Building Capacity Together
Toronto Local Immigration Partnerships (LIPs) Workshop Series
for Service Providers Working with Vulnerable Newcomers
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NAVIGATING ACCESS TO CITY SERVICES
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Navigate access and eligibility for City services for vulnerable newcomers, including undocumented Torontonians
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Identify barriers to accessing City services
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Learn about civil society initiatives that provide support to refugees and undocumented Torontonians
Objectives
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Highlight the importance of City services for vulnerable newcomers.
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Demonstrate the difficulty of navigating which City services newcomers are eligible for depending on immigration status, and how they can be accessed.
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Explain Access T.O. (sanctuary city) and how it works.
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Explain the barriers that undocumented Torontonians have when attempting to access City services.
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Explain which newcomers can access key City services, depending on their immigration status.
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Inform participants about resources available to help them understand identification requirements for City services.​
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Inform participants of some civil society initiatives that can “fill the gaps” for those that are not eligible for City services.
There are many City services that are available to provide assistance to Torontonians. Some of these services are crucial for vulnerable newcomers. But who can access these services? How can they be accessed? Service providers working with vulnerable newcomers regularly struggle with these questions, because this information is not widely available, and there is a lack of consistency on eligibility requirements across and within City services. As a result, many vulnerable newcomers are not accessing important services that they could greatly benefit from.
Background
Speakers
May 31, 2018
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Nadine Nasir, Adult Educator, Toronto South Local Immigration Partnership, St. Stephen’s Community House
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Francisco Rico-Martinez, Co-director, FCJ Refugee Centre
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Exercise & Debrief
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Access Table
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Sanctuary City Explained
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Barriers
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Disclosing Personal Information
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Complaints
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Civil society initiatives that “Fill the Gaps”
Agenda
Presentations
May 31, 2018
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Entire presentation
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Short presentation with talking points for train the trainer presentations
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Access to City Services Simulation​
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Facilitator Newcomer Profiles "Cheat Sheets"
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Resources:
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3. Newcomer Profiles
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Exercises
Resources
Resources Created
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See "Exercises" above for Exercise resources, including scripts for simulation exercise.
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Set up tables and chair in a “U” shape so participants in the room will be able to see and engage each other in large group discussions.
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The room should be large enough to accommodate the Exercise. See room set-up details in attachment describing exercise above.​​