#1PEI ASSOCIATION FOR NEWCOMERS TO CANADA Annual Report 2020-2021#2President's Message As I wrap up my second year in the role of President of the PEI Association for Newcomers to Canada (PEIANC), it is hard to be- lieve that the majority of my tenure has unfolded in a pandemic world. While the COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly affected and challenged all of us, PEI has fared better than almost any other place in the world due to its unique geography, expert and decisive leadership, and tightknit and caring communities. But while PEI might now be considered an even more attractive destination to study, work, and live, the reality is that immigration to Canada has been severely disrupted and the difficulties that newcomers to PEI regularly encounter, including limited access to housing and health care, have been amplified by the pandemic. It is against this backdrop that the PEIANC has continued to deliver excellent, reliable, and dedicated service to our clients. The varying public health re- strictions have at times altered the ways in which the PEIANC management team and staff do their work, but they have done an outstanding job adapting to these challenging conditions and offering high-quality service while protecting the safety and wellbeing of our clients and the broader community. I would like to sincerely thank our amazing staff and volunteers for their resilience, innovativeness, and steadfast dedication to our clients and the mission of this or- ganization. On this occasion, I would like to express my most heartfelt thanks to Craig Mackie, our departing Executive Director who is retiring after almost 12 years at the helm of the PEIANC. Craig, you have left an indelible mark on this organization and we will miss you. I would also like to thank my fellow Board members for their committed service to this important organization. In the past year, two new members joined our Board - Sandy Irwin and Trung Ngo - while Jolene Chan (Board member 2010-2020) and Shawn Murphy (Board member 2011-2016 and 2018-2021; serving as President 2013-2016) stepped down from their roles after years of dedicated service. Thank you, Jolene and Shawn, for your thoughtful engage- ment, insights, and incredibly valuable contributions to the PEIANC! We are grateful to our funding partners, particularly the Federal and Provincial Governments, and the local community for their continued trust and support. We take pride in our work and will continue to do our part in ensuring that newcomers are able to thrive here and make PEI their home. Tina Saksida#3Executive Director's Message I can say, without fear of contradiction, that was a year like no other. The fiscal year began with all staff working from home as the entire province was under a public health emergency order. Client services, team and staff meetings, board meetings all went online. The staff and volunteers, including the Board of Directors, proved to be flexible and adaptable to these circumstances. The Associa- tion had to quickly adopt new operational protocols around sanitizing, cleaning, masking, physical distancing, etc. We began the fiscal year with an historic five year agreement with IRCC for the provision of settlement and integration services. We also signed five-year agree- ments to provide refugee resettlement (RAP) and to grow our Provincial Immigration Partnership. Also unprecedented was signing a three-year agreement with SkillsPEI. At the end of this fiscal year 2020021, the Province, through the Division of Economic & Population Growth, moved to a three-year agreement. With the support of government and other social service agencies, the Association was able to equip every staff member with a laptop to enable them to work remotely. By the fall, staff began to return to the offices on a limited basis and by the end of the fiscal year, everyone had become comfortable with at least three days in the office and no more than two days working from home. Client services were maintained through video and phone meetings in the early part of the year with limited in person meetings resuming in the autumn of 2020. Our outdoor activities were hugely appreciated by our clients. Our Alternate Careers event moved online and changed from being a one day event to sessions every day for a week. Thanks to the quick work of Goldnet, an online client registration tool was developed and went into service in the spring of 2020, which has meant an overall improvement in our intake process. All three of our language assessors stepped away with concerns for their own health, meaning all language assessments had to be done remotely. We were able to negotiate a process with the Community Colleges of New Brunswick who had both the experience and the technology for remote assessments. We also supported the establishment of a new app for newcomers to PEI called Nuwelcom. Two of the greatest challenges for our clients have been housing and access to healthcare, which unfortunately, we can do little about. Our multicultural festival, DiverseCity, could not be held on the streets with COVID restrictions, so our team came up with the creative solution of recording performances and editing them to be broadcast on Eastlink TV and shared online. The Provincial Immigration Partnership, led by Project Manager Melanie Bailey, undertook two surveys with people in the immigrant community to learn more about their challenges. The results showed significant mental health challenges and justified to the Province the need for funding a second family counsellor. The results of the two surveys were presented, virtually, at two national immigration conferences. Over the course of the year, most staff received professional development and training opportunities including Mental Health First Aid and Trauma Informed Care for Newcomers. And while there were numerous achievements over the course of the year, there were clients and staff who experienced difficulties and challenges. Several staff had to take extended leaves of absence while others moved on to work for the federal government. It was a year like no other and yet we persevered delivering quality support and services. I am thankful for the support from the Board of Directors and from the staff at PEIANC. I am fortu- nate to work with a team of big hearted, creative, problem-solving people. By this time next year, we will be working under a new name: Immigrant & Refugee Services Association (IRSA) PEI. Dankie#4Newcomer Settlement Services For the fiscal year 2020-21, PEIANC welcomed 767 new clients to the province. PEIANC staff performed more than 19,000 interventions with clients on a wide range of issues, including settlement, employment, education, health care, integration, and much more. New PEIANC clients came to Canada from more than 50 different countries. TAKE CARE SAFE POSTCARD All Resettlement Assistant Program (RAP) clients receive information from PEIANC staff about Prince Edward Island and life in Canada on such topics as culture, household finances, Waste Watch, parenting in Canada, nutrition, fire safety, transportation, Canadian law, public education, prenatal care, apartment living, and more. 4#5New Clients Country of Origin % India China 15 Vietnam Hong Kong Phillipines Mexico 4 Nigeria 3 Syria 3 00 8 15 al Interventions Fiscal 2020/21~ 16 7 ALL CEP EAS NSS YSS FAM 19280 21 2012 5232 10308 1119 0 10 5#6New Client Registration Almost immediately after the "work from home" directive took effect, we developed an online client registration portal on our website. This allowed new clients to enter their relevant information and documents and submit them through the website. Settlement staff would receive notification of new client registrations and promptly reach out to arrange an intake appointment, which took the form of a virtual consultation or a telephone conversation. L 8 USERNAME Remember me LOGIN Forgot your password?#7Canadian Life Skills The Canadian Life Skills program provides newly-arrived government-assisted refugees (GARs) with guidance and support as they adjust to life in Canada. The program is delivered during the first 12 months after arrival in Prince Edward Island. The CLS worker visits with families and covers a number of topics with them depending on their specific needs, including education on healthcare, child care services, banking, cooking, local laws, to name a few. The CLS program also offers a series of workshops on a wide variety of subjects open to all newcomers, regardless of their immigration status. 7#8Youth Settlement Services Our Youth Settlement Services team (YSS) worked their magic and created the YSS Connects Program - offered through July and August to replace previous years'summer camps. This program allowed youth to learn, have fun and interact with others while building friendships. Parental feedback was overwhelmingly positive and this new initiative proved to be a tremendous benefit to clients in both cities and rural areas of the province. When word was received that the public school system would be returning to in-person classes in the Fall of 2020, YSS was ready. School orientation sessions were increased and all information shared was in a number of different languages for clients and families. The YSS team ensured that newcomer students entering the PEI public school system were prepared and confident to start their education in Canada. B 7 12 13#9PEIANC's Youth Settlement Services were able to respond quite ably to the changes in programming that arose as a direct result of COVID-19 curtailing many in-person activities. A number of ongoing programs, such as the Girl's Circle, BroZone, and Future Readiness were quickly modified and de- livered virtually to ensure ongoing client engagement. In fact, Future Readiness saw a dramatic in- crease in the number of participants for many of their sessions as the virtual format allowed for more interaction between the youth and presenters and the scheduling was more convenient for clients and their families, resulting in the decision to further deliver the program online to allow for greater youth client involvement.#10Employment Assistance Services PEIANC's Employment Counsellors provide newcom-ers with support in developing their career path in Canada by assessing previous skills, employment and education backgrounds to help clients prepare resumes and cover letters that highlight their indi-vidual skills. Assisting with job searches, interview preparations, identifying post- secondary training, and exploring alternate career options are all part of PEIANC Employment Assistance Services supports. Counsellors offer one-on-one meetings as well as group workshops while connecting clients with networking and mentor- ship opportunities. The Employment Assistance Services (EAS) team immediately recognized the impact the first months of COVID-19 were having on employment and the economy in PEI. The EAS team worked closely with clients who were facing different and difficult em-ployment challenges and barriers while collaborat-ing with employers who were either. struggling to remain open or were looking for an immediate work force.#1105 THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX PEIANC's Employment Counsellors were able to offer the Alternate Careers workshop virtually for the first time in the fall of 2020. Previously, the event had been a one-day session which allowed employers and clients to communi-cate directly with each other. This year, EAS offered 5 online sessions over the course of a week, with each day covering a specific sector, including construction, health care, public service, finance, and more. Employers gave a brief overview of employment opportunities in each sector and clients were able to directly question employers while EAS staff moderated the proceedings. The EAS team were able to quickly adapt to the changing landscape and were successful in quickly moving a num- ber of their employment-based workshops, such as "Canadian Workplace Culture" and "Job Search Techniques", to online platforms to allow for continuity of service delivery. We spent a great deal of time working with clients to access and navigate various provincial and federal employment support programs, including CERB, and developed a number of new contacts which will further enhance staff professional development and client service delivery. 11#12Community Engagement Team PEIANC's Community Engagement Team (CET) incorporates a wide number of events and activities facilitated by staff and volunteers to help foster and develop ongoing community inclusion and integration for newcomers to the country and to the province. With many in-person gatherings being restricted, the Community Engagement Team was quick to respond by organizing a variety of activities for clients while respecting gathering limits and social distancing. Focusing on budget priorities, CET got creative and coined "Fresh Air Fun", an active meet-and-greet for immigrants to beat loneliness and get exercise while. enjoying the stunning island scenery.#13Other Community Engagement programming and events were largely virtual but succeeded in accomplishing the goals of inclusion and integration. One such project was "Annes of the World”. Working with community partners, youth clients were invited to read selections from Anne of Green Gables in a number of languages for "Reading Street", an annual event that promotes reading and literacy. PEIANC were the proud recipients of a Island Heritage Award for the initiative. y M. Montgomery rera storia di An i capelli ros Anne READING TOWN PRESENTS Reading Street A STORYBOOK ADVENTURE ACROSS PEI! October 1st-31st PE WG TD VILLE LECTURE Ana la de Tejas Verdes BONHEUR EM Montgomery Mi 目的 安妮 S LM. MONTGOMERY INNE FRA GRØNNEBAKKEN ANNE FRA GRØNNEBAKKEN KONCERTUFORI Beg og can Anne, dem Enjinakke, withdrde epige لم مونتغمري لي المرتفعات الخضراء 빨간 머리 앤 1448 ANN BOGERNE HOST APERBACK Yuvasız yuvasız Çocuk 13#1414 Community Engagement Team cont. The DiverseCity Festival has grown over the past decade to become the largest multi-cultural festival in the province, attracting more than 20,000 people to the events. As PEIANC was unable to produce an in-person event this year, an alternative presented itself as PEIANC partnered with Eastlink. DiverseCity staff recorded performances throughout the summer, which went on to be broadcasted on Eastlink over two evenings in September. It was a hit, especially for those at-home viewers who were unable to get out to the live events in the past.#15Eastlink live D | V E R S E C - | T Y 15#16Provincial Immigration Partnership PEI's PIP develops and works alongside a province-wide, multi-sectoral network of traditional and non-tra- ditional partners in immigration. This helps increase capacity, improve collaboration, strengthen stakeholder relations, and improve sharing of information and resources between immigrant partners and across their support network. PEI's immigration partners benefit directly from the coordinating and capacity-building function of PIP, while PEI's immigrant population benefits through increased community support. When many newcomer clients showed their stress with ongo- ing changes and challenges due to covid, the Provincial Immi- gration Partnership team released a survey to the newcomer community to get a clearer view on how they were dealing with the situation. The results yielded several actionable items in the areas of healthcare, mental health, employment supports, and more. This survey provided the data and input needed to help determine current and future needs for the growing immi- grant community in PEI. 16#17PIP provides advisory and leadership opportunities for new residents, fosters civic engagement, and seeks to strengthen overall settlement outcomes through collaboration with service providers and municipal and community leaders. This work is enables through partnerships with Municipalities, Immigrant Serving Agencies, Provincial Government (Economic and Population Growth, Office of Im- migration, Island Investment Development Inc., Municipal Affairs, Rural and Regional Development), Federal Government (IRCC, ACOA), and other local, regional, and provincial partners. Partners in Immigration: 294 Newcomer Advisors: 74 Provincial/Municipal Strategy Sessions: 326 Municipal Council & Working Group Sessions: 653 PIP Events & community-led activities: 182 17#1818 Funders & Finance Revenue 2020-2021 2019-2020 Wages and wage levels 2,310,261 2,327,165 Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada - Program Activities 371,525 427,194 1,808,732 1,909,263 Operating Expenses 84,942 74,481 Settlement Website, intranet development, and translation. 68,777 87,391 Immigration, Refugees and Rent 120,482 114,991 248,041 236.693 Citizenship Canada - RAP Client Expenses 69,859 66,155 Immigration, Refugees and Office 3,957 5,913 81,359 84,999 Citizenship Canada - LIP Travel 11,271 32,282 Province of PEI 432,693 417,501 Professional Development 10,782 23,642 Miscellaneous 4,674 5,527 Skills PEI 219,921 217,930 Advertising 777 1,269 Other Revenue (Schedule) 345,432 323,697 Professional fees 2,750 2,700 Total 3,136,176 Amortization 3,190,083 7,359 4,051 In addition to our primary service funding, PEIANC applies for and receives other funding. to suit ad-ditional client needs or special projects for com-munity engagement, youth programming, and more. PEIANC employed more than 38 full-time and 4 contract or short term positions as well as more than 55 contractors to provide language- based services.#193 Points Aviation ARAISA Aspin Kemp & Associates Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) Atlantic Lottery Corporation Canadian Association for Advancement of Women in Sport Carrefour de l'Isle-Saint_jean CBDC West Prince Ventures Limited CHANCE Family Resource Center Charlottetown City Police Charlottetown Farmer's Market City of Charlottetown City of Summerside Community Legal Information Association (CLIA) Confederation Centre of the Arts Construction Association of PEI Cooperative d'integration francophone de l'I.P.E. (CIF) Cornerstone Baptist Church Diocese of Charlottetown Eastern Chamber of Commerce Efficiency PEI Engineers PEI Family Service PEI Family Violence Prevention Greater Charlottetown Area Chamber of Commerce THANK YOU Community Partners: Greater Summerside Chamber of Commerce Health PEI Holland College lon Optical Consulting ISANS Immigrant Services Island Storm Jumpstart (Canadian Tire) KidSport PEI Kinsmen Maple Leaf Curling Inc. Maritime Electric Markham Centre Financial Parks Canada PEI Business Women's Association PEI Career Development Association PEI Connectors PEI Human Rights Commission PEI International Business Centre PEI Literacy Alliance PEI Public School Branch Provincial Credit Union Provincial Public Library Service Public Health RBC Foundation RBC Royal Bank of Canada RCMP of Prince Edward Island Rural Action Centres Sadat's Cuisine Smart ECom Sobeys, Inc. Social Services and Seniors St Paul's Anglican Church Starshot Stratford Community Garden Tennis PEI The Rotary Club of Charlottetown Tourism Industry Association PEI (TIAPEI) Town of Alberton Town of Cornwall Town of Montague Town of O'leary Town of Souris Town of Stratford Town of Three Rivers Township Buick Trinity United Church United Way of PEI UPEI UPEI International Student Office Wake Up Dance Studio Women's Network PEI 19#20Community Parnters cont. Financial Contributors, Partnerships, and Other Beneficiaries: Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) Skills PEI PEI Department of Workforce and Advanced Learning Employment and Social Development Canada Canadian Heritage Government of PEI#2121