planning discussions. Culturally appropriate services are critically needed to support those experiencing mental health, addictions and disabilities. The stigmatization attached to these issues can lead to newcomers experiencing feelings of isolation.

Furthermore, there is opportunity for more robust staff training that can help with issues identified early on in the settlement process. Some groups suggested that first-point-of-contact staff receive

10 | P a g e

training in these subjects so they can better direct newcomers to appropriate programming for themselves and their families.

One of the key limitations cited by those working in more rural communities in terms of delivery of programs and services, including mental health supports, is the need for accessible transportation for clients or the ability to meet them where they are. Many individuals simply cannot attend programming due to logistical challenges – another factor that can lead to isolation.

TAKING A COLLABORATIVE APPROACH TO SERVICE DELIVERY AND SYSTEMS NAVIGATION

As both regions continue to experience high levels of growth, their social infrastructure is not growing at the same rate. The need to build partnerships among key stakeholders, including SPOs (both IRCC- and non-IRCC funded organizations), funders, government and business, is critical.

System-level service navigation and coordination as well as limited real-time data continue to be concerns as SPOs are not fully aware of the programs and services available in their own and other communities to support and refer their clients more effectively. This challenge has resulted in users left without access to a full suite of relevant services, ultimately impacting their ability to make programming choices best suited for them.

BUILDING THE CAPACITY AND KNOWLEDGE OF SERVICE PROVIDERS

The need for investment and continuity in professional development for service providers was indicated as a key area of opportunity. Robust professional development, training offerings and collaborative network connections specific to the sector would lend exponential benefits to service providers.

SPOs need an effective and adaptive method of understanding the full scope of programs and services available in their regions. Current and professional development opportunities are vital to support organizations in delivering best experience to the populations they serve.

Stakeholders consider the newcomer settlement updates presented by the local immigration partnerships and the French Catholic school board

11 | P a g e

SYSTEM-WIDE SOLUTIONS – RECOMMENDATIONS/OPPORTUNITIES

The day was not only full of impassioned discussions on emerging issues and critical needs but also recommendations for solutions. Participants returned to their geographically-focused discussion tables, identified the top three priorities for each and discussed:

Readiness:

What do we need to do as a community to meet this need?

What exists already that can be leveraged?

What role is your organization able / ready to play?

Launch:

What are the first three things we need to do?

If we made one change tomorrow, what would it be?

Collaborative solutions were shared with the broader group with a view to leverage a holistic approach to system-wide solutions; using this approach supports the potential of stronger collaborations among all stakeholders.

EMPLOYMENT

Recommendations/proposed solutions shared:

Conduct an environmental scan to map employment support services (IRCC- and non-IRCC funded programs) to be accessed by SPOs in both regions to better inform their work and support for their clients

One idea shared was to develop an app that connects employers and settlement workers and shares job opportunities

Work in partnership with the private sector to cultivate relationships with business and establish sustainable programming that creates ongoing skilled job opportunities for newcomers and supports employee retention

Update bridging programs to incorporate specialized training for newcomers who require additional learning in a specific trade

Develop a service delivery model that includes perspectives of key stakeholders, such as education, employment and newcomers, to create meaningful employment opportunities

Develop sector-specific employment training modules that incorporate soft skill development for newcomers to attract gainful, meaningful and sustainable employment

MENTAL HEALTH


Diversify relationships with non-traditional institutions, such as faith-based groups, to expand reach of programming and ensure newcomers receive culturally appropriate services

Create a public education campaign and build two-way dialogue with the community to increase awareness and reduce stigma around mental health. In addition, expand mental

12 | P a g e

health supports through culturally-specific, group-based activities and workshops to complement individual sessions

Explore opportunities to shift focus on qualitative reporting requirements to a more client-centered approach that measures time spent with individuals and their milestones achieved

Expand service delivery models and training to include culturally sensitive language that supports stigma reduction and increases client participation

Increase emphasis on early identification of mental health issues and train staff to identify potential concerns upon first-point-of-contact with clients

Change the conversation with clients and incorporate wellness into all services to help support stigma reduction and create openness to seek necessary supports

Remove barriers to self-care by creating a holistic, client-centered program that addresses the complex challenges individuals may face when trying to access programming. One suggestion included providing weekend services that also offered food, child-minding and social time.

COLLABORATIVE APPROACH TO SYSTEMS NAVIGATION


Leverage digital tools to centralize information and resources to better support SPOs in serving clients and connect with one another

One example shared was to create a web hub that aggregates resources, employment opportunities, etc., that can be accessed by both IRCC- and non-IRCC funded organizations to maximize learning opportunities for staff and connect clients to programs and services

Develop a standardized referral and case management pathway that includes region-wide consent forms to streamline processes and ensure consistency in experience for service delivery organizations and their clients

Convene key stakeholders and provide educational opportunities on a regular basis that speaks to the integration of cultural adaptation in focused topic areas

BUILD CAPACITY AND KNOWLEDGE OF SERVICE PROVIDERS


Facilitate knowledge exchange forums between regions to share best practices that can be implemented in each community. Two examples shared with the group include:

A two-day session for newly growing communities to learn from more established neighbourhoods, sharing experiences on how they increased capacity for service delivery to meet the needs of newcomers in their area

Create forums specifically for SPO employees to discuss opportunities for collaboration or emerging issues that directly impact the needs of newcomers

Connect settlement organizations with pre-arrival services to develop service pathways that ensure newcomers receive consistent and ongoing support throughout their journey

Increase service provider capacity to mentor, support and engage by building a social mentorship environment that connects recent newcomers with settled newcomers, focusing on building a support network for individuals with similar experience. Integrate trained settlement workers into the program to provide guidance and oversight into the formalized settlement process.

Work in partnership with funders to review reporting requirements and incorporate a long-term lens focus on client-centered outcomes

13 | P a g e

Establish professional standards for settlement workers

CONCLUSION AND NEXT STEPS

The 2018 Planning Day process was approached with a client-centered, outcomes-driven focus that ensured newcomers and their experience was at the forefront of all discussions. The session provided the opportunity for a broad range of committed stakeholders to engage in meaningful dialogue around emerging issues and potential solutions.

This report provides a summary of discussions that can be leveraged by stakeholders – including Executive Council members, funders, SPOs and their staff – to inform the future of settlement work in these rapidly growing regions. Some recommendations highlighted throughout the day could provide some quick wins to build further capacity in the sector in the near future:

1. Facilitate knowledge exchange forums between regions to share best practices and challenges that can be implemented in everyone’s respective community and region

2. Map available services that are IRCC- and non-IRCC funded to support client referrals and maximize available opportunities for newcomers to access them

3. Build and launch a web-based portal to share best practices and support system navigation 4. Explore opportunities to deliver services to clients through digital engagement and partnership

with agencies who have access to transportation services

The 2018 Planning Day was a true demonstration of the passion and commitment that SPOs, their employees, funders and other key stakeholders have in supporting newcomers in their settlement journey.

14 | P a g e

REFERENCES

Chadwick, J. (2018) Executive Council Settlement Planning – Halton Data [PowerPoint Slides]. Growth plan has Halton's population increasing to 1 million by 2041 (2013, June 21). Inside Halton.

Retrieved from https://www.insidehalton.com/news-story/3850979-growth-plan-has-halton-s-population-increasing-to-1-million-by-2041/

Joly, Mikale-A. (2018) PROGRAMME DES TRAVAILLEURS EN ÉTABLISSEMENT DANS LES ÉCOLES (TÉÉ)

RÉGIONS PEEL- HALTON [PowerPoint Slides]. “Region of Peel.” Peel Data Centre - Region of Peel, www.peelregion.ca/planning/pdc/data/. Scantlebury, T. (2018) Halton-Peel IRCC Planning Day [PowerPoint Slides]. Statistics Canada, 2014 Longitudinal Immigration Database Statistics Canada. (2018). Topics, 2016 Census. [Data File] Retrieved from

https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/rt-td/index-eng.cfm

https://www.insidehalton.com/news-story/3850979-growth-plan-has-halton-s-population-increasing-to-1-million-by-2041/

https://www.insidehalton.com/news-story/3850979-growth-plan-has-halton-s-population-increasing-to-1-million-by-2041/

https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/rt-td/index-eng.cfm

15 | P a g e

APPENDIX A – 2018 IRCC PLANNING DAY PARTICIPANTS

ACCES Employment Afghan Women’s Organization Big Brothers Big Sisters of Peel Brampton Multicultural Community Centre Caledon Community Services Canadian Hearing Society Catholic Crosscultural Services Centre for Education and Training Centre for Skills Development and Training Centre Francophone de Toronto Chinese Association of Mississauga Collège Boréal Connecture Canada Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir Dixie Bloor Neighbourhood Centre Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board Halton Catholic District School Board Halton Community Legal Services Halton District School Board Halton Multicultural Council Halton Newcomer Strategy Indus Community Services Mississauga Halton LHIN Malton Neighbourhood Services Muslim Community Services (Greater Toronto)

Newcomer Centre of Peel Peel CAS Peel Career Assessment Services Peel District School Board Peel Multicultural Council Peel Halton Workforce Development Group Peel Newcomer Strategy Group Polycultural Immigrant and Community

Services Punjabi Community Health Services Regional Diversity Roundtable Region of Peel The Cross-Cultural Community Services

Association The Regional Municipality of Halton The Sheridan College Institute of Technology

and Advanced Learning The Vietnamese Community Centre of

Mississauga YMCA of Greater Toronto Province of Ontario Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada

(IRCC) Ryelle Strategy Group United Way of Greater Toronto

16 | P a g e

APPENDIX B – LOCAL DISCUSSION TABLES: FLIP-CHART NOTES

Milton & Halton Hills

Wants, fears and needs in this geographical area

Need for overall services and infrastructure; growth is happening at a faster rate and infrastructure and programming cannot keep up

Seniors are socially isolated Underemployment for professionals Need for more service providers; improve communications between the ones

that do exist in the region Increase awareness that service providers exist Transportation is an issue particularly because you need to leave the region to

access services Housing and employment Want to be able to expand services, particularly mental health and Francophone,

and increase resources Stakeholders who can provide necessary support, including all levels of

government, service providers, healthcare More funding required as this is one of the fastest growing communities Services that need immediate support include employment, transportation, food

banks, clothing, language Would like to see a community hub model introduced

3 largest issues as identified in this geographical area and proposed solutions:

It was indicated that there are more than just 3 issues in this area resulting in everything feeling like a challenge

Community is rapidly growing and the infrastructure and support services have not kept up with the growth

Funds are needed to develop programming to meet the needs Employers and government need to be engaged to obtain more funds; funders

need to be able to quickly adapt to the needs Take advantage of learning opportunities, e.g. Peel has gone through rapid

growth, learn how they adjusted, conduct a knowledge transfer from Peel to Milton/Halton Hills

Would like to do a two-day learning session with other communities Need to address that all service providers are not fully aware of all of the

programs/services that are available Need to find a way to capture real-time data Discussed policy changes – bring more people who are ready to work, need less

language supports so that less programming in these areas are needed Funders need to try to be more responsive at a quicker pace – IRCC has been

working toward this and have made some good changes, more work needs to be done so that the time lapse doesn’t have such a huge impact on the programs, e.g., funded staff are now gone, etc.

Human services cannot be digitized – it can’t replace people

17 | P a g e

Brampton West

The wants, fears and needs in this geographical area:

Main challenges include: there is an influx of refugee claimants, not enough service providers within the geographical reach, better transit system required, affordable housing that newcomers can actually obtain

Seeing a lot of single, working parents who do not have enough time to access support as they are working and taking care of their family

Youth are being put into a caregiver role People are working “under the table” jobs, therefore do not need the proper

work permits, etc. They are also more susceptible to injury as they do not know their rights.

International students in Brampton are getting into trouble with local students and police. They are struggling to make money or secure good employment to stay in the country. It is difficult for them to access services and good housing. They also do not understand the judicial system.

3 largest issues as identified in this geographical area & the proposed solutions:

System navigation & collaboration Look at hosting events where agencies can know one another on a deeper

level, e.g., regular “speed dating” sessions where EDs and staff can meet with one another, talk about an issue

Change in attitude at the higher level that trickles down to frontline staff Frontline staff to use data and provide feedback on program priorities that

can be discussed at the higher level Youth

There are hardly any recreational spaces available or have program space constraints, e.g., for space to be available for youth programming in the summer, senior programming needs to be cut

Human trafficking is a major need – particularly newcomer youth and international students

Youth employment – programming often at capacity. After school programs that provide child-minding is almost non-existent

Idea specific to 18-25 year-olds as we find they are often not represented in programming Combine employment, language programs and space for socialization that is

done at a college. Want them to feel that it is catered to their age and takes academic level into account.

Employment – deferred report out on this subject area as it was thoroughly covered by other teams

Mississauga East


3 major needs are: housing, employment and cultural adaptation Employment is a huge priority

Barriers to employment include housing and transportation Meaningful jobs vs. survival jobs Need preparation and life skills to keep their employment Would like to see wrap around services

18 | P a g e

Professional development for staff; there are dwindling opportunities for them to learn about changes, trends, etc.

Cultural adaptation Need more guidance when it comes to life skills and interpersonal skills Culturally relative supports are required for mental health and disabilities

which needs to be addressed from the start International students and refugee claimants are also an underserved population


Employment: Need consistent funding to deliver programs as some organizations are not

funded to provide labour market streams and services Different types of counselling for specific needs: career & employment

counselling is different than settlement When newcomers are more newly arrived, they may be more willing to

move for work than those who have been here a bit longer Can we leverage digital capabilities to interact with other neighbourhoods

to better serve clients? At present, Mississauga East and West may not be working together on employment – how can we collaborate better?

Create a robust web hub where all information can be centralized for all employment opportunities, training for counsellors, etc.

Need to work with employers to recognize the skills newcomers have to bring to the table

Leverage pre-arrival services that exist in the community What can we do in the next year or two:

(1) Conduct a thorough environmental scan of what organizations carry employment services over and above IRCC-funded programs; Compass initiative is an app that connects employment opportunities with settlement workers – how can we all work with this?

(2) Have employers in private sector work more collaboratively with our organizations

(3) Have every current settlement organization connect with a pre-arrival service

Mental Health: Training staff to identify usable resources and initial symptoms of mental

health Community education – offer more workshops to clients as opposed to

individual appointments with clients; not necessary to use the phrase mental health - can make it more comfortable for people to talk about – more culturally sensitive

Share best practices between mental health workers Include mental health and LGBTQ communities Connect with faith-based groups and ensure services are delivered within

those institutions Want to: (1) raise more awareness, workshops, inform others about

initiatives that exist for newcomers; (2) conduct a mapping exercise to standardize referral pathways & case management and consent forms; (3)

19 | P a g e

specific professional development opportunities within mental health workers

Funders need to look at the number of hours spent per client as opposed to looking at the number of unique clients served; this is where you will see they are more likely to meet their goals.

Capacity Building Professional development is key; need networking opportunities to foster

collaboration in the sector Need middle management specific professional development to deal with

staff and outcomes Develop a social mentorship project (have been developed for Syrian clients

at NCP). Connect newcomer clients who have gone through the settlement process with more recently arrived newcomers. A settlement worker would oversee the more formal aspects of settlement

Need to ensure that there is the same level of training for workers coming into the field; create a manual for new hires that ensures consistency

Burlington and Oakville


Need social integration Do not want people to wait for needed services which includes youth and

homemakers; homemakers in particular as they are often the last to get support after their husband and children

Are not looking fully within some communities who may need support. e.g., LGBTQ

International students want to integrate into the system but feel excluded Employment: language should integrate within actual work experiences. What

are the other skills that should also connect to employment training? Due to strong economy, newcomers are taking any job available because they

can but they aren’t thinking of the long-term implication of this Need client-centered solutions Women are trying to juggle dual roles of work & home Need self-advocacy, e.g., some people may have tech skills and others do not –

those that don’t need to identify. The agencies also need to be flexible around these issues to support those needs

System navigation: service providers need to try to anticipate the full set of needs for their clients so they can foster independence with end goal of empowering people to self-navigate

Need more youth programming Need to use inclusive language in schools for people who do not want to identify

as newcomers Would like to do a pilot focused on bringing services to clients so that people do

not need to live in such a condensed area


This group deferred the report out as they indicated other teams had covered their discussions.

20 | P a g e

Caledon The wants, fears and needs in this geographical area:

Affordable housing Transportation: there is no public transit in Caledon. There are agencies who

provide client-specific bussing; lack of transit leads to isolation and lack of accessibility

Attraction and retention of newcomers is an issue Issue of inclusion of diverse groups of people into community Majority of people are primary migrants through private sponsorship or refugee

claimants South Asian families are moving from Brampton to Caledon May not need language supports which is one of the IRCC-funded programs Catholic high school in Bolton has a lot of newcomer youth Both schools have a dedicated settlement worker however many students still

experience social and cultural isolation International students do not have any guardians or supports and experience

translation issues Social isolation among all demographics; transportation is a large reason for this


3 main issues: transportation, cultural adaptation and capacity building for service providers

Transportation Things that need to be done: need to raise the profile of the issue, serve

people who have transportation needs and create a market for taxis, Uber, etc., and create a roster of individual transportation providers

Schools and Caledon Community Services have transportation capacity Role organizations can play is to tie transportation to existing services like

libraries and childcare First things they could do: compile inventory of existing services, bring

stakeholders together including all levels of government, build & implement strategy

One change tomorrow – push municipal candidates on issue of transportation

Cultural adaptation What needs to be done: proactive education of newcomers before and after

they arrive on specific topics, strengthen content of cultural adjustment in their native language

Opportunities already exist that can be leveraged such as LINC classes, JSW, Service Canada, Service Ontario, seniors’ services, etc.

Role organizations can play: Regional Diversity Roundtable can coach, develop and deliver content, PNSG can promote, LEPC can map services across jurisdictions

First things we could do are: bring stakeholders together and develop a roadmap of essential cultural adaptation topics, tie provincial umbrella organizations like OCASI into this work

21 | P a g e

One change tomorrow: to ensure that every new newcomer seen anywhere is aware that cultural adaptation content is available

Capacity building 3 things we need to do: adopt a more long-term lens with respect to

funders, should be more concerned about the issues at hand instead of numbers to be measured, tie capacity building more strongly to accountability, elevate standards for settlement workers as a profession, promote this as an honorable profession and dedicate more resources to making this happen

What already exists: OCASI, inter-agency collaborations and partnerships, local bodies who have created programs

Role: championing, creating buy-in, expanding partnerships and share resources

3 things to launch: understand unique needs of service providers, go to the literature and identify effective practices, bring Caledon stakeholders together

One change tomorrow: pursue the establishment of professional standards for settlement workers

Mississauga West


Consistent with other regions, language, housing and employment are big issues Some organizations lack programming for employment and youth Organizations should be working together more Feel language training can be improved through digital training solutions Cultural awareness and integration Youth are underserved Would like programming for children so integration can start at an early age Some gaps include:

Professional development for staff Revamping iCARE More crisis and mental health support Education for children; they are dealing with different issues than other kids Need greater awareness of program and service offerings How can organizations partner more collaboratively – including Ontario

Works, funders, etc., is there duplication in services? Deeper language assessments in the beginning of the process. In depth

assessment of things like digital literacy Mental health – identification needed at the onset Francophone – challenge is outreach to the community


Main issues are: employment, language training, mental health, system collaboration

Employment Need to look at bridging programs with lower level skills Need more job fairs, workshops, more education Access to employment agencies for clients

Language training

22 | P a g e

Top priority is computer literacy TESL Ontario needs to ensure that teachers are PBLA certified Can improve language training by doing real-world tasks Have less artifacts Professional development for teachers is needed

System collaboration Shared resources are required but we need to build a free platform where

they can be shared Create incentives for collaboration Create a client first mindset Focus on shared outcomes – should be about quality not quantity Collaborate with other government agencies

Mental health Awareness is the first step; training, workshops, need the right referrals.

People giving referrals should be very culturally sensitive One thing we would like if we could do it tomorrow:

Need something for frontline workers to be able to communicate with one another

More training for front line workers More professional development opportunities Central resource for information

Brampton East


Lack of youth services, particularly for transitionary youth between 18-24; need a youth-friendly space

Lack of services for seniors Language and employment an issue

Largest wait times for training Connects to lack of child-minding needs Want to match skill sets to employment but the need is survivor jobs Bridging programs are required; paid training will be required Community capacity building: businesses and employers need to take part

in the conversation & programming More services needed in the area of mental health and addictions Would like to see more volunteer coordination around mentorship – newcomers

helping other newcomers (newcomers can also help newcomers with employment challenges)

Cultural sensitivity to mental health needs required Transportation is a challenge Gap in identifying Francophone clients and their needs, e.g., newcomers should

be greeted in French and English at the airport and know that French is an option for communication and services

Language training Nontraditional training required, e.g., youth need to know school vernacular Mental health discussions should be added to the LINC training

Springdale and Sunny Meadows are underserved areas; there is only 1 service provider

23 | P a g e

Mental health supports are a big need in this geographical area; people need to know where to access supports There is also a language barrier which increases the stigma


3 main issues: employment, language and mental health

Employment Need to embed a value proposition into service delivery model for all

stakeholders: education, newcomer and employer Educational institutions would help build the curriculum into the programs,

newcomers would get the job and employers will get an engaged and well- trained employee they can retain

Need a match between supply and demand, therefore, need to work closely with industry. Sector-specific training is the key to success; however, must also include soft skills training

Collaboration is critical: need to involve employers in programs so they will trust the organizations and build a long-standing relationship. Organizations will receive job postings, etc., as an outcome

Need to build a referral system collaboratively that is not admin heavy, focuses on information sharing, etc. Need to include education, employers, etc.

Language Much more demand for CLB classes 4 and under 76% of language learners are women and they have tremendous childcare

needs that must be met An idea would be to have conversation circles to reduce isolation and build

relationships. Can trained volunteers help facilitate the conversation circle? Another idea is to allow parents to bring their kids to the language classes

Mental health Need to talk more about wellness; focus on preventative measures Embed wellness into language training, employment programs. Make it a

necessary part of the conversation We need to leverage existing resources and go where the clients are due to

transportation challenges Have a drop-in program on the weekend that provides clients with the

services they need – treat the family as a client – provide lunch, child minding and supports. Help the individuals who are on a wait list

Youth mental health has some existing resources that are helpful: youth hub in progress in Malton, West Drive, enhanced youth outreach workers who are bridge between crisis workers and mental health assistance

Have a shared crisis worker if your organization has limited budgets

24 | P a g e

APPENDIX C – SETTLEMENT SURVEY SUMMARY A survey of newcomer-serving service providers was conducted in August 2018 to support the IRCC planning and consultation process. The survey was conducted online and distributed through the Peel Halton language and settlement partnership networks, as well as NCON (Newcomer Organization Network, coordinated by the Peel Halton Workforce Development Group). The survey garnered 133 respondents representing both frontline and management staff, and it measured:

1. Urgency of issues to newcomer clients 2. Urgency of systemic barriers facing newcomers 3. In what areas should training and capacity-building be provided to settlement workers 4. In what areas should referral pathways to other services be strengthened

Each of the LIPs presented regional aspects of this data in their respective community data presentations during the Planning Day. Top ten ranked issues facing newcomer clients by region

Halton Weighted average

(out of 5) Peel

Weighted average

(out of 5)

Employment and job training support 4.71 Employment and job training support 4.74

Housing and shelter 4.09 Cultural adjustment 4.32

Cultural adjustment 4.00 Ethno-cultural, language-specific services

4.28

School, education 4.00 Housing and shelter 4.18

Ethno-cultural, language-specific services

3.97 School, education 4.15

Healthcare 3.89 Language and translation 4.10

Income support 3.89 Healthcare 4.07

Language and translation 3.89 Income support 3.96

Transportation 3.69 Youth-specific programming 3.93

Immigration supports for family members in other countries

3.65 Transportation 3.85

Top systemic barriers facing newcomers by region


(out of 5) Peel

Weighted average

(out of 5)

Language barriers 3.84 Language barriers 4.14

Clients not comfortable navigating services independently

3.64 Lack of cultural sensitivity 3.77

Challenges with transportation and/or agency locations

3.53 Clients not comfortable navigating services independently

3.71

25 | P a g e

Lack of cultural sensitivity 3.39 Newcomers do not have information to access a full suite of services

3.70

Newcomers do not have information to access a full suite of services

3.39 Challenges with transportation and/or agency locations

3.58

Business hours are inconvenient 3.06 Business hours are inconvenient 3.07

Top ten ranked areas in which training and capacity-building should be provided to settlement workers by region


(out of 5) Peel

Weighted average

(out of 5)

Settlement best practices, alternative service strategies

4.25 Mental health 4.29

Referral pathways to other community service providers

4.09 Referral pathways to other community service providers

4.21

Mental health 3.94 Settlement best practices, alternative service strategies

4.17

Crisis and trauma 3.74 Crisis and trauma 4.03

Newcomer data and trends 3.74 Domestic violence 4.03

Self-care 3.72 Newcomer data and trends 4.00

Domestic violence 3.68 Self-care 3.98

Duty to report, child protection 3.43 Duty to report, child protection 3.84

Generational client diversity (youth, seniors)

3.31 Generational client diversity (youth, seniors)

3.71

Gender identity/LGBTQ 3.06 Gender identity/LGBTQ 3.39

Top ten ranked areas in which referral pathways to other services should be strengthened by region


(out of 5) Peel

Weighted average

(out of 5)

Employment training 4.29 Employment training 4.44

Shelters, temporary/emergency, subsidized housing

4.25 Healthcare 4.29

Healthcare 4.12 Shelters, temporary/emergency, subsidized housing

4.29

Legal services and resources 4.08 Crisis, trauma-trained professionals 4.27

Income support 4.06 Mental health, addictions 4.27

Crisis, trauma-trained professionals 4.05 Childcare 4.19

Education credential evaluation 4.03 Youth 4.19

Translation and language services 4.03 Income support 4.10

Childcare 3.95 Abuse, assault 4.09

Educational institutions 3.92 Older adults, seniors 4.08

26 | P a g e

APPENDIX D – PHOTOS

Peel-Halton settlement partnerships Executive Council co-chairs Dima Amad and Gurpreet Malhotra open the 2018 IRCC Planning Day with a welcoming address

Cliff Fast, IRCC Manager of Integration, Settlement Network, takes in

the community data presentations

27 | P a g e

Jocelyn Chadwick from Halton Newcomer Strategy presents a snapshot of the region’s newcomer settlement trends

Trisha Scantlebury from Peel Newcomer Strategy Group summarizes the results of the settlement-sector survey, which supported the IRCC Planning Day by identifying key

newcomer and service-provider needs

28 | P a g e

Mikale-Andrée Joly from Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir provided an overview of Francophone newcomer and service-provider perspectives

Newcomer data and statistics, which was identified as a key need in the 2016 Planning Day, played a far more substantial role in the 2018 event

29 | P a g e

The 2018 IRCC Planning Day gave regional stakeholders an opportunity to network and collaborate

peel-halton settlement planning day · 10/25/2018 · mississauga) is comprised of foreign-born...

Documents