Monday, 7:30 - 9:00 pm
A1: The Colour of Poverty – Addressing Together the Growing Racialization of Poverty in Ontario
In recognizing that the growing social exclusion of racialized group members in Ontario (i.e. people of colour) has led to ethno-racially, religiously and culturally defined inequity and inequality across the province and the country - their is a growing number of community-based groups, organizations and individuals that have come together to collectively redress this ever-accelerating trend. Working together to help bring about the needed policies, programs, research and related resource commitments – the Colour of Poverty Network is working to build effective province-wide community-based capacity for shared learning and advocacy - to together deliver on its “Shared Framework for Action” goals and objectives - priorities as decided upon by the Network membership itself. This session/workshop will work to develop a fuller shared awareness and understanding with respect to poverty - and racial justice more generally - as well as identify some key policy objectives and strategies for helping to bring about the critically needed change.
Presenter: michael kerr is a long-time community development worker and equity and human rights advocate currently serving as Coordinator of the Colour of Poverty Network of Ontario – having come into the Colour of Poverty initiative representing and serving as Coordinator with Karuna Community Services – a community development and social service volunteer network in the greater Toronto area. Having worked in a number of capacities with several newcomer settlement and refugee advocacy groups and organizations over many years, and been active if any number of equity, human rights and racial justice advocacy efforts and community-based campaigns - he most recently was the founding Coordinator for its first five years of existence of the National Anti-Racism Council of Canada - NARCC (2001-2006).
A2 - Accessing Statistical Data on Immigrant Employment Issues
Finding statistics and information resources that meet the needs of organizations can be time- consuming and difficult. In particular, large datasets from Statistics Canada and other government sources often require specific expertise in order to extract relevant data. The Toronto Immigrant Employment Data Initiative (TIEDI) is an innovative new project that seeks to assist community organizations in accessing data and analysis that will meet their decision-making, research or advocacy needs. The overall goal of the project is to service the data needs of organizations whose mandate includes seeking better ways of incorporating skilled immigrants into the Canadian workforce. We are inviting business associations, immigrant service organizations, labour organizations, credentials assessment agencies, media outlets, public policy-makers and professional regulatory bodies to join our growing network. The information session will present the project in more detail, explain how it might assist your organization, and give you the opportunity to meet members of the team involved in the project. Further details are enclosed and can be found at www.yorku.ca/tiedi
Presenters: Dr Philip Kelly is the Principal Investigator for the Toronto Immigrant Employment Data Initiative (TIEDI). He is Associate Professor and Director of the Graduate Program in Geography at York University, and Domain Leader for Economic and Labour Market Integration at CERIS. His research examines the consequences of migration and transnationalism for labour markets and workplaces, with a particular focus on the Filipino community in Toronto and sending areas in the Philippines. He has published over 30 scholarly papers and book chapters, and is the author or editor of three books. His ongoing research on Filipino settlement has involved close collaboration with several local groups, including a broad coalition of Filipino associations in Toronto.
Maryse Lemoine is the Coordinator for TIEDI. She is finishing a Master’s degree in geography at York University in which she explored the settlement patterns and housing experiences of francophone immigrants in Toronto. She previously completed a Master in Library and Information Studies and worked as a librarian in the McGill University Libraries.
A3 - Anti-Racism Partnership Model for Organizational Change in Policing
The purpose of the session is to share information about a proposed provincial project on anti-racism. This project extends a recently completed, four-year, local project called Diversity in Policing. This community/police partnership addressed systemic racism in local policing, which Aboriginal and other racialized participants had identified through a community-based research study. Based on the partners’ experiences and promising practice, the project management team has been documenting the community-based anti-racism model that evolved over the initiative. This model is multi-faceted, involving developing creative interventions to community-level problems with policing and/or other institutions, developing and sustaining effective partnerships, using research to measure change, and developing an institutional change model for disrupting systemic racism. Presenters will provide information on the partnership model, the original project initiatives and evaluation outcomes, and the local model developed for addressing systemic racism in policing. The presenters will dialogue with participants to garner their feedback on the proposed project and discern potential interest in sharing the model within their communities, their organizations, and with Aboriginal and other racialized peoples.
Presenter: Cathy Woodbeck has served as the Executive Director of the Thunder Bay Multicultural Association for 14 years. She was an initiator of the Diversity in Policing project, and has been working to improve police/community relations for the past 6 years. Cathy is a driving force in bringing this model to communities across Ontario, to improve life for racialized peoples in cities.
Leisa Desmoulins has been the Diversity in Policing Coordinator since 2006. She was the principal investigator for the outcome evaluation and a training survey with police. Her other research work on systemic racism in schools and cities complements this research.
A4 - Proposal for a “Community of Practice”
The purpose of this session is to provide information about and discuss a proposal for a “community of practice” of staff from a variety of settlement agencies and other agencies. A “community of practice” is a facilitated, structured group of workers sharing experience and expertise with each other to increase overall quality of service. The session will address the following questions:
- What is a community of practice and why might one be useful for our staff, our agencies, our sector and the diverse communities of immigrants and refugees?
- Who would be in it and how would it be structured?
- What are the planned outcomes?
- What are the potential issues arising from a community of practice?
Presenters: Maureen Fair, Executive Director of St. Christopher House, a multi-service neighbourhood centre working with diverse disadvantaged communities in downtown west Toronto. Maureen was previously Director of Community Response and Advocacy in St. Chris, coordinating community development, public policy development and advocacy strategies. Maureen’s previous work experience includes neighbourhood planning for the City of Toronto and frontline support for assaulted women in a Rexdale shelter. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Princeton University and a Master of Science in Planning degree from University of Toronto.
Mahassen Mahmoud, Coordinator of Immigrant and Refugee Services at St. Christopher House. Mahassen has an MA degree and specialized studies in immigrant/refugee services. Mahassen was working as a Regional Advisor for Catholic Relief Services where she provided technical advice as well as operational support to a wide network of funders, partners and over 19 countries. She has also worked for Catholic Cross Cultural Services and projects funded by Citizenship and Immigration Canada. Her experience covers setting up several partnership-based projects, networks and community-based research fostering participatory development.
A5 - Establishing a Sustainable Funding Accord: The Community Social Services Campaign
This session will provide participants with information on how, as service providers, we can help build government commitment to the work that we do through the establishment of a sustainable funding accord with the sector. It will update participants on the work being done by the Community Social Service Campaign to achieve such an accord. Finally it will contextualize the work of the sector within the broader community, its importance in the functioning of a healthy society, and explore the unique value that a community-based, non-profit service model brings to both the community members who access the services, and the governments that fund them. The goals of the campaign include establishing a relationship that recognizes the particular contribution made by non-profit organizations, and that respects this relationship by improving communication between the sector and government, and improving both the quantity and quality of funding to the sector.
Presenters: Faduma Mohamed is the Executive Director of Labour Community Services and is a tireless advocate for social justice. She has over 20 years experience in community development and human resources. In her native country of Somalia she held postings as executive director and represented her county internationally. In Canada she has work, both as an executive director and a front line worker in the following areas: women, family, youth at risk, employment, equitable access to education, intergenerational challenges, anti-racism, diversity, access and equity with organizations such as CultureLink, Rexdale Women’s Centre, postings Somali Youth Association of Toronto.
John Campey is Executive Director of the Community Social Planning Council of Toronto. Prior to his appointment, he taught immigrant children in inner-city Toronto schools for six years. He served two terms as Downtown Trustee on the Toronto Board of Education, focusing on issues of exclusion such as poverty, racism, language, and homophobia. He was a consultant with the International Children’s Institute, and has edited two books of children’s writing and drawing of their experiences in post-war Bosnia. John is a past President of Friends of Community Schools (a small charitable foundation supporting children’s entitlements), and currently serves on the Boards of CERIS – The Ontario Metropolis Centre, the Canadian Education Association, and the Social Planning Network of Ontario.
A6 - SSCAN: Update on the Information Management in the Settlement Sector
Join OCASI and PSTG Consulting as they present the results of the last years’ consultations and study on the development of a new sectoral information management solution. Sure to impact every service providing organization, these information management recommendations outline the development of a shared sectoral client management database and reporting system. A sector priority for many years, the recommendations respond to the challenges of inefficiency, redundancy and incompatibility which have characterized data management and reporting in the sector. Bringing information management and reporting under one administrative system will save time and energy for all agency staff, and allow the sector to do better analysis and planning for its own goals.
Presenter: Ian Brunskill is a partner with PSTG Consulting. Over the past seventeen years, Ian has worked for and consulted to governments, banks and health/social services organizations in Canada, the Caribbean, Central and South America and Africa. Ian’s recent engagements have focused on helping clients successfully plan and implement significant change initiatives and organizational transformations, often using information technology as a strategic change lever. Ian and PSTG have been working with OCASI for the past year in the development of the SSCAN project, performing sector consultations and developing a comprehensive solution proposal.
