This project has hosted webinars since 2012 to promote learning, information sharing and to stimulate conversation on topics that we hope are relevant to your practice. Many of the archived webinars are part of the former project, the Refugee Mental Health Project. Since September 2017, webinars have encompassed the expanded scope of newly-arrived immigrants and/or refugees.

Our webinars are one-hour sessions that include a 30-minute presentation by professionals in the settlement, social or health services sectors followed by a 30-minute question and answer session where we encourage you to ask questions, pose scenarios and to generally discuss your practice with these experts in the field.

Upcoming webinars

Intersectoral Collaboration: A Model for Refugee Health and Settlement

With Vanessa Wright, Nurse Practitioner-Primary Health Care, MScN, Doctor of Nursing, Crossroads Clinic, Women's College Hospital, Toronto

Mashfiq Sabit, Certified Infection Control Practitioner, Sojourn House

Tuesday, December 12, 2024 (1:30 - 2:20 EST)

Register here

Description

This webinar will discuss a long-standing collaborative partnership between a primary care clinic and a refugee shelter.

Co-location and partnership structure of this collaborative care model will be reviewed, in addition to respective roles between these health and settlement providers.

Of unique interest, the synergy of these intersectoral roles will be discussed as well as opportunities where this may be utilized and scaled in alternative settings.

About the presenters

Vanessa Wright is a nurse practitioner at Women’s College Hospital and emerging health systems researcher. Through her decade long work in newcomer health at the Crossroads Refugee Clinic, Vanessa has developed and implemented innovative models of primary care between hospital, community, and social services to support those navigating the refugee process.

Vanessa's professional experience includes working across primary, acute, and public health care domains, as well as facilitating teams in medical outreach and education both locally and globally.

She is a subject matter expert for CAMH’s Immigrant and Refugee Mental Health Course and professional practice and nursing faculty lead for the University of Toronto’s, Toronto Addis Ababa Academic Collaboration.

Vanessa’s research interests lie in community engagement, interprofessional collaboration, learning health systems and integration. She received her Doctor of Nursing from the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, and her thesis explored the relationship between cross-sector integrated care and organizational learning.

Mashfiq Sabit is an Infection Control Practitioner and Healthcare Administrator at Sojourn House, with a background in microbiology, psychology, and public health.

He specialized as a certified infection control practitioner from the Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology in the United States.

The array of responsibilities that came with working with healthcare and settlement service providers, swiftly molded his Infection Prevention and Control role at Sojourn House from being strictly focused on the management of communicable diseases, to the wider focus of healthcare access, wellbeing, and education. Mashfiq did this by fostering partnerships with community partners and stakeholders to connect Sojourn House clients to different healthcare services; focusing on health equity and bridging the gaps.​

Webinar recordings

Now online:

Building resilience: Supporting refugee men's mental health

With Vince Pietropaolo ,General Manager of Family and Mental Health Services, COSTI

Webinar description

This presentation will focus on the mental health challenges refugee men may face as they adjust to life in a new country. It will explore critical risk factors, protective elements, and effective coping strategies to enhance their well-being. Aimed at settlement workers, this session offers trauma-informed tips to respond to refugee men and refer them to appropriate mental health services.

About the presenter

Vince is the General Manager of COSTI’s Family and Mental Health Services. In his position, he works with ethnocultural communities in program design, development, research and implementation in the areas of mental health, gender-based violence, problem gambling and excessive technology use and dementia.

Vince sits on the North York Specialized Courts Advisory Committee, National Trauma-Informed Care Project National Advisory Committee and is a member of the Canadian Dementia Learning and Resource Network. He is also a Subject Matter Expert with the Immigrant and Refugee Mental Health Project at CAMH.

He recently designed and implemented the Refugee Mental Health Program and the Senior’s Dementia Day Program at COSTI.

Vince has presented extensively on the issue of Gender Based Violence, Mental Health Caregiver Stress, Trauma Informed Practice and Problem Gambling and Excessive Technology Use at conferences in the United States and Canada.

He has guest lectured at York University, Ryerson University, University of Toronto and is a part time faculty member at Seneca College, Toronto.

Archive:

Note that webinar recordings contain the presentation of the topic only; the question and answer session is not recorded.

• Specific populations and issues
  These webinars highlight strategies for supporting particular immigrant and refugee groups, or highlight specific issues in supporting immigrant and refugee mental health.
• Support and treatment considerations
  These webinars will focus on specific considerations for providing effective treatment to recent immigrants and refugees.
• Successful or promising practices
  These webinars outline innovative and unique approaches/programs for supporting the mental health of newly-arrived immigrants and refugees.