Parent Workshops
MRCSSI developed and facilitated 18 interactive workshops for newcomer adults and parents, engaging a total of 79 unique individuals. These workshops were offered in Arabic and delivered in collaboration with the Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) and community partners such as London Cross Cultural Learner’s Centre and LUSO Community Services. The workshops provided spaces for exploring themes like parenting in a new country, navigating integration challenges, and practicing self-care. According to parent feedback, the sessions addressed topics relevant to their lives, helped foster connections with schools, community agencies, and peers, supported their sense of wellbeing, and offered helpful information and practical strategies.

The post Supporting Children, Youth, and Parents appeared first on MRCSSI.

Eagle Heights Public School has 8 JK and SK classrooms with a high number of newcomer students in each class. The Family Visit process was modelled after best practice guidelines put forth by family engagement expert Dr. Debbie Pushor. Throughout October 2018, teachers and Early Childhood Educators from each of the 8 JK and SK classrooms visited 3 students and their parents.

In total, 18 JK/SK educators visited 24 families at home together with staff of MRCSSI, who served as cultural brokers and interpreters.

The Family Visit process positively impacted everyone involved. The Family Visits opened up opportunities for parents and educators to interact with one another outside of the classroom setting in an informal manner, inviting new conversations and pathways for relationship building. The positive relationship dynamics that were seeded within the family visit strengthened educator/student and educator/parent relationships and interactions at school.

This project demonstrates how educators/schools, families and community agencies can, and need to, work together in order to support newcomer children in their resilience and success.

The post Forward Together – Family Visits appeared first on MRCSSI.

Supporting Her Safety equips participants with the knowledge and skills to:

• Understand the difference between healthy, unhealthy, conflictual and abusive relationships
• Recognize different forms of abuse and warning signs
• Challenge harmful norms & responses
• Support a friend or loved one experiencing abuse using the 5 Alifs, a trauma and culturally informed guide

After attending the program: I became more focused on the warning signs and red flags of domestic abuse, and I became able to distinguish and extend a helping hand and support to victims of abuse.

SHS Participant

SHS Resources

We created 3 resources providing guidance on how to support a friend or loved one experiencing abuse while taking care of yourself.

• Being there: Checking in on a loved one experiencing abuse
• The 5 Alifs: Supporting a loved one who discloses abuse
• Taking care of yourself: Balancing care and self-care while supporting a loved one experiencing abuse

Amira’s Story

Amira’s Story is a graphic novel written by over 20 London Muslimahs about gender-based and family violence, which was 7+ years in the making. It follows Amira and her family over two days and highlights themes of gendered double standards, the pressure and violence some young Muslim daughters face and the struggles of immigrant and racialized families. The book is in the process of being published, and book clubs with youth, parents and community members will start soon.

Is it Abuse?

The Is it Abuse series of 6 culturally informed resources supporting Muslim women and girls to identify their experiences of abuse within intimate partner and family relationships. These resources help Muslim women & girls identify experiences of abuse, validate impacts of abuse, and provide them with information about the supports they can access. We have created:

• 6 short graphic poster versions (digital and print)
• 6 detailed booklet versions (digital and print)

The post Supporting Her Safety (SHS) appeared first on MRCSSI.

The post Not In Our Backyard (NIOB) appeared first on MRCSSI.

Men Leading Change is a 12-week youth leadership program that connects racialized and newcomer men (ages 15 – 25) with community leaders working to prevent gender-based violence (GBV). This project fits into MRCSSI’s community education strategy addressing gender-based violence and promoting healthy relationships by facilitating opportunities leadership and action.

This leadership program creates opportunities for young men to learn about gender-based violence and it’s impacts on girls and women, as well as develop strategies to further raise awareness with peers. This project started in the fall of 2018. Anova and MRCSSI reached out to the YMCA YMAP program to host a cohort. In October 2018, the first cohort reached 23 high-school aged newcomer male youth, with 13 participants actively attending each week.

The post Young Men Leading Change appeared first on MRCSSI.