OCASI in partnership with Toronto North and Toronto SouthWest Local Immigration Partnership is pleased to invite you to a hybrid event:
Systemic Barriers in Employment and Mental Health for Newcomers in Canada
About this Event
This full-day hybrid event introduces participants to the various systemic barriers faced by both service providers and clients in the settlement sector, and its impact on their mental health and well-being. The event will also examine the challenges posed by the Canadian employment system and present strategies for fostering empathy, compassion, and resilience. Participants will gain insights into critical self-care, community care, and approaches to empower themselves and their clients to navigate and build resilience against systemic barriers.
Session 1: Understanding Systemic Barriers in Employment and Mental Health
This session examines how overlapping systems of oppression affect newcomers’ employment and mental health. It introduces key concepts like interlocking oppressions and explores issues such as “Canadian experience” bias, credential barriers, and precarious work, encouraging participants to reflect on their own practice.
Speaker:
Srna Stambuk (she/her), Manager, North East Toronto Local Immigration Partnership - NETLIP
Session 2: Recognizing and Responding to Burnout in the Settlement Sector
This session explores how systemic barriers like racism, capitalism, immigration status, and workplace culture affect both clients and service providers. Using research, storytelling, and reflection, it affirms lived experiences, highlights burnout, and offers ways to respond at personal, organizational, and collective levels.
Speakers:
Reuben Hodari Clarke (He/They), Community Coordinator, Anti-Racism | Toronto SouthWest Local Immigration Partnership|National LIP Secretariat
Aiza Khan (She/Her), Community Coordinator, Toronto South West Local Immigration Partnership (TSWLIP)
Session 3: Promoting Self-Advocacy in Workers' Rights
This session offers practical tools to help service providers support newcomers in understanding their workplace rights and building self-advocacy skills. It covers key protections, referral resources like the Workers’ Action Centre, and introduces the Decent Work framework to promote fairness and dignity at work.
Speaker:
Milan Nadarajah (He/Him), Organizer, Workers' Action Centre.
Session 4: The Social Determinants of Settlement: Promoting Mental Health in Practice
This session shares strategies for embedding mental health into immigrant and refugee-serving organizations. Using case studies and frontline insights, it explores how to address social determinants like employment, language, and isolation. Participants will learn how to support client and staff mental health, tackle systemic barriers, and integrate wellness into daily practice.
Speakers:
Bita Hedayati (She/Her), MA, RP | Mental Health Coordinator | Mennonite New Life Centre (MNLC)
Marla Marquez (She/Her), RP | Mental Health Coordinator | Mennonite New Life Centre (MNLC)
Caley Cross (She/Her), MSW | MHP Project Coordinator | OCASI
ASL English/Interpreters Provided
If you have any questions, please contact Tarana Sultan at: tsultan@ocasi.org