PEIANC Community Engagement and Employment Workshops
Executive 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.
DankieView entire presentation