OCISO Newcomer News - May/June 2020 

Message from Karyn Steer,
Interim Executive Director

Dear friends,

We hope that you, your family and friends are staying safe and healthy.

The past two weeks have been highly emotional and the call to action against Anti-Black Racism is touching everyone. Our entire community, our colleagues and our neighbourhoods are speaking out and mobilizing. This is an important time for us to stand in solidarity with the members of our Black communities across Canada and there is a powerful call to action to finally deliver change.

At OCISO we stand in solidarity against all forms of racism, discrimination and injustice, we strongly believe that everyone deserves to live in a safe environment that is free of harassment and discrimination.  We must work together to eliminate systemic racism in our community and our country and at OCISO we will continue to be part of that change.

We at OCISO are listening and reflecting on this deeply, we are examining our approaches and our continued commitment to understand all inequities, and in this moment most importantly, Anti-Black Racism. 

It has been 12 weeks since the closure of OCISO offices and we have pivoted all of our services to be delivered remotely, either by phone or online. Our team has shown incredible initiative and resilience, in reaching out to all of our clients to let them know that they are not alone in these turbulent and unsettling times.

In times like these, it’s also inspiring to see our community’s generosity. Our flagship annual fundraising event, Run for a New Start, suffered a major setback when Ottawa Race Weekend was cancelled. In spite of this, there were a handful of fundraisers: including David Rain, Elizabeth Gluckstal and our Board Members who continued to fundraise through virtual runs.

Until September 7th, you can still sign up to participate virtually and fundraise for our mental health programs here.

Our donors also gave through Giving Tuesday on May 5th, and you can read about a generous donation to the Marion Dewar Scholarship Fund from the Vietnamese community in this newsletter. We send a warm thank you to everyone who has stepped up to donate during these difficult times!

We are working hard on our resumption plan to ensure that when we are given the green light to reopen our offices by the authorities, our employees and clients will return to a safe and healthy environment.  With the recent announcement that face-to-face clinical counselling sessions can recommence, we anticipate in person sessions will be available shortly.    

We send good wishes to all of you, as we continue to build a stronger community and embrace diversity.

Best wishes,

Karyn Steer
Interim Executive Director, OCISO

The New Reality, the Same Caring

For the first time in her career, Maryana St. Hilaire is working from home. She is one of eight OCISO clinical counsellors who because of the COVID-19 pandemic began working remotely on March 16. 

Mentee Profile: Mojtaba Omran

OCISO’s diverse mentorship programs facilitate over 600 mentorship matches every year to support internationally educated professionals to obtain employment in their field. Motjaba recently exited to employment in his field. Congratulations Motjaba! Thanks to his mentor!

Recruiting Members for OCISO’s Board of Directors

We are pleased to announce that we are seeking volunteers from the Ottawa region to serve on the OCISO Board of Directors. The deadline to apply is June 26, 2020.

New directors will be appointed at OCISO’s AGM on October 22, 2020.  More details on the requirements and the application process can be found on our website.

YOCISO Delivers Food to Client Families through Operation Ramzieh

When Schnael François started as a Youth Facilitator at YOCISO in March 2020, he quickly realized that some clients’ families were at great risk because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of these families already had struggles as newcomers to Canada and were further isolated because of the pandemic.

Vietnamese Community Honours Marion Dewar’s Legacy

On April 29, 2020, a special Zoom call took place to recognize a generous donation of $6,000 from the Vietnamese Canadian Centre to the Marion Dewar Scholarship Fund (MDSF). 

Future editions of OCISO Newcomer News

If you have suggestions for news items or stories that might be highlighted in future editions of this newsletter, please contact Suzanne Charest at scharest@ociso.org.

Thanks for making newcomers to Ottawa feel welcome!