London & Middlesex Local Immigration Partnership...

London & Middlesex Local Immigration Partnership Settlement Sub-council

April 14, 2011

9:30 – 11:30 a.m. Kinsmen Recreation Centre

20 Granville St.

AGENDA

1. Welcome & Introductions

2. Approval of January 19, 2011Meeting Minutes

3. Update on Central Council

4. Report from working group

5. Review of Year One Plan

6. Feedback from March 7 Community Meeting

7. Wrap up and next meetings Documents for the meeting:

• Agenda/January 19 minutes • Year One Plan

Co-led by:

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London & Middlesex Local Immigration Partnership Settlement Sub-council Thursday, April 14, 2011 Present: Mohamed Al-Adeimi, Marel Fielding, Ayan Aden, Arlene Thompson, Jill Tansley, Kathy

Milczarek, Mary Lou Albanese and Nina Hamou.

Regrets: Mersija Nuric, Nancy Santos, Rifat Hussain, Amani Radhaa, Jenny Lim.

Welcome & Introductions

Mohamed welcomed three new members to the Settlement Sub-council. Despite a lower turnout

than usual, the group decided to resume with the meeting and to provide an opportunity for

individuals to provide their feedback via email.

ACTION: The Sub-council will have the opportunity to provide input by email or phone.

Approval of January 19, 2011 Meeting Minutes

Minutes of January 19, 2011 were approved.

Update on Central Council

The Central Council reviewed the Achievement Report prepared by Huda. The report includes all

the accomplishments of the LMLIP from September 2010 to February 2011. All the March 7,

2011 materials and Central Council minutes are posted on the Immigration Portal.

Report from Working Group

The final draft of the brochure was shared with the members. The following

revisions/suggestions were made:

• The Immigration Portal links should be updated to the new links: immigration.london.ca

and immigration.middlesex.ca

• ACFO de London-Sarnia should be added to the map on the back of the brochure

• A legend should be included with the map

• “Refugee Claimant” should be removed from the footnote and added to the body of the

brochure

• All footnotes should be removed and included in brackets in the body of the brochure

Review of Year One plan

The group recognized the accomplishments of the Settlement Sub-council shared on March 7,

Community meeting:

1. Connecting Newcomers to Services

• Develop a common information package (brochure)

• Information coordination by service providers by sending information to Pearson

International Airport

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2. Navigating Systems (ongoing)

• Managing finances workshops

3. Family Challenges (ongoing)

• “Understanding your Teens” workshops

4. Housing (ongoing)

• Tenant and landlord relations

The group reviewed the Settlement section of the LMLIP Community Immigrant Strategic Plan

and decided to focus on strategies that build on what exists in London & Middlesex. After much

discussion, the group felt that the following areas were important to focus on:

• Intergeneration relationships

• Engaging volunteers in settlement services

ACTION: Add the above two areas to Implementation Plan

Two aspects to consider were intergenerational relationships between youth and seniors as well

as intergenerational conflict between parents.

The group suggested connecting to the following key players:

• The London InterCommunity Health Centre

• SWIS Programs as a point of information and referral

• Childreach and other Early Years Centers

• Children’s Aid Society (CAS)

• Middlesex London Health Unit

• The London Public Library for information sharing and space

ACTION: Mohamed offered to share a document which outlines twelve points of best practices

for implementing the intergenerational programs.

Engaging volunteers in neighbourhood based services is another area that may be worth

connecting with other partner about. Nina mentioned that the Inclusion & Civic Engagement

Sub-council is also considering initiating a discussion with Pillar. Arlene shared that the Library

is always looking for ways to give a constructive opportunities for volunteers.

Jill Tansley shared that Immigration Portal has a section on volunteering.

ACTION: Nina and Sub-council Chairs to discuss where commonalities exist and what we need

to take to potential partners.

Arlene expressed interest in seeing the material for the financial workshops used by South

London Neighbourhood Resource Centre.

ACTION: Mohamed to share financial workshop materials with the Library and ACFO.

Feedback from Community Meeting

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Arlene shared that workshop C “Journey’s to Canada” was especially interesting and shared the

stories of newcomers. The Library will be putting on a similar session for staff.

ACTION: Nina to capture the work of the Library in the Implementation Plan.

Wrap up and next meeting

The next meeting will be scheduled on either May 12 or May 18 9:30-11:30 am.

ACTION: The dates will be sent to the Sub-council.

Regrets to: [email protected]

Funded by: Co-led by:


May 18, 2011

9:30 – 11:30 am. Kinsmen Recreation Centre, Room 2

20 Granville St.

AGENDA


2. Approval of April 14 Meeting Minutes

3. Report Back on Action Items

4. Strategic Discussion: Review of Implementation Plan

5. Other Business

6. Wrap up and next meetings Documents for the meeting:

• Agenda/April 14,2011 minutes • Implementation Plan

Co-led by:

Funded by:

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London & Middlesex Local Immigration Partnership Settlement Sub-council Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Present: Mohamed Al-Adeimi, Jenny Lim, Ayan Aden, Dania Ajami, Marel Fielding, Deborah

Szelepski, Nancy Santos, Kathy Milczarek, and Nina Hamou

Regrets: Rifat Hussain, Jill Tansley, Amani Radhaa and Arlene Thompson.

Welcome & Introduction

Mohamed welcomed the group and new members. Mohamed shared that this would be Nina’s

last meeting as she will no longer be working as Project Assistant for the LIP. Nancy Santos will

provide support to the Sub-council as needed in the month of June.

Approval of Meeting Minutes

Minutes of April 14, 2011 were approved.

Report back on Action Items

Nina gave a summary of the action items that were accomplished and an overview of the

previous meeting. The implementation plan was updated to reflect the Sub-council’s new

priorities, one of which is focused on inter-generational programming. A document was shared

electronically which outlines best practices for implementing intergenerational program.

Arlene Thompson was unable to attend this meeting to provide an update. Nina reported that

Arlene is looking into which libraries have the resources to support a computer

intergenerational program. The program would need to be in branches with portable computer

labs.

The Library was also involved in providing a workshop to its staff about immigrant experiences.

The LMLIP played a role in connecting the library staff to immigrants who were willing to share

their experiences.

Strategic Discussion: Review of Implementation Plan

Mohamed provided a background on the accomplishments of the Settlement Sub-council. In

June we will hear back from Arlene on the Library intergenerational program.

Ayan shared that ACFO de London Sarnia is in the process of adapting and translating

workshop materials which should be ready by the end of the summer.

Family challenges with regards to parenting remains a concern. The group found that there is a

lack of information with regards to what parenting tools are available in the community. The

group discussed that it would be useful to create a list of available parenting tools and groups

that are offered on an ongoing basis. Dania and Jenny shared some of the work that Children’s

Aid Society does in terms of presentations as well as the MAPP (Mutual Aid Parenting Program)

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for English and Spanish Speakers. MAPP is aimed at getting moms and children doing different

activities together while learning about recourses in the community.

ACTION: The Settlement Sub-council will create a list of available parenting tools in the

community to be share on the Immigration Portal.

Wrap-up and Next Meeting

Group will compile parenting tools electronically and meet in June as a sub-group.

ACTION: Nina will send a doodle link schedule a meeting in June.


September 15, 2011

9:30- 11:30 a.m. Kinsmen Recreation Centre

AGENDA


2. Approval of May 18.11 Minutes

3. LMLIP Central Council – Update

4. Review Implementation Plan – Moving forward

5. Reports from Implementation Plan Sub-Committees

6. Other Business

7. Next Meetings:

November 24, 2011

January 19, 2012

March 15, 2012 (Carling Heights Optimist Centre 656 Elizabeth Street) All meetings will take place from 9:30-11:30 a.m. (please note that November and January meetings will be held at Kinsmen Recreation Centre and March meeting will be held at Carling Heights Optimist Centre)

London & Middlesex Local Immigration Partnership

Settlement Sub-council

Thursday September 15, 2011(9:30-11:30 a.m.)

Present: Mohamed Al-Adeimi, Ayan Aden, Dania Ajami, Marel Fielding, Deborah Szelepski,

Kathy Milczarek, Susan Abdalla, Arlene Thompson and Huda Hussein

Regrets: Jill Tansley, Nassisse Solomon, Mayssa Elsayegh, Nancy Santos

Welcome & Introduction

Mohamed welcomed back the group and thanked them for their continued commitment

Approval of Meeting Minutes

Minutes of May 18 2011 reviewed and approved.

LMLIP Central Council Update

Mohamed noted that the Central Council retained the services of a consultant to work on

the Governance model for the LMLIP. Over the summer the consultants have interviewed

members from the Central Council which included the Co-chairs, chairs and project staff

for their input. The model is looking at roles and responsibilities of members, terms of

office, accountability and other related issues to governance. The consultant will present

their draft to Central Council on Monday, September 26, 2011. The Sub-council will be

updated on this at our next meeting in November.

Review of the implementation plan

Mohamed noted that we need to focus on one or two items that we can accomplish by

March 31, 2012 at today’s meeting.

Intergenerational Conflict

Arlene reported that the libraries are exploring on how to make use of the lap tops

available in certain libraries to engage youth and seniors. Volunteers have to go through

certain process and this will take some time to coordinate.

She also reported that based on the feedback from library staff after holding the Journey to

Canada session with three immigrants presenting, the library is exploring of procuring

funds to develop a DVD with immigrants presenting their own experience and make this

available for library staff. The library may look for venues and explore community partners

and post graduate institutions if they can develop this tool as part of their school project.

Immediate access to Information

Mohamed shared with the group that sending information on services in our community is

an ongoing process and that LMLIP staff have been sending these packages to inform and

attract new immigrants to London. Huda noted that LMLIP staff is in the process of sending

new packages and requested members to send in their information by next week.

Family challenge:

Under this priority the group discussed the possibility of developing a collaborative with

community partners to look into issues faced by immigrants such as parenting, accurate

information on existing services and any other need identified by immigrants.

Action: Mohamed (South London New Comer Settlement Services), Dania (Children’s Aid

Society), Deborah, (Cross Cultural Learner Centre), Kathy (LUSO Community Services), Ayan

(ACFO), and Susan (London Employment Help Centre) will join the task group. Mohamed

will connect with Middlesex-London Health Unit to recruit a member for the collaborative.

Develop a document on resources

At the May meeting it was discussed that a document will be developed on existing

resources for families. Huda noted that such documents have been developed by the Child

& Youth Network committees and are out.

Other Business

It was noted that immigrants need information sessions on resources. Group noted that a

number of such sessions take place in our community (i.e., the Wheable Annual Health and

Wellbeing Fair, the South London Community Day, Cross Cultural Learner Centre’s fair at

Western Fair)

Some members requested the time changes for the meeting. Currently we start at 9:30 the

group wants to meet at 9:00.

Action: Huda to check with the City to change the timings of our meeting to ensure

availability of the same venue.

Wrap up:

Mohamed thanked the group and requested that they mark their calendars for the

upcoming meetings listed here.

Next Meetings:

Nov 24 2011

Jan 19, 2012

March 15, 2012


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Agenda

Sub-council: Settlement Sub-council Date and Time: Nov 24, 2011 (9-11 a.m.)

Meeting Location: Kinsmen Recreation Centre

Item Description

1. Chair’s Opening Remarks

2. Adoption of Previous Minutes

3. Additions to Agenda

4. Updates and Actions from Previous Business

a. Central Council

b. Family Settlement Collaborative

c. Access to information / attraction

5. New Business

6. Chair’s Closing Summary and Review of Action Items.

7. Adjourn

8. Next Meetings Location and Date


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London and Middlesex Local Immigration Partnership

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Minutes

Sub-council: Settlement Date and Time: November 24, 2011 (9-11

a.m.)

Meeting Location: Kinsmen Recreation Centre, 20 Granville Street

Present: Mohamed Al-Adeimi, Kathy

Milczarek , Susan Abdula, Ayan Aden,

Dania Ajami, Marel Fielding, Nancy

Santos, Deborah Szelepski, Huda Hussein

Regrets: Mersija Nuric Arlene Thompson, Jill

Tansley

Absent:

Item Description Information, Update,

Action, Lead and Due Date

1. Chair’s Opening Remarks

Mohamed welcomed group and noted that the group’s

year plan is underway.

2. Adoption of Previous Minutes

September 15, 2011 Minutes reviewed. Motion to approve

Minutes as circulated was made by Kathy, seconded by

Dania and approved

3. Additions to Agenda

Mohamed asked group if there is any agenda item they


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would like to bring forward. LMLIP brochures was added

by Deobrah and accepted by Chair

4. Updates and Actions from Previous Business

Central Council:

Mohamed noted that the bulk of the new Terms of Reference

has been approved. He shared the approved amended pieces

of the Terms of Reference for LMLIP which affirmed the roles &

responsibilities, time commitment. He also noted that

composition of Council remains the same; the immigrant

representative will now be referred to a Member at Large. The

role of the Chair and the Vice Chair was noted as well as their

time commitment and attendance. The group will receive a

copy of the amended Terms of Reference once approved in its

entirety. Mohamed noted that a number of Task Groups have

been established (i.e., Advocacy, Outcomes) to look into some

of the overarching themes.

Family Settlement Collaboration

Mohamed and Kathy shared with the group the objective of this

work group is to meet the emerging needs of the new

immigrants in terms of workshops and or information. The

partners on the table are: the four settlement agencies,

Children’s Aid Society, London Employment Help Centre, the

Middlesex London Health Unit. It was decided to invite the

Ontario Early Years Centre and the Police to be part of this

collaborative. The group is drafting its Terms of Reference and

will discuss this in their next meeting scheduled for December

16, 2011.

Access to information/Attraction & Welcome Work Group

New Terms of Reference

will be shared with the

group in the New Year


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Mohamed noted that information on settlement services is

shared with potential immigrants at Pearson International

Airport on a regular basis. To enhance information sharing and

to attract newcomers to London, a group is established from

different sub-councils and Central Council to work on a plan.

The group is composed of Jill Tansley (Settlement), Lauren

Touchant (Central Council), Saleh Al-Athamena (Inclusion &

civic engagement), Nicole Buteau (Settlement) and supported

by LMLIP Project Assistant.

In response to a member’s inquiry about the role of Central

Council in attracting newcomers to London, it was noted that

the work of this group will enhance the attraction and retention

that is being done by our community.

In response to a member’s question on having information on

all committees, it was noted minutes from all Sub-councils are

posted on the Immigration Portal and members are encouraged

to review them.

Any additional information

will be shared by Huda

5. New Business

A member noted that the LMLIP brochures particularly the

Spanish translation, had some agencies’ names

translated into Spanish when names should not be

translated.

Noted for future translation

6. Chairpersons Closing Summary and Review of

Action Items

Mohamed noted that the Family Settlement Collaborative

and the Information/Welcome group will meet in

December and Sub-council will be updated at January’s

meeting. He encouraged everyone to attend January


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meeting. He wished the group happy holidays and

thanked them for their contributions.

7. Adjourn

Meeting was adjourned at 10:45 a.m.

8. Next Meeting Location and Date

January 19, 2012 (9-11 p.m.) at Kinsmen Recreation Centre

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