Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI)

and

Access Alliance Multicultural Health and Community Services

invite you to

Identity, Migration and Policies:

Journeys of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Queer

(LGBTQ+) Newcomers

A FREE panel discussion on

 ·         Trans Migration: Stories of Trans Newcomers

Yegi Dadui is a Canadian Iranian Community Service Worker who studied Social Service work at Seneca College. Yegi came to Canada in 1994 as a refugee and is currently volunteering and relief worker at Supporting Our Youth at Sherbourne Health Centre and does workshops around trans issues.

·         Impact of Bill C31 on LGBTQ+ Refugees

Karlene Williams-Clarke is the LGBT Newcomer Community Services Coordinator at the 519 Church Street Community Centre in Toronto who coordinates the LGBT Refugee Support Program, Among Friends. Originally from Kingston, Jamaica, Karlene served as Co-Chair and chair respectively of Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals & Gays (J-FLAG) and Women for Women (WfW) for over 7 years. A visible LGBT advocate/activist, Karlene was forced to flee Jamaica in 2009 after many threats of death.

·         Journeys to Canada: Effects of Migration on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Newcomers

 Ali Mohamud is a Peer Trainer with The Opening Doors Project, a Train-the-Trainer project of the Canadian Mental Health Association-Toronto Branch. He delivers workshops on mental health, discrimination and anti-racism for communities of mental health consumer/survivors and newcomer communities, organizations and institutions across Ontario. In sharing his own journey through recovery, Ali draws from his multiple identities as a queer person of colour and a former newcomer to Canada. He knows personally the negative effects that migration and discrimination have on the mental wellness of individuals and communities, as well as the importance of strengthening anti-racism and anti-discrimination literacy in Ontario communities.

Join us!

Tuesday, June 19, 2012 from 5:30-7pm

 at AccessPoint on Danforth 

 (3079 Danforth Avenue – by Victoria Park and Danforth).

(Please arrive before 5:30 as we want to start on time.)

Refreshments will be served.

We encourage everyone to bring their business cards, flyers and promo materials to be displayed in the info table available on the venue.

For more information, please contact: Hurly Navarro-Meraveles at hmeraveles@ocasi.org and 416 322 4950 x 265

 Please forward to your network. We hope to see you there.