Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

Search Results

You searched for: -

There are 42 results  for your search.  View and Refine Your Search Terms

  • Community Ambassadors Are the Link to Toronto's Unvaccinated Populations

    Toronto’s Vaccine Engagement Teams Grant has awarded $5.5 million to community organizations in 140 neighborhoods to hire and train local ambassadors for vaccine outreach. Because the ambassadors share a lived experience with the communities, they can effectively identify the barriers people face. The on-the-ground effort includes sharing information, advocating for community needs, and helping people access services. The outreach focuses on people often overlooked by government services, such as unhoused people and people who do not speak English or have precarious immigration status.

    Read More

  • Getting Vaccinated in the Holy Month

    The Neighbourhood Organization has helped organized pop-up clinics to administer the COVID-19 vaccine, including a culturally inclusive pop-up clinic in Thorncliffe Park, which has a large Muslim population. The vaccine rollout occurred during Ramadan and some had concerns over whether the vaccine was halal or if it would break one’s fast. As a workaround, organizers decided to extend the clinic until midnight so that people could come after they completed their fasting. Community ambassadors helped spread the word and the well-attended clinic ended up running until after 1:00 am.

    Read More

  • How a US strategy is helping gang members in Malmö turn their lives around

    When drug-gang violence reached intolerable levels in Malmö in 2017, Swedish crime prevention officials traveled to New York for tips. There they learned about a gang violence intervention strategy in which gang members are summoned to a meeting with law enforcement, community, and social-services representatives. They are told about the harm they are causing, are offered help in changing their lifestyle, and are warned that they will be prosecuted otherwise. In Malmö since then, hundreds heard that message, dozens accepted the help, and violence dropped significantly year after year.

    Read More

  • Could cooperatives be the key to regularization for migrant street vendors in Barcelona?

    Known locally as manteros, street vendors in Barcelona, Spain, organized and created a union called Diomcoop. The union offers full-time contracts to the vendors, which are difficult to obtain, and which allows them to legally sell on the streets. The contracts are a vital path to enter the conventional labor market.

    Read More

  • How a Danish trade union is empowering migrant construction workers to demand equal rights

    A Danish trade union has integrated migrant construction workers by overcoming language and cultural barriers. The move has led to better working conditions, equal pay, healthcare, and housing for migrant workers - all of which also helps them integrate better into Danish society. Accommodating migrant workers on Danish construction sites has also solved the problem of surplus labor which was negatively impacting the union’s ability to negotiate with company bosses.

    Read More

  • What has Germany done to inform and protect asylum seekers in the Covid-19 pandemic?

    When the coronavirus pandemic caused Germany to enter a period of lockdown, German authorities embarked on an effort to launch multilingual campaigns to make sure asylum seekers in the country had the information necessary to stay safe. The effort used podcasts, videocasts, and posters to disseminate information, and also relied on trusted community figures and NGOs to spread awareness, rather than the authories themselves.

    Read More

  • 'We stopped being afraid to meet local people': The Czech lunches that connect families

    Migrants and native Czechs are breaking bread together in an initiative designed to promote tolerance. Next Door Family connects locals with migrants who seek a sense of belonging and security in their new homes. Over 40 percent of families met up again on their own. The project was also implemented in several other European countries.

    Read More

  • Hack Your Future, Belgium's coding school for refugees

    Hack your Future Belgium offers free IT training to migrants to help fill the country’s worker shortage in that sector and help newcomers gain skills and find work. Most participants are asylum seekers or refugees and all of the teachers are volunteers. Classes for the eight-month program are in English and held on weekends to be inclusive of those with other obligations. No previous IT knowledge or personal equipment is required, but selection is based on motivation and language skills. Students receive substantial coaching and support and about 85% have found an internship, job, or went back to school.

    Read More

  • Creating safer spaces for LGBTQ migrants of colour in Bremen

    Queeraspora was founded in Bremen as a safe space for immigrant and refugee LGBTQ+ people to find social and emotional support, as well as access to information. Around twenty people make up the nucleus of the group, and they come from all over the world including Turkey, Taiwan, India, Bosnia, and South America. The meetings focus on personal empowerment, as well as political organizing and educational workshops. The mix of social and educational activities provides a network for people who experience homophobia among refugee and migrant communities and racism among mainstream LGBTQ+ communities.

    Read More

  • ‘From queer to queer': How locals are supporting LGBTQ asylum seekers in Denmark

    LGBT Asylum’s trained volunteers have provided emotional support to over 400 LGBT+ asylum applicants, also preparing them for the procedural process, such as the questions they will be asked and how long it will take. LGBT+ applicants have to prove their sexual orientation and the danger they face in their home countries because of it, which is emotionally triggering. The all-LGBT+ volunteers are able to relate on some commonalities, which can make it easier for the asylum seekers to talk about their struggles. The group also holds social and networking events to hep people integrate into Danish society.

    Read More