Settlement worker in perfect job at Thorncliffe library
New immigrants can find help getting a start in Canada
Shahida Rabbani believes she was made for her job and it was made for her - and the people she's helped over the years would have to agree.
Rabbani is a settlement worker with the Library Settlement Partnership. She started nearly four years ago working out of the Thorncliffe branch, located in one of the most diverse neighbourhoods in the city, where she met and helped many new immigrants, including Iftikhar Memon.
Memon moved to Canada from Pakistan in May 2007 and the next day was connected with Rabbani. He went to the library to find some information for his children and ended up seeing the sign for settlement services. The program and Rabbani were a great help to him.
"When I came here I did not know where this street went," he said gesturing to Thorncliffe Drive. "She is the lady who guided me."
Memon said Rabbani told him everything he needed to know about settling in Canada: how to get a social insurance number, get a bank account, and look for a job.
"She was like an angel to me," he said.
Today he works as a civil engineer after upgrading his skills at Ryerson University.
Rabbani knows what it's like to be new to Canada and not know where to turn to get settled.
"I myself was an immigrant when I landed here. I didn't have any services. I was looking for a year for a job," she said.
She moved to Canada from Pakistan five-and-a-half-years ago. She didn't know where to access help so she had to figure everything out for herself, eventually finding a job in a day care centre. After upgrading her skills she saw the settlement worker job posting, applied and was hired.
"I didn't get any help and I realized it is very difficult so I'm satisfied giving help to my clients that I didn't receive," Rabbani said. "I was meant for this job and it was meant for me."
The program in Toronto is a partnership between the Settlement Sector and the Toronto Public Library and is funded by Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
Services provided include basic assistance such as setting up a bank account or finding a doctor, English classes, finding a job, and referrals to other community resources. Settlement workers from the Thorncliffe Neighbourhood Office are currently stationed at five Toronto Public Library branches: Flemingdon Park, Parliament, Gerrard/Ashdale, Riverdale and Thorncliffe, where it is now back up and running after the library was closed for more than two years for renovations. An open house May 27 welcomed the program back to the neighbourhood. The program is also offered at 14 other TPL branches.
Rabbani thinks the library is the perfect place to offer these services.
Maria Zaidi agrees. She was bringing her children to the library when she found out about the settlement services program.
"I can come to the library and my kids can play while I talk to (Rabbani)," Zaidi said.
After receiving help from her settlement worker three years ago she was able to start a home-based business.
"At that time I was looking for a job, something from home because my children were so young," she said. It was suggested she start a day care and Rabbani was able to provide her with the information she needed to get it up and running.
Zaidi is glad for the program and the assistance she received from Rabbani, and said she'd recommend the program to others looking for information on settling in Canada.
Settlement worker in perfect job at Thorncliffe library. Library Settlement Partnership program (LSP) worker Shahida Rabbani, left, talks to Maria Zaidi about some of the services provided by the LSP, during the initiative's relaunch Thursday evening in the newly renovated Thorncliffe Branch Public Library. Photo/MIKE POCHWAT
InsideToronto.com by Danielle Milley
LSP Celebrates South Asian Month
The South Asian Month Festivities on May 25th at the Red Hill Branch Library in Hamilton featured appearances by a number of Newcomers who have benefited from the Library Settlement Partnerships program.
Adriana and Gabriela Hamdan moved to Canada from Mexico with their families 3 years ago. After moving to Hamilton 7 months ago, Adriana’s husband, Miguel Angel Murillo enthused about how easily they found the services they need in their new city. At Hamilton Central Library, they met SISO Library Settlement Partnerships worker Arcelia Carrado, who connected them to a huge range of valuable services, including social assistance, help with taxes, entertainment and distraction for their children and information for newcomers in both Spanish and English. The Conversation Circle, offered jointly by SISO and the Hamilton Public Library, has proved an excellent way to improve their English.
Li Hong, who settled in Hamilton 10 months ago with her university-aged daughter, finds the conversation circle especially valuable. She says, "Many Chinese people are good at reading and writing, but not so good at speaking and listening in English. Many English courses for newcomers focus on grammar, but that is not what I needed. I needed conversational English and tutoring." She accessed both of these services through the Library Settlement Partnerships program.
This program is a partnership between Citizenship and Immigration Canada, public libraries and newcomer settlement agencies throughout Ontario. Settlement workers, like Li Hong's worker, Rui Cai, provide newcomers with information on how to find a job and access to library resources to launch their new lives in Ontario.
Alina Roana says that despite the fact that the library has very little material in her native Romanian, is very pleased with the ways her settlement worker, Houda Doghri, has helped her with her employment search. She now serves as a volunteer host and has done some translation and interpretation work through her connection with the library program.
The Library Settlement Partnerships serves many communities throughout Ontario, working out of 49 public library branches in communities with high newcomer populations, including London, Windsor, Ottawa, Kitchener-Waterloo and the GTA.
Written by CNM Wednesday, 26 May 2010 13:25
Collection Development Initiative
Citizenship and Immigration Canada, as part of LSP this year, has supported participating libraries so they can purchase materials needed by newcomers. Thousands of books, many new newspaper, periodical and database subscriptions are now available throughout the province on topics important to newcomers, particularly in the areas of language learning and employment.
OLA 2010
LSP at Ontario Library Association Conference 2010
On Friday October 23, 2009 The Library Settlement Partnerships (LSP) program organized its first ever LSP Day in each of the 11 Ontario communities where LSP service is delivered.
The purpose was to celebrate this proven partnership that helps the lives of newcomers in our communities.
Each community organized its own distinct event or events to share information and celebrate this partnership in its own way. As reports and pictures come in, we will be sharing them with you here. Please click here for some preliminary images of events in Toronto, York (Markham, Vaughan, and Richmond Hill), Brampton and Hamilton. Visit the site often to see updated pictures and media coverage of the day.
On Friday October 23, 2009 The Library Settlement Partnerships (LSP) program organized its first ever LSP Day in each of the 11 Ontario communities where LSP service is delivered.