1 joël denis, norah lynn paddock, louise saulnier, leslie wong
TRANSCRIPT
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CATHOLIC IMMIGRATION
CENTRE OF OTTAWA
Joël Denis, Norah Lynn Paddock, Louise Saulnier, Leslie Wong
Outline
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CIC Background
Mission: facilitates the reception of newcomers to Canada; and assists newcomers in realizing their full potential in
Canadian society.
History: Religious origins 1976: Catholic Immigration Services – Ottawa is set
up. 1978-1981: Southeast Asian refugee crises, services
number of staff expand. 1984: Agency is incorporated as an autonomous
organization - The Catholic Immigration Centre. Today, CIC continues to expand its programs and
services to meet the needs of newcomers and the Ottawa community.
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CIC Mandate - Louise Settlement
Services: Language Maison Thérèse
Dallaire (residential facility for newcomers with urgent needs )
Completing Documents
Education Employment Health
Housing Immigration Issues Money and Finances
Programs: Host Program International
Medical Doctors International Legal
Professionals Youth Centre Pastoral Help Community Projects
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Staffing/Volunteers (Q5) - Les
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Client Needs and Service Delivery
Client Profile: Over 55% are Government-Assisted Refugees
(GARs) Slightly more women than men (51% versus
49%) Majority are between 25 and 44 years of age,
often with large families Small, but growing, number of seniors
Primary Needs: Language training Housing support Employment supportGrowing number of high needs clients (e.g. refugees – especially children – and women with small children)
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Service Delivery Challenges
• Over 55% are Government-Assisted Refugees (GARs)
• Slightly more women than men (51% versus 49%)
• Majority are between 25 and 44 years of age, often with large families
• Small, but growing, number of seniors
Language Training
Employment Support
Housing Support
Primary NeedsClient Profile
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Source of Funding (Q5) - Les Background
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Funding Challenges
•Funding levels do not reflect growing demand for settlement services
Funding restrictions limit the types of services that can be provided
Reporting requirements are onerous
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Social Determinants of Health for Immigrants
Income and Social StatusSocial Support
Networks
Education and Literacy
Employment and Working Conditions
Social Environments
Physical Environments
Personal Health
Practices and Coping Skills
Biology and Genetic
Endowment
Health Child Development
Health Services
Gender
Culture
Language Skills
Migration History Immigration
Status
Health Status
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HEALTHY IMMIGRANT EFFECT [NL: Proposed new slide]
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CIC and Social Support Networks
Social isolation and impact on health
CIC as a Social Support Network: Services to expand individuals networks
(e.g. language classes). Knowledge sharing (e.g. Federal Skills
Workers Program, federal credential recognition, and social assistance application process).
Helping themselves by helping others
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Social Support Networks: Key Obstacles and Opportunities Obstacles:
Social Networks and vulnerable populations: A problem compounded
Hip bone connected to the knee bone?
Opportunities: One part of a wider social support
network: Summerset Community Health Center, Family Services Ottawa, Ottawa legal clinics
Promising results of host program
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Social Support Networks: Policy Recommendations 1. Go right to the source – family
reunification 2. Increased support for community based
initiatives – e.g. neighborhood watch programs and food co-operatives
3. Increased support for social development activities, including intergenerational projects and cross-cultural gatherings.
4. Research recommendation: develop and test models to demonstrate a stronger link between social support networks and health benefits – e.g. gender analysis????
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Language Skills
[NL: Proposed new background slide for each social determinant of health – What does it mean? Why is it particularly relevant for newcomers?]
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CIC and Language Skills
Language is a key barrier to accessing basic support services (particularly for refugees)
Access to health services – especially mental health support - is significantly impacted by language ability Privacy concerns (e.g. children as interpreters,
volunteer interpreters part of small diaspora community)
Challenges with providing counselling through an interpreter
Language training is the most highly utilized service offered by CIC
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Language Skills: Key Obstacles and Opportunities Limited availability of translation and interpretation services through CIC
Lack of multicultural/multilingual health service providers in Ottawa
Mainstream health service providers need to become more culturally-sensitive
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Language Skills: Policy Recommendations Increase government funding for
translation/interpretation services through settlement service providers
Extend eligibility of government-funded language training to temporary residents
Develop guidelines and training to help mainstream service providers become culturally-sensitive
HOUSING – A DETERMINANT OF HEALTH The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion
(WHO, 1986) recognized shelter as a basic prerequisite for health.
CMHC uses “core need” to assess the housing situation based on:
Affordability Suitability Adequacy
Health issues Unaffordable rent - food insecurity Overcrowding – mental health Mould – respiratory infections Premature death
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HOUSING – OBSTACLES AND OPPORTUNITIES Obstacles
Labour market barriersThe Nature of Ottawa’s economy and labour
marketThe demographic and family structure of
immigrant communitiesRacialization of economic exclusion in Ottawa
OpportunitiesReplace the aging workforceCultural and linguistic diversityEconomic growthAddress workforce gaps?
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HOUSING – POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS One Percent Solution to end the housing crisis
(TDRC, 1999) National Housing Strategy – involving all
three levels of governments Rental housing Ownership housing Social housing with mixed incomes Support for people with special needs (Layton, 2000)
Flexible capital grant program Private rental program Investment pools of money to create
affordable housing Provincial income supplement programs
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