Say Yes to Youth : May 27th
Author: FCJ Refugee Centre
RAD info sessions calendar
RAD information sessions will provide the Appellant with a FREE opportunity to be better prepared for the presentation of their appeal before the RAD.
Rejected refugees will learn the steps to follow and how to document your appeal before the Refugee Appeal Division (RAD)
Frequent questions:
Am I eligible to appeal?
Where should I go if I want to appeal?
Who can help me to prepare an appeal?
Learn:
•What you need to do to appeal your negative decision?
•The documents you need for your appeal
•What happens during an appeal to the RAD?
The RAD sessions are supported by The Law Foundation of Ontario.
A conversation around feminicide and gender-based violence April 9
BREAKING THE SILENCE: A CONVERSATION AROUND FEMINICIDE AND GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE
Breaking the Silence is a documentary that shows the violence that women are continuously facing, specifically in El Salvador. FCJ Refugee Centre was happy to release this documentary as a resource to create awareness about this situation around the world. The video will be available soon.
To know more information about this reality please check the following article published by UN Women: Femicide in Latin America
Femicide in Latin America
Every time the body of a dead woman appeared, at least four families would come to see whether or not it was their loved one. The problem was much greater than we realized,” recalls Silvia Juárez, Coordinator of the Programme for a Life Free from Violence for Women, of the Organization of Salvadoran Women for Peace (ORMUSA, Organización de Mujeres Salvadoreñas por la Paz).
Supported by UN Women and others, ORMUSA is one of the many organizations of the Feminist Network against Violence towards Women, which advocated for the Special Integrated Law for a Life Free of Violence against Women in El Salvador, which came into effect on 1 January 2012.
El Salvador is in fact the country with the highest murder rate of women in the world [2]. However, with its legislation that also outlaws femicide, the country is among the most recent to join the fight to confront this type of violence in Central America – along with M (To rear the complete article click here)
Gerson Peña, documentary producer with Loly Rico (Co-director FCJ Refigee Centre) and Jessica Morales Molina (FCJ Refugee Centre Board member)
Gerson Peña and friends sharing after the documentary screening on April 9th
Forum: Building Community Support for LGBTQ+ People in Forced Labor (aka Human Trafficking)
Save the date! April 28
FCJ Refugee Centre is organizing the Forum:
Building Community Support for LGBTQ+ People in Forced Labor (aka Human Trafficking)
Join FCJ Refugee Centre and other organizations to a forum to increase the dialogue around forced labor/human trafficking as it affects members of the LGBTQ+ Community both locally and globally.
The Forum aims to bring together key stakeholders to identify issues within this unique intersection and work collaboratively to begin to fill in service gaps.
Agenda
Registration click here
Contact information: Varka Kalaydzhieva
E mail: varka@fcjrefugeecentre.org
International Women’s Day
TORONTO, March 4, 2015 /CNW/ – Thousands of women will march through the downtown streets on Saturday March 7 in North America’s largest International Women’s Day demonstration.
Organized by a coalition of community, students and labour and sponsored by Women Working with Immigrant Women, this year’s theme is “Our Bodies, Our Territories, Our Communities” and organized in solidarity with World March of Women events taking place across Canada.
Speakers will address the crisis of murdered and missing Aboriginal women, sexual violence and racial injustice. In addition, striking university workers will speak about the problems with precarious work and the need for good jobs for all.
Winter Newsletter 2015
Opening doors: How Toronto supports needy newcomers
Nearly half of all Torontonians are immigrants. Many rely on grassroots settlement programs to help them get back on their feet after fleeing trauma.
For those serving them, it’s not just a job, but a way of life and an experience they may have lived themselves.
Dance imitates life in class aimed at helping migrant youth cope with challenges
The dance hall looks nothing like a professional studio — there are no hardwood sprung floors or wall-to-wall mirrors.
But nothing can dampen the enthusiasm and determination of these youthful dancers — many of whom have come to Canada on their own, without documents — to express their inner feelings and explore their passion for any dance form, from hip hop to salsa, dancehall, traditional African, jazz and break-dance. […]
Mohsen: A teenager on the run, dreaming of Canada
The first time I saw Mohsen, he was taking a shower in the middle of a concrete courtyard at an abandoned factory.
Dressed in a bathing suit and flip flops, the 15-year-old was scrubbing his hair underneath the cold, clear water that ran from a long garden hose held up on a pole. What struck me was how young he looked — and how much he resembled my own teenage son.
Mohsen lives illegally in a factory with dozens of other male teens. All the boys have fled Afghanistan. They are on their own, trying to illegally cross through Europe to get to Germany, Sweden or France, countries where they believe they’ll find a better life. […]
Tours help refugee claimants navigate asylum hearings
On a recent Thursday, 11 asylum seekers streamed into Hearing Room 9 on the fourth floor of the Immigration and Refugee Board’s Toronto headquarters on Victoria St. But not to have their cases heard.
Instead, pen and notepaper ready, the claimants from nine countries paid careful attention to “tour guide” Dan Crawford, as he offered tips that could mean a lot to the success of their asylum claims. […]
RAD info session March 12
RAD information sessions will provide the Appellant with a FREE opportunity to be better prepared for the presentation of their appeal before the RAD. Rejected refugees will learn the steps to follow and how to document your appeal before the Refugee Appeal Division (RAD). RAD info-sessions are hosted by the Coalition of Service Providers for Refugee Claimants in Southern Ontario in partnership with the Refugee Appeal Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada.
REGISTRATION FORM
REGISTRATION: To register for the next RAD, please fill out the REGISTRATION FORM below and when you finish submit it to Carolina Teves: cteves@fcjrefugeecentre.org
We will contact you to confirm your registration. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us.
REGISTRATION FORM RAD INFO-SESSION
READY Tour orientation for refugee hearing on March 5th 2015
READY TOUR Ready Tour provides Refugee Claimants with a FREE opportunity to be better prepared for their hearing, see a hearing room, learn what happens at the hearing, and ask questions about the process.
Date: March 5th , 2015
Time: 1:30 pm
Place: 74 Victoria St
To confirm registration please contact Carolina Teves at info@readytour.ca
FREE PROGRAM FOR REFUGEE CLAIMANTS
For registration and more information please visit readytour.ca
Flu Shot at FCJ Refugee Centre
On November 22nd the FCJ Refugee Center will be giving out flu shots to anyone who’s interested in getting one.
Location: 208 Oakwood Ave. Toronto
Date: Saturday November 22nd
Time: from 10:00 am to 2:00pm
We cannot leave anyone behind
This is a call to include all people with precarious immigration status in all emergency benefits and measures for housing, health services, education, employment and income support during the present health crisis.
There has been a significant response to support Canadians. The Canadian Government’s Economic Response Plan was implemented to support workers and businesses facing unprecedented challenges – including those not eligible for the Employment Insurance (EI) program and those without paid sick leave. While we applaud these supports, there are glaring gaps. People who fall between the cracks are some of our most vulnerable community members.
Many marginalized and oppressed people who walk through the doors at Refugee and Migrant support centres across the country, find themselves in need of support. Now, in light of COVID-19, the situation for these communities is increasingly unbearable.
Most migrant workers, refugees (claimants and rejected claimants) and non-status individuals are ineligible to apply for current supports. They do not qualify for EI and Canadian Revenue Agency managed programs. Often, they are paid at minimum wage, some even below. International students are already restricted to the number of hours they can work per week, limiting their access to EI.
More than 30 community organizations and groups in Ontario endorsed an Open Letter in Solidarity with Migrant Workers, Non-Status individuals and their families as community workers, organizers, volunteers, teachers, students and residents of Ontario, Canada.
In unique times like this, Canadians must come together and not leave anyone behind.\
To read the complete letter:
Newcomer Settlement Program
Over the years, the FCJ Refugee Centre has become a leading expert on issues that affect the settlement sector and help improving services for vulnerable newcomer populations experiencing multiple barriers!
Through the Newcomer Settlement Program workshops, FCJ Refugee Centre addresses the current need for training opportunities for various sectors : settlement organizations, community groups, students, front line workers, etc.
OBJECTIVES:
-Address the multiple settlement needs of vulnerable newcomer populations experiencing multiple barriers
-Equip vulnerable newcomers with the information and tools necessary to successfully navigate legal and immigration processes
-Connect newcomer populations with pertinent and up-to-date resources and information to ease their settlement and transition processes.
This program is made possible by the generosity of:
Immigration is again tackling refugee claimants through Provisions in Bill C-43
Refugee advocates say the federal government’s omnibus bill includes potentially devastating changes to how Canada supports refugees and refugee claimants worry they could lose access to social assistance.
“Immigration is again tackling refugee claimants through a new omnibus bill” said Loly Rico, co-director of FCJ Refugee Centre to CBC Radio. Loly Rico was interview about the federal government’s omnibus bill that includes potentially devastating changes to how Canada supports refugees.
Provisions in Bill C-43 would allow provinces to impose residency requirements for access to social assistance for refugee claimants and other people without permanent status in Canada.
To hear the interview click here.
Summer Newsletter 2014
Get more information about the new programs, services and events at FCJ Refugee Centre !
Annual Report 2013
FCJ Refugee Centre is pleased to introduce its Annual Report 2013, which reviews all the program activities implemented through 2013.
Spring Newsletter 2014
Get more information about the new programs, services and summer events at FCJ Refugee Centre !
Click here to see our Spring Newsletter
Refugee Update
Refugee Update issue #79 is ready!!! Some of the topics you can find in this issue are the following:
- From: Strengthening citizenship or weakening democracy?
- From Kismayo to Canada: supporting older adults to age with dignity in their own homes.
- Building Collaboration to Combat Human Trafficking: Summary report on the Roundtables
- 2014 Youth Action Gathering
- The tradition and the contradiction: fighting to stay with his Canadian family
Click here to read more!
