Sponsorship Resources This website is full of resources for you! We hope
this site will be of great benefit to you as you prepare to welcome newcomers
into your community. Share this website with your sponsorship group,
so everyone can take time to read through the resources listed below. ** Resources that we
have identified as especially important have been identified with two
asterisks ** |
Table of Contents 1. After Application Submission
2. BVOR Sponsorship
3. Pre-Arrival
Sponsor Preparation
·
Sponsorship Group
Training and Preparation Tools ·
Managing Expectations and Cultural Awareness · Public Relations – MCC Guidelines ·
VIDEO:
How to Use MyBackCheck 4. Settlement
Resources
· Refugee Source Country Specific Information · Knowing Your Rights in Canada · Understanding Different Religious Practices · Refugee
Sponsorship and Social Inclusion 5. Finance Responsibilities and Tools
· VIDEO: Cost of Sponsorship – Using the Financial
Calculator ·
Tax Information - Newcomers to Canada 6. Housing Resources
7. Education/ESL and Employment Related Resources
·
Digital Literacy Resources ·
Employment/Credential
Equivalency Supports 8. Health Related Resources
·
Interim Federal
Health Program ·
Trauma and Mental
Health Support 9. Indigenous
Neighbours Resources
10.
Recreational Resources
11.
Month 13 Planning
12. Refugees I know left behind – How can they come to
Canada?
13. Advocacy
|
The Sponsorship Process – Chapter 6 in RSTP’s Sponsorship Handbook |
IRCC YouTube Video – “A
Refugee’s Resettlement Journey to Canada”. (available in multiple
languages) |
Preparing for the Interview – translated resources |
|
2.
Blended Visa Office Referred (BVOR) Sponsorship
|
What is the BVOR Program?
|
|
3.
Pre-Arrival Sponsor Preparation
|
· Sponsorship Group Training and Preparation Tools
|
Preparing
for Settlement – a Check List – use this to guide you during the first few days
and weeks |
** RSTP’s COVID-19 Travel Resumption
Resource Kit for Sponsors – a
guide to welcoming newcomers during covid19 |
** RSTP Handbook for Sponsoring
Groups – see Chapter 7 to start |
** Sponsorship Best Practices – compilation
of the best practices identified from MCC’s experience and the feedback of
our sponsors |
Committee Roles –
Template –
a guide to lead conversation
around roles within a sponsorship group |
Model Code of Ethics for
Groups Involved in the Private Sponsorship of Refugees – from Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR) |
MCCO Orientation for Newly Arrived
Newcomers – tool for sponsor use during initial orientation
conversation with the newcomer family during their first week in Canada. |
|
|
·
Public Relations – MCC Guidelines
|
4.
Settlement Resources
|
·
Settlement Agency Supports
|
Settlement.Org
Website - Search to find the settlement supporting agencies available near you! |
Understanding Roles and Responsibilities
of Settlement Workers and Sponsors – details the role that a settlement worker can play in supporting
newcomers |
|
·
Refugee Source Country Specific Information
|
RSTP’s Country Condition Information
|
UNHCR’s
Ref World – visit for the most up to date
refugee source country condition reports. |
·
Knowing
Your Rights in Canada
|
Your Rights as a Privately Sponsored
Refugee - resources available in multiple languages |
Discover
Canada – The Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship |
·
Understanding Different Religious Practices
|
·
Refugee Sponsorship
and Social Inclusion
|
Refugee
Newcomer Sponsorship and Social Inclusion: A Learning Resource |
|
Resettlement Assistance Program (RAP) Rates - Click
here for the information page
about RAP Rates and to access the Rate Page. Then click on the link for
Ontario on the right side of the webpage |
Ontario Electricity Support Program - The OESP is an Ontario Energy
Board (OEB) program that lowers electricity bills for lower-income households |
Financial
Guidelines - Refugee Newcomers Earning Employment Income |
Sample monthly budget: - Sample Monthly Budget.docx |
Tax Information – Newcomers to Canada |
All newcomers must file
for taxes. |
Income
Tax: ·
List of Free Tax Preparation Clinics: here ·
Newcomers to Canada: T4055 is a pamphlet produced by CRA specifically as a resource for
newcomers filing taxes. Available in html and pdf formats: here |
GST/HST Credit - Application and Eligibility: information concerning
eligibility and application for GST rebates. |
Canada
Child Benefit: CCB Calculator |
·
Transportation Loan
|
Money Management tools for sponsors and
newcomers
|
Each One, Teach One – National program of 60-90 min workshops
delivered by credit union employee volunteers. It specifically has no sales
or advice as part of the program. It is all about literacy and meeting people
where they are at with information. |
Financial literacy database – Created
and compiled by the financial consumer agency of Canada |
Let’s
Talk Budget! - a simple infographic flow chart to use with Newcomers to explain how
much, from whom, where, etc. |
|
Read about
the laws that affect tenants and landlords in Ontario |
CLEO
- Landlord & Tenant Law - Find clear language
publications on the rights of tenants in rental housing. |
7. Education/ESL and Employment Resources
|
Education and ESL Resources
|
Digital
Literacy Resources
|
Digital
Literacy – YouTube Videos (multiple languages)
|
Employment/Credential
Equivalency Supports
|
ICAS
– International Credential Assessment
Service of Canada. ICAS provides reports that help employers, education institutions,
immigration officials and community agencies understand the education
newcomers completed outside Canada. |
World Education Services – Services
available to immigrants and refugees from Afghanistan,
Eritrea, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Ukraine, or Venezuela looking to evaluate their international education. WES works through
referral agencies across Canada – a list of those agencies will be found at
the bottom of the hyperlinked page. If there is no referral agency listed
near you, contact Beatrice Kohlenberg at bkohlenberg@wes.org
to access services. |
Employment Search Supports for Newcomers ·
Employment
Service Agencies – newcomers can access these services for
FREE. Visit: o https://settlement.org/findhelp/ontario/ or o http://feat.findhelp.ca/eng/search.php ·
Jumpstart Refugee Talent - They
facilitate the entry of newcomers into the job market. Based in Toronto, ON ·
Helping Newcomers Work – Support for Canadians helping
refugee and other newcomers find the best work possible. |
8.
Health Information –
Includes Trauma, Mental Health and Domestic Violence Resources
|
Interim Federal Health Program
|
Interim
Federal Healthcare Program (IFHP) Coverage Summary - All sponsored refugees are eligible to receive health
coverage under the Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP). Upon arrival at the
airport, they receive an IFHP Certificate of eligibility. IFHP provides basic
coverage until provincial health care coverage is in place, up to a maximum
of three months.
|
IFHP
Dental Benefit Grid
|
Interpretation
for Medical Appointments - (Waterloo Region)
|
Healthy Smiles – Free dental
care for children 17 and younger
|
Back
to the top
|
Trauma Support and Resources
|
The
Refugee Mental Health Toolkit
|
Supporting Refugee Mental Health Video
|
Trauma:
The Science of How Our Minds and Our Bodies Converge in the Healing of Trauma
– an article on Trauma |
Men
facing crisis and displacement -
self-help booklet |
Best Start Resource Centre has a
section for resources in other languages. At the bottom of that section,
additional resources from other organizations are linked, by languages. |
Domestic Violence Resources
|
Handling
the Disclosure of Domestic Violence or a Marital Breakdown |
Steps to take when a
client discloses Intimate Partner Violence
Vanessa Wright, Nurse Practitioner, The Crossroads
Clinic. Further information can be found here
– Nov 2018
Immigrant and Refugee Mental Health Newsletter |
Abuse
Is Wrong in Any Language- A helpful booklet that
will bring an understanding to different types of abuse |
Domestic
Abuse - a booklet for immigrant women who are suffering
from abuse *Available in
many languages |
Domestic
Violence and Legal Supports – Information from Legal Aid Ontario |
VIDEO RESOURCE: Domestic Violence:
Handling a Disclosure of Domestic Violence |
Victims of Domestic
Violence, Sexual Violence, or Trafficking – free
interpretation |
9.
Indigenous Neighbours Resources
|
Information
for Newcomers to Canada: Truth and Reconciliation
|
|
10. Recreational Resources
|
Jumpstart Canadian Tire – offers individual grants up to $300 to help
children access recreational activities |
Check
out your local city recreation centres and YMCA for subsidy programs |
11.
Month 13 Planning
|
|
12. Refugees Left Behind – How can they
come to Canada?
|
How do I sponsor a refugee that
I know overseas? This is what MCC calls a
Named Sponsorship. · MCC
Sponsorship FAQ Guide in English · MCC Sponsorship FAQ Guide in Arabic |
Red
Cross: Restoring Family Links Program - If you are looking for a family member overseas
and would like us to help, please contact us. https://www.redcross.ca/crc/documents/RestoringFamilyLinks_Poster.pdf |
|
13. Advocacy
|
June 20 - World Refugee Day |
April 4
– Canada’s Refugee Rights
Day |
MCC’s Peacebuilding to Address Forced Migration
Campaign – tool to take action by writing your local MP |
CCR Campaign
– Protecting Refugees =
Stronger Communities |
CCR’s Better Together Conversations Guide
– practical tools to help you have
conversations with the people in your world about refugees |
#Immigration Matters – IRCC’s website with stories and statistics on
immigration to Canada |