Our Community Partners

PIA values partner agencies and collaborates with them to continually upgrade the community development expertise and resources used to assist service users in Parkdale.  Priority is placed on meeting service user needs and, as a result, services and programs are planned, implemented and facilitated throughout the year.  For its work with partner agencies PIA received an award as the best community partner from Parkdale Community Legal Services in 2012.

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The following is a listing of our partnership initiatives:
Furniture Bank Referrals
Our staff supports newcomers and their families with referrals to the Furniture Bank, a service that provides free furniture and household items to the needy so that they can have a comfortable place to live. Many of our service users appreciate this collaborative initiative and approach us for this kind of support.
Parkdale Interagency Referral Network (PIRN)
We are proud to be one of the founding members of this network, formed in 2012, which has developed an inter-agency e-referral protocol tool. This referral tool allows members of our service network to easily and efficiently refer service users to services provided by network members. Member agencies include Parkdale Community Legal Services, the Parkdale Community Information Centreand the Kababayan Multicultural Centre.
Community Voluntary Income Tax Program
Our qualified staff provides year-round income tax services to low-income and unemployed individuals and families. The Canadian Revenue Agency has award a certificate of appreciation to PIA every year since 2013 and, to date, we are proud to have served almost seventeen hundred service users.
Police Clearance Letter Program
Our agency is a participating partner agency with Toronto Police Services and assists service users who may require police clearance letters for employment or training purposes. Forms are provided and signed to support this process.
Free Income Tax Clinics
We have worked in partnership with West Neighbourhood House since 2007 to provide a free income tax clinic for low-income and unemployed community members. This service is provided each year during the tax service period (March 1 – April 30). This clinic serves around four hundred individuals and families annually and those who use the clinic receive collectively over one million dollars in tax refunds each year.
Parkdale Newcomers Service Providers Network (PNSPN)
We are again proud to be one of the founding members of this network, formed in 2008, in collaboration with six service agencies in Parkdale. These agencies include the Parkdale Community Health Centre, the Parkdale Community Information Centre , Culture Link, Parkdale Community Legal Services, the Kababayan Multicultural Centre and West Neighbourhood House. The goal of this network is:
  • To provide improved and more coordinated settlement services to newcomers, Canadian citizens and refugees in Parkdale by sharing information about free and equitable programs and services designed to sustain a healthy and caring community.
  • To empower members of PNSPN to maximize their knowledge of community resources and their ability to best serve their clients with the support, engagement and collaboration of other partners.
Investing In Neighborhoods Program- Toronto Employment & Social Services
PIA started the partnership with Toronto Employment & Social Services (TESS) in 2009 to support their Investing in Neighborhood Program. The IIN promotes and support newcomers and immigrants with one-year contract employment and foster full time employment. PIA is the first community partner who supported the initiative and since then hired 28 newcomers and immigrants with part time employment at our agency.

During the employment at PIA, the employees gained knowledge and experience in working with newcomers, improved their communication, organizational skills, collaboration, team building, service navigation and referral skills. The 28 employees worked as intake and receptionists, office support, IT support, outreach and community Support, maintenance and resource centre support roles. Three of the 28 have been hired full time at PIA and they currently work with the settlement program team. Many of the employees have received full and part time jobs.

PIA is very proud to acknowledge that the partnership with TESS has provided employment to 28 immigrants and supported their potential to acquire further employment opportunities in the community.

We would like to acknowledge and thank our many dedicated Community Partners for their contributions to the success of our community service.

Financial Literacy Program: We collaborate with ABC Life Literacy Canada to offer Money Matters, a financial literacy program for adult learners.  PIA has taken part in this initiative in order to help community members develop a greater awareness of important financial management skills.  This program helps participants deal with important day-to-day financial matters such as bank accounts, loans and debt management.  The material is presented in simple English suitable for newcomers to Canada.

  • Parkdale Newcomers Service Providers Network (PNSPN)

  • Parkdale Community Information Centre (PCIC)

  • Parkdale Community Legal Services (PCLS)

  • Parkdale Community Health Centre (PCHC)

  • Parkdale Activity-Recreation Centre (PARC)

  • Parkdale Public Library

  • Toronto Employment and Social Services (Parkdale-High Park)

  • Kababayan Mulicultural Community Centre (KMCC)

  • Parkdale Round Table Committee

  • West Toronto Local Immigration Partnership (LIP)

  • South Toronto Local Immigration Partnership (STLIP)

  • West Neighbourhood House

  • ABC Life Literacy Canada

  • CultureLInk

  • CLEO

  • Masaryk-Cowan Community Centre

  • Creating Together Early Year Centre

  • Skills for Change

  • The Four Villages Community Health Centre (Four Villages)

  • Flemingdon Health Care

  • Davenport  Perth Neighbourhood and Community Health Centre (DPNCHC)

  • Toronto District School Board

  • Tibetan Women’s Association of Ontario

  • Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA)

  • Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH)

  • Toronto Public Health

  • Toronto Police Service

  • Toronto Central Self-Management Program

  • Rainbow Songs Foundation

  • St. Joseph’s Health Centre

  • JobStart

  • Polycultural Immigrant and Community Services

  • South Asian Legal Clinic (SALCO)

  • Service Canada

  • Service Canada Ontario

  • Canadian Tibetan Association of Toronto

  • Vietnamese Women’s Association of Toronto

  • Vietnamese Association of Toronto

  • YWCA & YMCA Assessment Centre

  • Worker’s Action Centre

  • Association For Canadian Educational Resources (ACER)

  • AIDS Committee of Toronto (ACT)

  • Bickford Assessment Centre

  • CATIE-Canada’s Source for HIV and Hepatitis C Information

  • CARES-Cancer Awareness for Education and Screening

  • City of Toronto-Access and Equity for Human Rights

  • City of Toronto Children’s Services

  • City of Toronto

  • Housing Connections

  • Jewel Dharma Temple

  • Local Enhancements and Appreciation of Forests (LEAF)

  • Legal Aid Ontario

  • More Than Child Play Early Year Centre

  • OCASI

  • Parkdale Information and Referral Network (PIRN)

  • Parkdale Queen West Health Centre

  • POINT – People and Organizations in North Toronto

  • Parkdale Sewing and Repair Hub

  • Skills for Charge

  • South Toronto Local Immigration Partnership (STLIP)

  • The Institute of Canadian Citizenship (ICC)

  • Toronto Parks and Tress Foundation

  • Toronto Employment and Social Services – Parkdale – High Park

  • West Toronto Local Immigration Partnership (LIP)

  • Walmart, Dufferin Mall