Welcome to episode 20 of the Technology in Human Services Podcast. Be data driven. Make your decisions based on data. We’ve all heard the platitudes. And data is something that the immigrant and refugee-serving sector has huge amounts of, and does very little with. In 2017, the Toronto East Quadrant Local Immigration Partnership started looking into changing that.
So, the short answer is I don’t know. But what I do know is that we can learn from others. So, here are some examples of digital professional development and education in other sectors that we might as well study, learn & borrow from, and build on.
This is a recording and notes from presentations at an immigrant and refugee-serving sector-only virtual event on June 16, 2020. I was honored to moderate the panel. The panelists focused on technological adaptations made to settlement service delivery due to COVID-19, share promising practices and challenges, as well as other outcomes from the sector discussion.
Given income inequality and poverty trends among newcomers, especially those from racialized groups, along with trends towards increased digital service provision across sectors, it should be a concern to us that, while newcomer clients can be among the most digitally literate and connected, they can be among the most vulnerable and still remain digitally, socially, and economically isolated.
In this episode, I’m so excited to welcome Lawrence Murphy back to the podcast. Lawrence is a pioneer in cyber counselling in Canada.
It’s never been more important to share how we’re doing. Share successes, new models of service delivery, but also the struggle. I’ve been enjoying seeing how immigrant and refugee-serving agencies have been successfully pivoting to online services. I’ve been enjoying even more how some are sharing their experiences. There is so much to learn from each other.
In this interview, I surface conversations I’ve been having with Chris Friesen of ISSofBC. We talk at what settlement work looks like now, during a pandemic. What are the opportunities the sector needs to seize? What does the funder need to understand? What do we need to understand about the digital divide and digital literacy of the newcomers and communities we serve? And more.
Many thanks to Maytree for asking me to participate in their “Five Good Ideas: Home Office Series.” I presented five good ideas for remote client service work.
Two reports came out within the past week which I have had the pleasure of being part of. They’re both about the now and future of the immigrant and refugee-serving sector. I hope you find some time to read them.
“You’re not ‘working from home’; you’re trying to get some work done while confined to your home during a crisis.”