Youth Settlement Program

Funded by the IRCC, this program reaches out to newcomer immigrant youth, including their families to help them adjust to their new life and home in Canada by providing one-on-one settlement services and a variety of social, academic, recreational and skills-building activities throughout the year. The program has forged partnerships with other community agencies to help expand the impact of the youth program and to help remove the complex barriers faced by newcomer and vulnerable youth.  

The Newcomer Youth program serves over a thousand youth and family clients each year through one-on-one supportive counselling on all settlement services – housing, immigration, education, social benefits and related others -  offered daily during weekdays  and group activity sessions offered once a week. Over a thousand youth and family members are served annually through the Youth Settlement Program.

PIA, has partnered with Parkdale Community Information Centre – PCIC, (now part of Culturelink organization) in offering some components of the Newcomer Youth Program since 2009, mainly for youth outreach and weekly group activity space support from the Parkdale Library Branch location.

1) Free Tutoring Program – Youth Peer Leadership & Community Engagement

This program offers one-on-one free tutoring support for marginalized and low-income children and youth from grade 1 to 12. It is coordinated by the Youth Settlement Program and supported by the IRCC in collaboration with the NSP program at the Parkdale Intercultural Association. The free tutoring program is offered every Wednesday and Thursday from 1 to 3pm. Majority of the participants are immigrant families residing in the Parkdale neighbourhood. The children are tutored by youth volunteers who are currently attending high school or post-secondary programs. We strive to create a space where children can gain important skills including leadership and community engagement while receiving support towards their academic goals. The youth volunteers also develop a range of life skills while earning their community hours by participating. To congratulate our tutees for their hardwork throughout the summer, the PIA youth team prepared individual progress reports and certificates. 

To thank our amazing tutors for volunteering their time, the PIA youth team organized a ceremony to express our appreciation. The event was attended by Mr. Michael Nguyen (Executive Director) and Ms. Tsering Norzom Thonsur (Settlement Program Manager) at the PIA. 

2) Summer Program for Youth (SPY) - Leadership and Volunteer Camp

This annual Youth Summer Camp for Community Engagement and Leadership Development is aimed at newcomer youth between the ages of 14 to 24.  The Youth Settlement Program hires several Canada Summer Job program students, funded by Service Canada under the Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) Program, to support the program and help youth in gaining valuable work experience in the community and social service sector. 

This seven-week summer program is a peer-based experiential learning opportunity in which youth who have more skills and who have been in Canada longer mentor the less-experienced newcomer youth. In addition to the summer student employees, the program recruits youth volunteers to support their learning goals and also to assist other children and youth in the community based on their identified needs. The youth members get to develop a wide range of interpersonal and employability skills through experiential community focused learning activities and youth engagement recreational activities. The summer program, which include youth employment, skills development trainings, outdoor sports, community engagement, volunteerism, arts and cultural activities, help immerse the participants in important aspects of Canadian society. 

Since 2010, the summer program has employed over 50 youth and provided skills training through volunteer opportunities to over 200 youth. Each year over 20 youth contribute a minimum of 50 hours of community service through the Youth Settlement program activities and they receive a Community Leadership Certificate.