Message from Executive Director
Round Table on South Asians and Chronic Diseases
Youth Leadership Retreat
2nd Annual Fires of Resistance “South Asian Youth Igniting Action” Youth Conference
Upcoming Events of CASSA and other agencies
Special Announcements
Funding Opportunities
Membership

Dear Colleagues:

First of all, our thanks goes to all those who helped with all of our South Asian Heritage Month (SAHM) events and activities. We had an amazing evening with workers rights’ activists, youth leadership retreat, display at City Hall, a full day social justice conference for young leaders, an equity forum in York Region and many more. We look forward to building on this success for SAHM 2010. If you wish to work with us to plan for SAHM activities, please feel free to contact us.
On a different note, on behalf of our board of directors, we cordially invite all of you to attend our Annual General Meeting on June 17th at 5pm at Friends House. This free event will include a panel on the topic “Organizing Our Communities for Social Change”, South Asian dinner and update on CASSA’s 2008 and 2009. We also welcome Workers’ Action Centre, United Way Toronto, Scadding Court Community Centre, Sherbourne Health Centre and Springtide Resources Inc. that have either renewed their membership or joined CASSA as new members in May 2009.

We thank all your for your partnership, guidance, interest and support. We are looking forward to seeing you all at the AGM.

Sincerely,

Neethan Shan
Executive Director

On May 19th CASSA organized a roundtable on South Asians and Chronic Diseases with an objective to outline the future opportunities regarding prevention and management of chronic diseases within South Asian communities. The roundtable was attended by participants from community health centers, organizations from health sector and members from Ministry of Health. The 3 areas agreed upon which CASSA would take action were 1. To develop community mapping of South Asian initiatives within hospitals, public health and community health centers. 2. Establish a cross –sectional council to discuss strategies to address both prevention and management of chronic diseases within South Asian communities. 3. Develop a platform for sharing information amongst stakeholders. Some of the opportunities discussed with a view to incorporate them into one of the action items were Outreaching SA communities through places of worship , adopting “train the trainer” approach, utilizing the services of evaluators/researches to do evaluation, educating children in schools, raising awareness through ethnic media, educating service providers to think differently and advocating for interpretation services.

Detailed information on this roundtable and other health related events will be available shortly on our website under the “Health Equity” project.

SAYAC in partnership with the City of Toronto organized a Youth Leadership Retreat on May 24th at Nielson House, Scarborough. The event was well attended by youth from all walks of life and and workshops were organized to train them on Leadership skills, Communication and Media skills, Conflict Resolution and Anti-Oppression. The event was also attended by Ken Jeffers, Manager of Access & Diversity Unit, Rosa Jones and Jorge Pratheepan from the City of Toronto, Parks Forestry & Recreation Division.

Click here for information on this event..

The event was hosted by SAYAC (South Asian Youth Advisory Committee), a CASSA initiative, at the University of Toronto. The event attracted young activists from Toronto and the GTA. Highlights of the event were a range of issue-based workshops such as violence, racism on campus, immigration policy, youth labor rights and queer/gender issues. Hate Crime Panel Discussion also took place on topics like Islamophobia, Hate Crime in Tamil Community and Sikh Activism. Entertainment included Humble the Poet, Farheen Beg, and Arun Chaudhuri. The Arts-Based workshops included interactive sessions on yoga by Sairupa Krishnamurti, photography with Asad, community radio and zine making.

For more information on this event, please click here.

Frontline Workers Training Program – CASSA will be holding a free course consisting of 6 training sessions for all Frontline workers who work with South Asian families and youth on a regular basis. The participants will learn how to effectively address the needs of South Asians as well as receive peer based support and training. The sessions will include youth engagement, social- economic issues and sensitivity training. The first session will be held at North York Civic Centre, Committee Room 1 on June 16 from 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

For more information and to RSVP, please contact Loveleen Kang at loveleen@cassa.on.ca  or (416) 932 1359.Click here for flyer details.

Good Jobs for All Rally- June 13th The Canadian Labour Congress, Toronto & York Region Labour Council and the Good Jobs for All Coalition is holding a rally on June 13th at 1:00 p.m. at Metro Hall, Downtown Toronto to demand for fixing the E.I. and protect pensions. Click here to see the flyer.
Click here to read the petition to fix the E.I.

For more information, contact Kelly Hayes at khayes@clc-ctc.ca or call 416-441-3710 ext. 223.

Annual General Meeting of CASSA - CASSA is holding its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on June 17th at 5 – 8 p.m. The venue is Friends House, 60 Lowther Avenue, Toronto. The topic for panel discussion will be “Organizing our Communities for Social Change.”

For more information and to RSVP, please email or call Farhat at farhat@cassa.on.ca and 416 932 1359 extn.10.

Click here to see the AGM flyer.

UPCOMING EVENTS OF OTHER AGENCIES

Seminar on Overcoming Racialized Health Disparities: Research and Advocacy Priorities – June 9th - Access Alliance is organizing a seminar on June 9th from 2 to 5pm at CERIS, Room 548 246 Bloor Street West, Toronto. This seminar brings together leading researchers and activists to share findings about growing inequalities that people of color in Canada face, and the health impacts of these inequalities. Drawing on the findings, the seminar will then discuss strategies for bolstering research, collaboration, and advocacy for overcoming racialized health disparities.
For more information and to RSVP, contact Martha Viveros at aaseminarseries@gmail.com or (416) 324-8619 ext 605 or visit: www.researchforchange.ca.

Research participants needed for a study on beliefs and attitudes related to physical activity. For more information, please Dr. Mandana Vahabi   at (416) 979-5000, ext. 2725.
Click here to see the flyer.

Toronto Fire Services announces 2009 Probationary Officers Firefighter Hiring Campaign: Online applications for the position of Probationary Firefighter will be accepted from Monday, June 8, 2009 (12 noon) through to Monday, June 15, 2009 (12 noon). For more information about Probationary Firefighter Hiring Campaign, click on the link http://www.toronto.ca/fire/recruitment

Health Equity data workshop “Who are we Serving”? The workshop was held on April 6th at Mt. Sinai Hospital to discuss how hospitals can use existing data to ensure those with greatest health needs and access barriers are being equitably served. Click here to read a detailed version of the report.

The Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration will release an Invitation for Proposals shortly for bridging projects that improve access to occupational certification/registration and/or employment for internationally trained individuals. Guidelines, application forms and an e-mail address for questions will be posted on the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration website www.citizenship.gov.on.ca. 

Information sessions will be held on Monday, June 15, 2009 a.m. and Tuesday, June 23, 2009 a.m.

For more information, please refer to the Ministry website.

Your involvement with CASSA

Downtown Toronto
June 23, 2009, 6.00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., CASSA Board Room, Suite 205, 1992 Yonge St, Toronto.

If you are interested in volunteering, partnering or becoming a member, please email Farhat at farhat@cassa.on.ca. Click here for more information about volunteering with CASSA. Click here to fill out a volunteer application form.

You or your organization can also become a member of CASSA, if you wish to support our mission/mandate. Please visit our website www.cassa.on.ca for details on our mission, vision, values and strategic priorities. The members will receive a regular   update on various happenings in the social services/social justice field in Ontario's South Asian communities.

Annual Membership fee is only $10 for individuals and $20 for organizations. Joining as a member will also keep you informed of opportunities about jobs, volunteering and community events. Click here for more information about becoming a member of CASSA and its benefits.

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Be sure to visit us on the web at www.cassa.on.ca where you’ll find plenty of up to date information on CASSA weekly activities. 

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