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SETTLEMENT
SERVICES
Since 2000,
MHHS provides Settlement Services for Filipino, Bangladeshi,
Chinese, South Asian and other smaller cultural communities.
Newcomers and recent immigrants are able to access information on
available community services and resources; application forms and
support in filing up forms to apply for social benefits;
orientation on basic information about Canadian laws, cultures,
norms and other social expectations; and among others,
interpretation and translation services.
BAMBOO
NETWORK
Bamboo Network is a major service brand of
the MHHS since 2000. Newcomers and immigrants with backgrounds in
professions and trades settlement, adaptation and bridging support
to better integrate in their community and find employment.
Matching newcomers and recent immigrants with a host mentor is a
key service component of the Bamboo Network. Mentors share
information on the practice of their profession and job
opportunities. These can include: (a) education requirements, (b)
accreditation or certification, (c) professional or trade
associations, (d) types of jobs, (e) available jobs, and (f)
contact persons. Conversations on personal experiences and
insights on community, social and family life give depth of the
mentoring interaction. Through mentoring, newcomers and recent
immigrants find jobs, form valuable friendships and community
connection.
Fast
Track to Employment for Skilled Immigrants – From
2006 to present, Service Canada and BC Ministry of Housing and
Social Development has been providing funding to support recent
immigrants and individuals seeking employment in their chosen
profession or trade, gain understanding of the B.C. labour market,
learn and use job search and networking techniques and gather
information on education and accreditation requirements.
Individuals access one on one employment counselling, referral to a
mentor, networking sessions and job and apprenticeship placement
assistance. To date, the program has supported 419 newly arrived
immigrants and individuals looking for work. Programs and services
have also expanded to include skills development, EI workshops, job
creation partnerships, targeted wage subsidy, and self-employment.
Skills
Connect – From 2006 to present,
with funding from the Ministry of Advanced Education and Labour
Market Development, newcomers and recent immigrants access a
comprehensive employment bridging support to find jobs in
construction that matches his/her experience and qualification.
Individuals are supported with their career assessment and
planning, pre-employment skills upgrading, networking and workplace
orientation. They can also avail of a subsidy for technical
training, credential evaluation, certification and
apprenticeship.
Host
Mentoring Program – From 2003 to present,
with funding from the Ministry of Advanced Education and Labour
Market Development, MHHS supported 116 newcomers and individuals
annually to (a) access information and referral to services and
resources in the community, and (b) connect with mentors and
professional networks.
MHHS recruited and worked with volunteer
mentors from diverse cultures and occupational groups. Majority of
mentors are in engineering, construction, information technology,
accounting /finance, creative, and film. MHHS also engaged Bamboo
Network corporate partners such as BC Hydro and Insurance
Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) that facilitated the
recruitment of mentors from among their employees and/or organized
employment information sessions.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
SENIORS
PROGRAM
The MHHS
conducted in 2004 a survey of issues confronting seniors and
identified priorities like accessing relevant government services
and benefits. Since then, the MHHS Seniors program has been
addressing these concerns and generated monthly activities where
the Seniors would be able to use their talents or simply enjoy
socializing with each other. Various workshops are delivered to
educate the seniors of their rights and responsibilities. Seniors
have participated in various cultural festivals such as Canada Day
Parade at the Steveston Salmon Festival in Richmond, Philippine
Independence Day, and Filipino Seniors Dance. Activities for
2008 include “Karaoke nights”; “Surfing Grannies”, where we have
the youth teaching the seniors how to use the computer and in turn
the seniors teach the youth about Filipino culture and traditions;
performing at various cultural heritage show; line dancing, cooking
lessons and many more. This program helps on average 100 seniors
annually.
YOUTH
PROGRAM
The MHHS youth program, which begun in 2003,
has generated varied activities aimed at empowering ethnic youth.
Various activities engage youth with focus on music, dance, arts
and sports to keep their mind and body health and strong. “Youth
Confront Racism” was a theatrical performance put on combining
diverse art forms from hip hop, dance, theatre, spoken word, video
to martial arts. This performance was shown at the Vancouver East
Cultural Centre in March 2003. One of the activities for the youth
program was the Art Mural competition, (the neighbourhood youth can
enter their own artistic impressions on the theme of world peace).
Winning paintings were included in a printed calendar that was
distributed as a thank you gift to MHHS clients, and winner will
receive $1000 cash reward. MHHS youth program delivered a powerful
youth empowerment project in Surrey called Surrey Urban Youth
Program. In 2005, 19 ethnic youth were trained, and then delivered
3 performances in various Surrey schools, with over 500 attendees,
receiving raving reviews. There are various educational workshops
where the youth learn skills dealing with life issues such as
bullying, peer pressure, and family violence, among others. A
recent success of the youth program was a volleyball tournament
funded by Urban Systems Foundation and which involved more than 50
youths.
CAREGIVERS PROGRAM
From 2000, MHHS has been providing
information and support services to caregivers through one on one
counselling, advocacy and employment referrals. A series of
tragic incidents involving caregivers such as suicide, family
violence, and other social issues prompted MHHS to develop a new
program through a partnership with The Western Canada Society
Access to Justice, where MHHS provides one-on-one free legal advice
to caregivers by volunteer lawyers.
Among the activities include a series of
parenting and immigration workshops conducted for caregivers to
inform them of their legal rights and responsibilities; assistance
in filing immigration forms; legal advice in filing divorce
applications for those who are going through the process of
separation and; one-on-one counselling and support for former live
in caregivers and their sponsored families as they go through
family adjustment and reunification process brought about by
separation due to employment.
In 2007, the We Care Caregiver Settlement Support
Group was
formally launched to help caregivers succeed in Canada through
settlement support services. In July of 2009, the first ever
conference for caregivers was organized by MHHS and was attended by
more than 200 caregivers from all over British Columbia. This
conference achieved a paradigm shift because it reminded delegates
to see themselves not as household maids but caregivers without
whom Canada would fall apart. At the same time, it established a
unified caregiver voice, removed the invisibility cloak that
surrounds the profession, and gathered relevant statistics that
could serve as basis for future decision and policy making for our
government.
Workshops have also been developed to
discuss relevant concerns like self-esteem, first aid, and
immigration processes. These workshops are being conducted at
Vancouver, Surrey, the TriCities, and
Richmond.
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