The Welcome Centres in Durham have now been open for a year. This site will no longer be maintained so if you are looking for more information about immigrant services in Durham, please visit http://www.welcomecentre.ca/durham/index_new.html
Thanks!
The Welcome Centre Immigrant Services sites in Ajax and Pickering are now open for business. LINC and ESL classes started on September 12th and both sites busy and looking forward to an exciting Fall.
Both sites (Ajax and Pickering) of the Durham Welcome Centre Immigrant Services are now accepting applications for Associate Partners. Click here for the Welcome Centre Application Package. Once completed please email the application to info@cdcd.org or info@unemployedhelp.on.ca. If you have any questions please email Sophia Bittar at either of these email addresses.
ASSOCIATE PARTNERS are agencies that will utilize the Welcome Centre Immigrant Services as a location to provide information or services, or develop a service that meets the needs of the newcomer community. The Associate Partner’s objectives must be aligned with the values and principles of the Welcome Centres with a focus on eliminating barriers and contributing to the successful settlement and integration of newcomers.
There are two (2) types of Associate Partners:
ASSOCIATE PARTNERS – HOTELLING are organizations that will provide complementary services and/or information that will contribute to the empowerment and successful integration of newcomers on an itinerant basis, for example, Service Canada, public health, legal clinic, etc. These are typically organizations that deliver service elsewhere and would like to deliver the same or similar services at the Welcome Centre Immigrant Services as well.
ASSOCIATE PARTNERS – INCUBATING are organizations that are in the developmental stages and may simply need occasional use of the infrastructure and resources a Welcome Centre has to offer to develop and grow their organization. For example, an incubating partner may require occasional meeting space, a mailing address, occasional computer and internet usage and other minimal resources.
Note: OCCASIONAL OR ONE TIME USE of either site of the Welcome Centre Immigrant Services is possible. Applications should be submitted following the same procedure as those for an associate partner. Once your application is approved, it will be kept on file for one year.
The Welcome Centres will provide core services such as settlement and orientation, language instructions and employment training. Complementary services will be provided by other agencies on a hotelling or incubating basis.
To learn more about the Welcome Centres and hotelling two public information sessions are scheduled as follows:
Tuesday, August 9th
7 – 9 pm
Town of Ajax Council Chambers
65 Harwood Avenue South
Ajax, ON L1S 2H9
Monday, August 22nd
2 – 4 pm
Pickering Public LIbrary
Central Branch – 2nd Floor Auditorium
1 The Esplanade
Pickering, ON L1V 6K7
The long awaited dream of settlement welcome centres in Durham Region are soon to be a reality! The Welcome Centre Ajax will open on Fairall Street, across from the Ajax GO Station. The Welcome Centre Pickering will be in the industrial mall beside the Pickering GO Station. This blog has been developed to keep you up to date on the construction, staffing and hotelling news from the Centres and your questions and feedback are welcomed.
Over the summer, community sessions will be held with service providers who are interested in knowing more about how the welcome centres will be run, criteria around ‘hotelling’, what an ‘incubator’ means and what constitutes a ‘core’ service. Details of these events will be posted here as well as on the Durham Immigration Portal and through various email lists. There are many, many details to be worked out as these two initiatives are launched so please be patient – more info soon!
Wondering how to get involved right now? The Welcome Centres need a logo so get creative and check out our Logo Contest!
