Building Capacity Together
Toronto Local Immigration Partnerships (LIPs) Workshop Series
for Service Providers Working with Vulnerable Newcomers
Module 1
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.
Module 2
Mental Health:
Developing and Implementing Sound Practices
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Learn from the experiences of organizations that have created mental health protocols or practices to support their staff and clients’ mental health
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Understand the various factors to consider when developing mental health supports for your clients and staff
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Learn strategies to develop and implement sound mental health practices specifically for your organization.
Module 3
Effective Outreach Strategies
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Explore ways of finding and effectively outreaching to vulnerable newcomers
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Learn about various outreach tools, including social media
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Learn about creative outreach strategies that work
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Explore the role of community engagement in outreach
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Create an outreach plan
Module 4
Anti-oppression
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Learn about anti-oppression principles, and how they apply to our work with vulnerable newcomers
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Reflect on our personal multiple identities, and how they play a role in our work as service providers
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Learn how to create positive and welcoming spaces for vulnerable newcomers.
Module 5
Mental Health:
Confronting Stigma
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Understand the impact of stigma on vulnerable newcomers
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Learn about the difference between “mental health” & “mental illness”
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Explore differences in the understanding of mental illness across cultures
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Learn how to talk to vulnerable newcomers with mental illness, including appropriate terminology to use
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Understand what trauma-informed care is, and why it is so important.
Module 6
Serving Newcomers with
Limited Formal Education and English Abilities
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Learn about tools, practices and considerations that can be helpful when working with newcomers with limited formal education and English ability, including:
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Google Translate's We Speak Translate Project, a free translation service that provides instant translations for over 100 different languages;
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effective communication strategies;
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anti-oppressive practices;
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tstrategies that experts in the sector regularly use.
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Module 8
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Information about trauma-informed practices
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An explanation of how anger typically escalates
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Details about how to assess risk
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Tips on how to communicate with someone who is angry or aggressive, to verbally diffuse the crisis situation
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What to consider when conducting or participating in a post-crisis team debrief.
Crisis De-escalation
Module 9
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Discuss the challenges of maintaining professional boundaries in highly emotional contexts when clients need extra support
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Learn about approaches that may assist in your decision-making when you are faced with challenging questions related to ethics and professional boundaries
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Examine the inherent power dynamics between newcomers and service providers.
Professional Boundaries & Ethics
in Newcomer Service Provision