Program & Services Tax Clinic
Contact: Subuhi Jaffrey, 416-537-2276 ext. 228
Settlement Programs and Services
Our core settlement services are interpretation and translation, information and referral, family counselling, advocacy, support and crisis intervention delivered in English, Bengali, Hindi, Kanada, Kutchi, Marathi, Malay, Nepalese, Oriya, Punjabi, Sinhalese, Tamil, Telegu, Tibetian, Sindhi, Asamese, Bhutanese as well as other languages as needed by clients. ESL and Citizenship classes are run in partnership with the Toronto Board of Education.
Day: Monday to Saturday
Contact: General Inquiry, 416-537-2276
Wellness Group
In a partnership project with Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), the Centre is looking at mental health issues of South Asian women with young children who may be feeling stress, isolation and/or depression. These women may have been victims of male violence, single mothers, and all are newcomers. Three groups (Tamil, Hindi and Punjabi) meet weekly so that woman can discuss issues affecting them, provide mutual support and share information/resources.
Day: Monday 1:00 – 4:00 pm
Contact: Subuhi Jaffrey, 416-537-2276 ext. 228
Sewing Project
The Sewing Project, funded by the United Way of Greater Toronto(Newcomer Grant), is an innovative pilot project being implemented to teach South Asian women with low literacy skills to design and sew products utilizing new and recycled materials. The goal is to ensure that the participants build self-confidence, self-care skills and in the long term build economic self-sufficiency.
Day: Wednesday, Friday 9:00 – 1:00 pm
Contact: Elsy McCormick, 416-537-2276
Senior’s Group
The group meets to discuss issues such as exercise, diet and nutrition, cultural activities, crafts, elder abuse, and health issues as they affect women who are seniors.
Day: Thursday 1:00 – 4:00 pm
Contact: Anuradha Sinha, 416-537-2276 ext. 230,
Youth Group
The Centre creates a space for Youths to gather, discuss and share their experiences as Newcomers. In addition, the youth group aspires to raising awareness to issues pertaining to South Asian Newcomers, along with actively participating in community events, such as cultural shows and festivals.
Day: Saturday 1:00 – 4:00 pm
Contact: Sherab Aathytsang, 416-537-2276 ext. 234
Violence Against Women Program
Women are provided culturally sensitive counselling, information and referral in a language they are comfortable with. The Centre also works with community leaders, religious and faith institutions to build awareness and sensitivity in supporting women facing abuse.
Health Promotion
With funding from the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, the Centre is implementing a project to increase awareness of breast cancer in the Tamil community and encourage women to get regular mammograms. The Centre is a partner in a University Health Network initiative to produce resources for preventive health education. As members of the South Asian Heart Health Group, facilitators trained by Toronto Public Health conduct workshops for clients on nutrition and health.
Volunteer Recruitment and Training
The Centre actively recruits women to volunteer and gain valuable experience/exposure to counselling, group facilitation, translation and interpretation, advocacy, office administration and computer skills. In 1999/2000, the Centre had approximately 70 volunteers who contributed over 800+ hours of volunteer service.
Research
The Centre participates in research to better understand emerging needs of the community so that programs/services can be tailored. Recently, the Centre has partnered with agencies such as Council of Agencies serving South Asians (CASSA), Punjabi Community Health Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI) to conduct research on issues such as health needs, parenting and challenges faced by newcomer youth in the community and mental health.
SAWC Power Point Presentation
