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Partner Initiatives

Our success in supporting newcomers is made possible through the dedication of our team, the strength of our programs, and—crucially—the partnerships we build. We work alongside employers, private-sector leaders, fellow settlement agencies, health providers, and educational institutions to create meaningful pathways for newcomers to integrate and contribute to their new communities. These partnerships are not just supportive—they are transformative, opening doors and expanding opportunities. Together, we can achieve even greater impact.

ISSofBC hosted and partnered with several innovative and national initiatives over the year.

The following are a few highlights:

BC Refugee Hub

Administered by ISSofBC and a key provincial resource since 2016, the BC Refugee Hub significantly enhanced support for organizational capacity to improve support for refugees and claimants across the province.  As a key provider in the BC SAFE HAVEN Resource Network from 2024, the Hub provides timely tools, up-to-date resources, and sector-specific training to strengthen service delivery and build capacity across the province.

In 2024 – 2025, some highlights include:

  • Six training webinars with over 600 total attendees from 60+ BC SAFE HAVEN-funded organizations, school districts, health authorities, and government. Topics included the trauma-informed care, and the refugee claim process.
  • Annual sector-wide survey and environmental scan with 53 respondents and 17 interviews conducted across all BC regions, highlighting key training and service needs related to mental health and trauma-informed care. Findings will be used to inform activities for the sector in coming years.
  • Factsheets, toolkits, and newsletters sent to over 2,300 contacts. With over 35,900 page views and 98,000+ user interactions from 2024-25, the Hub continues to play an important role for organizations that work with and support refugee claimants.

The Immigration and Refugee Legal Clinc (IRLC)

The  Immigration and Refugee Legal Clinic (IRLC) offers free legal advice and representation for low-income people across BC with immigration and refugee law matters. It advocates for law reform and engages in advocacy to effect widespread systemic change. It also provides mentorship to law students and junior lawyers interested in developing their careers in refugee and immigration law. 

Successes in the last year included:  

  • Advocating for dozens of clients—including families with children, survivors of violence, and persons with disabilities—to be granted secure immigration status in Canada.
  • Stopping deportations of individuals and families with children so that their legal matters could be determined.
  • Providing timely legal advice to survivors of gender-based violence fleeing abusive relationships through our Gender Violence Legal Representation Project.
  • Participating in systemic legal advocacy including undertaking strategic litigation to advance the rights of vulnerable people such as children and survivors of torture. For instance, in 2024 the Clinic was granted intervenor status in Robles v Canadajointly with the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers (CARL) and its lawyers were counsel for IRLC and CARL in its intervention, which argued that the Refugee Convention does not permit excluding individuals from refugee protection who, as children, were coerced/exploited by military actors or other armed groups into contributing to their activities.  

Data from 2024–25:

  • Number of full representation matters opened: 77
  • Number of full representation matters closed: 80
  • Number of summary advice appointments conducted: 89
  • Percentage of summary advice appointments with interpretation: 59
  • Number of information/referrals: 988

On February 1, 2025, the IRLC transitioned to a new host organization, the Community Legal Clinic Operating Society of British Columbia (CLCOS-BC). This transition enables the IRLC to continue to deliver, quality, direct service to low-income people across BC who are dealing with complex and urgent immigration and refugee law issues in a more coordinated way, with other community legal clinics serving different populations.  

In announcing this transition, Jonathan Oldman, CEO of ISSofBC, stated that “we are proud of the IRLC’s successful evolution, seeing this transition as a natural progression. ISSofBC has a long-standing tradition of fostering growth, helping new settlement-focused services to become established, thrive, and eventually operate independently as anchors in their communities. Our partnership with IRLC embodied our core values of learning through action and driving innovation.”

Aria Afghan Grill is a locally owned restaurant serving authentic Afghan cuisine in a welcoming, community-focused environment. As a valued partner of ISSofBC, Aria Afghan Grill recognizes the importance of supporting newcomer integration while addressing workforce needs. They have participated in several hiring initiatives, including an employer-specific event where they interviewed and hired Afghan newcomers—demonstrating a strong commitment to inclusive hiring practices.

Sobeys Warehouse – Surrey has built a meaningful partnership with ISSofBC, recognizing that newcomer inclusion strengthens both the workforce and the broader community. Through their involvement in multiple hiring and mentoring events, Sobeys has offered newcomers insight into Canadian work culture and expectations. Their in-house training supports employees from diverse backgrounds to succeed and grow within the organization.

Metro Vancouver has played a critical role in supporting ISSofBC clients to gain valuable Canadian public-sector experience. By working with engineering and technical teams, newcomers have developed a deeper understanding of local standards and built confidence to re-establish their careers in Canada’s engineering and environmental sectors.

TransLink, in partnership with ISSofBC Career Services, has successfully recruited internationally trained engineers for its Technical Professionals in Training Program (TPIT) for over three years. Through hands-on transit sector projects, clients have gained Canadian work experience, local industry insight, professional networks, and progress toward licensure.

TransLink also offered monthly bus tours for ISSofBC clients at various regional locations—Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, Coquitlam, Maple Ridge, and Langley. Notably Mary, our volunteer coordinator, was featured in a TransLink podcast highlighting the collaboration.

JPD Contracting and JPD Staffing (JPD) have been dedicated partners of ISSofBC for over two years. Founded by immigrants, their leadership brings a deeply personal understanding of the challenges newcomers face when restarting careers. Through participation in hiring and networking events, job shares, and mentorship, JPD has helped many ISSofBC clients—particularly in the construction sector—gain their first Canadian work experience.

Global Hotel Solutions (GHS) is a vital partner in our Resettlement Assistance Program (RAP), providing hotel sourcing and contract negotiation services at no cost to ISSofBC. GHS works in close coordination with our RAP team to secure temporary accommodations for Government-Assisted Refugees (GARs), complementing the units available at the Vancouver Welcome Centre.

Additionally, GHS offers a complete proprietary software package to ISSofBC, giving staff streamlined access to key data including arrival schedules, in-house guests, departure details, and reporting tools.

GHS has played a crucial role in managing fluctuating demand for temporary accommodations while maintaining high service standards and controlling the costs—this program ensures a smooth transition for newcomers to Canada.

We continue to partner with the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction, which sends four of their staff of Community Integration Specialists on weekly visits to support ISSofBC-referred newcomer clients in-person.ISSofBC has provided in-kind office space for four hours per week at each of our following offices: Vancouver, New Westminster, Coquitlam, and Langley (since May 2024). These specialists work directly with clients in collaboration with these regional settlement teams (continuing except in the Langley region from April 1st  2025).

Starting in May 2024 Vancouver Community College (VCC) partnership with ISSofBC began, offering in-kind space for one ISSofBC Settlement Worker (SW) to deliver on-site settlement services to VCC’s LINC students once a week. Our SW began visiting VCC on the first Thursday of each month, introducing herself to LINC classes and sharing contact information with LINC instructors and students in order to schedule one-to-one on-campus settlement appointments. She also provides support via email for settlement services, and plans to present information and orientation settlement workshops to VCC LINC students. VCC has a total of 20 classes on campus and 16 online evening and Saturday classes this semester. (This program ended as of March 31, 2025 due IRCC funding cuts.) 

A new community partnership between Foundry Langley (managed by Encompass Support Services Society) and ISSofBC commenced in July 2024 with a signed MOU.  The Foundry Initiative is a network of integrated health and service centres for youth, young adults, and their families. A Mandarin-speaking settlement worker was requested to help support and serve clients who are referred to the Langley Foundry. In-kind space for one ISSofBC Settlement Worker (SW) to deliver on-site settlement services has been provided by the Langley Foundry. (This partnership ended as of March 31, 2025 due to IRCC funding cuts and the closure of ISSofBC’s Langley office and Settlement program.)

Since February 2025, ISSofBC has hosted a dedicated health clinic operated by Vancouver Coastal Health at our Welcome Centre in Vancouver. This clinic offers medical support to Government-Assisted Refugees (GARs), and includes those living in our temporary housing units. The clinic provides initial post-arrival health assessments for our GAR clients, ensuring they receive the medical care needed upon arrival in Canada, including vaccinations and follow-up appointments.

In 2025, The Greater Vancouver Food Bank (GVFB) launched a partnership with ISSofBC to provide wrap-around services via GVFB’s FRESH Start Program. Newcomers to BC face unique food-security challenges due to a combination of factors, including language barriers, financial instability, and cultural barriers when it comes to accessing food. These challenges are exacerbated by the rising cost of living and limited social-support systems available to many newcomers. GVFB offers culturally appropriate food options and support for families with young children. As the largest food bank in BC, GVFB serves 38,000 clients per month, and is currently working towards ensuring that 70 percent of its available food is fresh, nutritious, and healthy.

Vancity has been a long-standing partner of ISSofBC. Since the 1990s, Vancity has opened bank accounts for more than 12,000 GARs who transition through ISSofBC during their first two weeks in Canada. In 2016, the much-anticipate Welcome Centre opened on World Refugee Day. This 58,000-square-foot facility, located at 2610 Victoria Drive in Vancouver, contains 180 beds for first- and second-stage housing, a childcare centre, a youth centre, a medical clinic, education services, trauma support, and a Vancity banking kiosk at which refugees can open bank accounts (in some cases for the first time). Vancity provided a $1 million capital grant and a $200,000 pre-development loan towards ISSofBC’s Welcome Centre.

Vancity currently provides culturally sensitive financial literacy workshops through its Each One, Teach One financial literacy program. The workshops are held onsite at the Welcome Centre. Vancity employees are trained to deliver modules of financial literacy including basic banking and budgeting, compound interest, and how to avoid fraud. The financial literacy workshops have already been delivered to thousands of community members and are also held in community gathering places such as libraries, neighbourhood houses, and places of worship.

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