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Follow Omidvar on Twitter: @ratnaomi
Author: marcocampana
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This is an archive of immigrantchildren.ca
ZS (Zofia Sonia) Worotynec set up immigrantchildren.ca in 2007 as part of a volunteer contribution to the since defunct Canadian Coalition for Immigrant Children and Youth. From 2008 to 2021 the blog was a solo passion where ZS would share information, resources, and opinions on issues related to immigrant, refugee, newcomer children and youth in Canada.
ZS is especially pleased with her posts of children’s books about migration, anti-racism, diversity and inclusion. She is grateful to Marco Campana for making it possible to continue making the content available.
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Harmony Movement School Resources on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
In good news, after being shut down in 2019 due to funding cuts, Harmony Movement has re-opened its doors and they are offering free downloadable resources on diversity, equity, and inclusion for teachers with children in grades 5-10.
Check out the lesson plans and tip sheets in the areas of:- Gender
- Race
- Ability
- Mental Health
- 2SLGBTQ+
- Action Planning
Bonus Google survey to assess how inclusive your school is.
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Making integration work: Young people with migrant parents
Young People with Migrant Parents
Making Integration Work, volume 4
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
“The OECD series Making Integration Work summarises, in a non-technical way, the main issues surrounding the integration of immigrants and their children into their host countries. Each volume presents concrete policy lessons for its theme, along with supporting examples of good practices and comparisons of the migrant integration policy frameworks in different OECD countries. This fourth volume explores the integration of young people with migrant parents, a diverse and growing cohort of youth in the OECD area.” -
West Neighbourhood House (Toronto) job posting for a Team Lead, Newcomer Youth Program
The Team Leader, Newcomer Youth Program assists with the coordination, development, delivery and day to day monitoring of the activities of the Newcomer Youth Program which is designed to facilitate cross cultural sharing, skill acquisition, integration and settlement by working with both newcomer youth (aged 13-24) and a range of volunteers, in conjunction with the Co-ordinator of Immigrant and Refugee Services.Description
West Neighbourhood House, formerly St. Christopher House, is a multi-service, neighbourhood-based agency that has served the diverse communities of downtown west Toronto since 1912. The central purpose of West Neighbourhood House is to enable less-advantaged individuals, families and groups in the community to gain greater control over their lives and community.
The Team Leader, Newcomer Youth Program assists with the coordination, development, delivery and day to day monitoring of the activities of the Newcomer Youth Program which is designed to facilitate cross cultural sharing, skill acquisition, integration and settlement by working with both newcomer youth (aged 13-24) and a range of volunteers, in conjunction with the Co-ordinator of Immigrant and Refugee Services.
Responsibilities:- Work in conjunction with the Program Coordinator in the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of activities and program directions that meet the needs of participants.
- Work with the Newcomer Youth team to design and coordinate the implementation of outreach and program promotion strategies and materials targeting newcomer youth.
- Take a lead on maintaining the Youth space, the operations and activities of the Newcomer Youth Program, including activity planning and scheduling, staff schedule coordination, resolution of day-to-day issues and problem-solving, outreach coordination, ensuring safety of youth and day-to-day administration in conjunction with the Program Coordinator (e.g. petty cash, supplies and TTC oversight).
- Ensure client eligibility as per Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) requirements. Experience in use of iCARE portal.
- Coordinate volunteer requests and ensure effective volunteer training, support, retention, problem-solving and evaluation by working with and supporting the other Newcomer Youth Program staff. Provide direct supervision to volunteers on or off site.
- Provide direct service and programming to diverse newcomer youth including setting up, supporting and monitoring a range of group-based educational and social recreational activity mentorships and one-to-one matches for newcomer youth (aged 13-24) in various West Neighbourhood House sites and locations in the community (e.g. workshops, outings, field trips, homework clubs, leadership activities, arts-based activities such as Silk Screening and After School programs in schools).
- Maintain up to date knowledge of newcomer youth issues and community resources (education, housing, recreation, social assistance, employment, job search skills, healthy sexuality, child protection, drug prevention/ abuse, and other youth settlement needs) and provide information and referral services, group activities and youth leadership development as appropriate.
- Represent the program as appropriate with parents, community groups and networks, local schools, community groups, program partnerships and forums (e.g. community networks, committees, planning sessions, event co-ordination, and consultations).
- Collaborate with other agencies and community groups to co-ordinate services; assess needs and track issues and opportunities related to newcomer youth and settlement issues; and advocate as appropriate to promote equity for newcomer youth.
- Maintain client records, collect data and compile various statistics and records, including IRCC required databases (iCARE). Contribute to the production of various reports, grant proposals and funding applications as required.
- Participate as a member of the House, including in-House committees, initiatives and activities as required; developing cross-program initiatives; providing other related functions as required.
Qualifications:
- Post-secondary education preferably in settlement related field and at least 3 years of relevant experience.
- Knowledge of youth services for newcomers and community-based settlement work within a multi-cultural community.
- Excellent skills in providing appropriate cross-cultural services, individualized supports, information and referral, group facilitation and activities, needs assessments and supporting one-on-one mentorships.
- Ability to work with a diverse range of newcomer youth and support them as appropriate on issues that they may encounter such as education, housing, recreation, social assistance, employment, job search skills, healthy sexuality, drug prevention/abuse and other youth settlement needs. Proven ability to work with and support Gender appropriate youth programming on issues they may face.
- Excellent networking and promotional skills as this position emphasizes attracting and connecting with youth of different communities through creative and innovative youth services, as well as outreach and relationship building with youth, volunteers, and partners.
- Knowledge of and experience working within an anti-oppression framework.
- Strong written and oral communication as well as interpersonal skills required.
- Strong ability to work as a team member and to support day to day activities of staff, volunteers and participants while assisting the Coordinator in program development, implementation and evaluation.
- Demonstrated leadership skills within a team-based setting.
- Demonstrated ability to train, support and retain volunteers.
- Administrative skills including petty cash, TTC, scheduling staff/volunteers and programs, program reporting. Experience with IRCC funding and databases are assets.
- Ability to use database, spreadsheet and word processing software in a Windows environment.
- Oral and written fluency in English as well as a second language relevant to the community we serve is required.
- Ability to work a flexible schedule and evenings and weekends as needed and on ad hoc basis.
Status: Permanent Full-time
Start Date: Immediate
Hours: 35 per week including regular evening and weekend work
Rate: $26.34 per hour (full benefits package after 3 months including 4 weeks vacation, pension plan after 6 months)
Unit: Newcomer and Family Programs
Immediate Supervisor: Coordinator, Immigrant and Refugee Services
Closing Date: April 6, 2021
Note: West Neighbourhood House provides accommodation during all parts of the hiring process, upon request, to applicants with disabilities. Applicants should make their needs known in advance.
Please reply in writing by 5:00 p.m. on the closing date to:
Hiring Committee
1497 Queen St. West, Unit 103
Toronto, ON
M6R 1A3
dianade@westnh.orgWest Neighbourhood House is an equal opportunity employer. We thank all applicants, but only those candidates to be interviewed will be contacted. -
Repost: Q&A with Ratna Omidvar on refugee women and children
Reposted from December, 2020, an interview between the World Refugee & Migration Council and Ratna Omidvar, Canadian Senator and WRMC Council member. Omidvar “discusses how the international community can better respond to the needs of refugee women and girls, empower them as agents of change, and confront systemic issues of discrimination”.
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Findings from the Longitudinal Immigration Database: Socioeconomic outcomes of immigrants admitted to Canada as children, 2018
From Statistics Canada’s The Daily, some interesting data on immigrant children. The key take-away: immigrant children are good for Canada.
Some highlights:Immigrants who came to Canada as children are more likely to participate in post secondary education than the overall population.
Children admitted to Canada with economic immigrant families report higher post secondary education participation than Canadians overall or immigrants admitted under other categories.
At age 30, immigrants who were admitted to Canada before the age of 15 with economic immigrant families report the highest wages compared with those admitted under other categories.
Immigrant women admitted to Canada as children have higher post secondary education participation than men.
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UT Book Club: The Forgotten Home Child, by Genevieve Graham
Next week, the University of Toronto alumni virtual book club will present local author Kerry Clare interviewing Genevieve Graham, author of ‘The Forgotten Home Child’.
The Forgotten Home Child is historical fiction, very much grounded in the actual history of ‘home children’ who were plucked off the streets of London and shipped to Canada to meet the labour needs of the growing country.
Home children experienced abuse – physical, emotional, sexual. The scheme painted Canada as a savior for destitute children. The reality was Canada was complicit in these abuses.
In the early 80’s, my mom introduced me to a book called “The Little Immigrants: The Orphans who came to Canada” by Kenneth Bagnell. Bagnell’s book is a non-fiction record of the child emigration scheme. It was an early influence on my thinking about child rights.
Taking ostensibly poor, vulnerable and needy children from their homes to serve the needs of others (prospective parents) was an underlying theme of my research on international adoption policy.
I’m glad to feature Graham’s book and the UT event. I hope it sheds more light on the experiences that home children had and further exposes Canada’s role in their exploitation. I look forward to the UT Virtual Book Club discussion on Tuesday, March 16th at 7pm. See you there?
Related links:
British Home Children
British Home Children Registry
Government of Canada early Immigration Records -
Anti-racism in early childhood care and education settings
The Global Centre for Pluralism (GCP) believes that “schools can be incubators for truly pluralistic societies”. Last week they released “Talking About Racism in the Classroom” a policy brief, in collaboration with the Canadian Commission for UNESCO. The brief reports on activities of the GCP with regard to its recent anti-racism work and provides policy recommendations for “addressing anti-black racism in Canadian schools”.
The policy brief is “intended for Canadian policy-makers and school leaders seeking to address anti-Black racism in education systems”.
immigrantchildren.ca applauds the work and also extends an invitation to and a wish for expanding anti-Black racism to the early childhood arena. We know that even very young children form beliefs about the differences they see in children and adults in their world. Infants can differentiate faces; they recognize familiar ones and are puzzled, if not angered or feared by the ones they don’t.
The recommendations of the policy brief address professional development, curriculum and strategic planning, below. All of these apply in early childhood care and education.
Some work has been done in this regard in Canada, and we early childhood practitioners and advocates need to do more!
Resource worth revisiting: Children Are Not Colorblind: How Young Children Learn Race
Further reading: Check the ‘Racism’ category on this site. -
The lunchbox moment: Immigrant children and food
Good piece on immigrant children’s “lunchbox” moments – when peers see their food, make judgements and comments and how this shapes immigrant children’s identity. It’s US-based, but applicable in Canada too.
From the article on eater.com:“The story of being bullied in the cafeteria for one’s lunch is so ubiquitous that it’s attained a gloss of fictionality. It’s become metonymy for the entire diaspora experience; to be a young immigrant or child of immigrants is to be bullied for your lunch, and vice versa.”
