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Non-profits and community organizations
Recommendation 14:
- Assess current access statistics and ensure timely access to specialized therapy and victim services for children and youth who experience physical and sexualized violence, and other childhood experiences associated with later youth homelessness.
- Explore the concept of “duty to assist” as a rights-based approach to ending youth homelessness; investigate prevention legislation such as in Wales where there can be a duty to assist youth, likely to be homeless within 56 days, to secure accommodations.
- Prevent youth homelessness by reducing system discharges into homelessness by coordinating ministries at the provincial level and by bridging transitions from foster-care/provincial care, justice, hospitals, treatment facilities, and mental-health systems.
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Recommendation 3:
Partnerships are vital to reducing barriers for women experiencing violence.
Many of the barriers that women face in finding affordable long term housing can be reduced through partnerships across sectors and awareness building about the impacts of violence against women. While affordability and availability of housing are major barriers for people impacted by increasing unaffordability in BC, women experiencing violence face additional specific barriers due to their circumstances. We can see that barriers such as a lack of references, access to childcare or understanding their housing options are obstacles that can be better solved with partnerships.
We recommend that this project continues to build partnerships between transition houses, government, and the housing sector to help address and work towards improving these types of barriers.
Many of the barriers that women face in finding affordable long term housing can be reduced through partnerships across sectors and awareness building about the impacts of violence against women. While affordability and availability of housing are major barriers for people impacted by increasing unaffordability in BC, women experiencing violence face additional specific barriers due to their circumstances. We can see that barriers such as a lack of references, access to childcare or understanding their housing options are obstacles that can be better solved with partnerships.
We recommend that this project continues to build partnerships between transition houses, government, and the housing sector to help address and work towards improving these types of barriers.
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Recommendation 2:
Increase the supply of dedicated legal information and advocacy services
An increased supply of dedicated legal advocates and community service providers in regions of the province with high concentrations of migrant workers would address the issue of inadequate availability of pro bono legal information and services.
Data collected from the focus groups indicates a strong need for a network of trained service providers who understand the specific situation of migrant workers according to the regulations of the low-wage streams of the TFWP, and the unique ways in which immigration law intersects with their employment in the province.
Legal advocates, under the supervision of a Supervising Lawyer, would provide direct legal advocacy services in the areas of law that are identified as priority needs (immigration, employment, and housing) and not otherwise offered by other legal advocates in the region to avoid service duplication. Supervision by lawyers would ensure accountability for services provided.
Legal advocates would work in a coordinated way with community service providers, who are already working to provide assistance to migrant workers and whose capacity to conduct outreach and provide legal information and referrals to legal services is enhanced through training by lawyers, which can include lawyers who work for non-profit organizations, such as Migrant Workers Centre or Community Legal Assistance Society, or supervising lawyers in the region.
Community service providers would receive training on how to identify legal issues; find accurate legal information online; use the dedicated website; when and how to make referrals to legal advocates and other services; and how to distribute and help workers to understand legal information materials.
To the greatest extent possible, legal advocates would be multilingual and provide services in migrant workers’ first language. The placement of multilingual law students to work with legal advocates through co-ops or other programs for course credit could also play an important role in increasing access to justice for migrant workers.
An increased supply of dedicated legal advocates and community service providers in regions of the province with high concentrations of migrant workers would address the issue of inadequate availability of pro bono legal information and services.
Data collected from the focus groups indicates a strong need for a network of trained service providers who understand the specific situation of migrant workers according to the regulations of the low-wage streams of the TFWP, and the unique ways in which immigration law intersects with their employment in the province.
Legal advocates, under the supervision of a Supervising Lawyer, would provide direct legal advocacy services in the areas of law that are identified as priority needs (immigration, employment, and housing) and not otherwise offered by other legal advocates in the region to avoid service duplication. Supervision by lawyers would ensure accountability for services provided.
Legal advocates would work in a coordinated way with community service providers, who are already working to provide assistance to migrant workers and whose capacity to conduct outreach and provide legal information and referrals to legal services is enhanced through training by lawyers, which can include lawyers who work for non-profit organizations, such as Migrant Workers Centre or Community Legal Assistance Society, or supervising lawyers in the region.
Community service providers would receive training on how to identify legal issues; find accurate legal information online; use the dedicated website; when and how to make referrals to legal advocates and other services; and how to distribute and help workers to understand legal information materials.
To the greatest extent possible, legal advocates would be multilingual and provide services in migrant workers’ first language. The placement of multilingual law students to work with legal advocates through co-ops or other programs for course credit could also play an important role in increasing access to justice for migrant workers.
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Recommendation 5:
Create written public legal information materials on priority areas of legal need
Written public legal information materials in multiple languages would be an important resource for migrant workers at the pre-arrival and on-arrival stages of their migration to Canada. In addition to providing key information about their rights according to the priority areas of legal need, written materials would also direct migrant workers to where they may go for help in Canada. As such, the written materials would refer to the dedicated website, dedicated hotline, community service providers and legal advocates. As the written materials would be distributed by both Canadian visa offices abroad pre-arrival and CBSA officers on arrival, the likelihood that materials will reach migrant workers is increased substantially.
Written materials would also facilitate the provision of legal information during migrant workers’ employment in BC. Written materials can be used by community service providers as a reference for the provision of in-person legal information and referrals, and are particularly useful as a source of information for SAWP workers in remote areas without access to the Internet.
Written public legal information materials in multiple languages would be an important resource for migrant workers at the pre-arrival and on-arrival stages of their migration to Canada. In addition to providing key information about their rights according to the priority areas of legal need, written materials would also direct migrant workers to where they may go for help in Canada. As such, the written materials would refer to the dedicated website, dedicated hotline, community service providers and legal advocates. As the written materials would be distributed by both Canadian visa offices abroad pre-arrival and CBSA officers on arrival, the likelihood that materials will reach migrant workers is increased substantially.
Written materials would also facilitate the provision of legal information during migrant workers’ employment in BC. Written materials can be used by community service providers as a reference for the provision of in-person legal information and referrals, and are particularly useful as a source of information for SAWP workers in remote areas without access to the Internet.
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Recommendation 1:
Create a network of stakeholders involved in the dissemination of legal information and provision of legal services
A network of stakeholders is necessary to coordinate multiple entry points into a system that facilitates access to legal information and services for migrant workers. The network would consist of multiple stakeholders working together to provide a seamless experience for migrant workers to access information at the prearrival, on-arrival, and employment stages of their migration. Stakeholders include both government and nongovernment actors, as follows:
Pre-arrival:
A network of stakeholders is necessary to coordinate multiple entry points into a system that facilitates access to legal information and services for migrant workers. The network would consist of multiple stakeholders working together to provide a seamless experience for migrant workers to access information at the prearrival, on-arrival, and employment stages of their migration. Stakeholders include both government and nongovernment actors, as follows:
Pre-arrival:
- Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, through its Canadian visa offices overseas, would distribute legal information materials to migrant workers prior to their arrival to Canada. These materials would be provided when the worker’s visa is sent to or picked up by the prospective worker, and would be made visibly available at Canadian embassies, consulates, and visa processing centres abroad.
- The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) would distribute legal information materials to migrant workers at their point of entry to Canada at airports and border crossings. CBSA officials would provide these information materials to migrant workers when they receive their work permit.
- Legal advocates in the region would provide post-arrival information sessions to migrant workers.
- Trained call centre staff at key government agencies would provide information and referrals to legal advocates, the dedicated website and the dedicated hotline.
- Websites of key government agencies would refer migrant workers to the dedicated website and the dedicated hotline.
- Trained community service providers, including key settlement agencies, grassroots migrant worker organizations and faith-based organizations, would conduct outreach to migrant workers and provide legal information and referrals to legal services.
- Legal advocates would provide direct legal advocacy services, workshops and mobile clinics to remote areas. Legal advocates would also regularly update the dedicated website and answer the dedicated hotline.
- Lawyers would provide supervision to the legal advocates, and training to the legal advocates and community service providers.
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Recommendation 1:
#ReturnOurAncestors! The Canadian Museum Association and its partner institutions must uphold its responsibilities to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission recommendations, and the promises they made to the AFN, to digitize and make private archives and holdings accessible for transparency. In no uncertain terms, museums must repatriate the bodies of Indigenous ancestors. There needs to be immediate expert and Indigenous-led audits of collections to assess what exists in collections; the primary goal being to find sensitive materials such as bodies, which museologists quietly know to exist within many of Canada’s major institutions.
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Recommendation 20:
“Tenant retention strategy.” As with the experience of the BIA, the “lack of succession planning makes retention challenging.” Due to the contributions that traditional businesses make to the neighbourhood character, through intangible values with the social and cultural connections they hold, we recommend that a working group be formed to come up with options that the City, other levels of government, as well as other stakeholders can implement to assist with succession planning of these businesses. Namely, to explore how traditional businesses can succeed in becoming community- and membership- owned entities. Applying cooperative values can serve the community/membership as well as democratizing ownership and economics of the business.
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