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Community Partnerships and Collaboration

At COSTI, we work to support the needs of many different communities and make a positive difference in people’s lives. We focus on what matters most to the communities we serve and work for change by partnering with agencies and organizations, taking part in research, sharing knowledge, and helping build skills across the sector.

Through these community development efforts, our clients benefit from stronger coordination between services, better sharing of best practices, clearer information about available programs, and more community input into how our services grow and improve.

Community Planning and Coordination

COSTI is represented on many community planning networks, umbrella organizations and advisory committees:

  • Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR)
  • National Settlement Council
  • Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI)
  • Resettlement Adaptation Program Working Group

COSTI staff participate in various local inter-agency planning groups and advisory committees:

  • CASSA Newcomer Access to Trades Taskforce
  • City-wide Agencies Network
  • Coalition of Adult Employment Centres of Ontario (CAECO)
  • Community Services Delivery Network (CSDN) of York Region
  • Consortium of Agencies Serving Internationally Trained Persons (CASIP)
  • Crescent Town Service Council
  • Housing Help Network
  • Iranian Social Service Workers’ Network
  • Lakeside Partners Group
  • Local Immigration Partnership Councils including: Black Creek, City of Toronto-wide, Toronto East, Toronto West, York/South Weston, York Region, Peel Newcomer Strategy Group
  • Local Toronto Employment Service Provider Networks
  • Network of Agencies Serving Seniors
  • North York Association of Volunteer Administrators
  • Ontario Housing Association
  • Ontario Resource Group on Gambling, Ethnicity and Culture
  • Peel Halton Workforce Development Group (PHWDG)
  • Prevention of Elder Abuse Coalition Etobicoke-York (PEACE)
  • Resources Exist for Networking and Training (RENT)
  • Service Providers Monthly Networking Meeting (Mississauga)
  • South Asian Legal Aid Clinic of Ontario (SALCO)
  • Teachers Leadership Council “(Teach Ontario)” for Internationally Trained Teachers
  • The Neighbourhood Youth Alliance
  • Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC)
  • Toronto Social Housing Connections
  • Toronto West Partners Network
  • Trades National Sector Council
  • West End Coalition Against Poverty
  • Wife Abuse Council
  • York Region Human Services Planning Group
  • York Region Newcomers Strategic Planning Working Group

Mentoring

COSTI continues to invest in collaborative efforts that contribute to effective service development in underserved communities.

South Asian Women’s Rights Organization (SAWRO)
COSTI is currently working with the South Asian Women’s Rights Organization (SAWRO), an organization serving Bangladeshi women in Scarborough, by acting as a formal Trustee for various grants, as well as providing governance and program development, guidance and support.

SAWRO offers settlement services, basic computer classes, basis and intermediate conversation cafes, one-on-one interview counselling and job search support, leadership training for women and youth, a girls’ club and a social and civic engagement program.

Past collaborations:

Sahan Youth Project
The Sahan Youth Project addressed the lack of direction available to immigrant youth who had dropped out of school and were unemployed. COSTI supported this initiative by helping Somali Canadian Mothers for Youth develop governance systems, and build their capacity as an organization so that, in the future, they were able to provide services independently and respond to other needs in their community.

African Canadian Social Development Council (ACSDC)
The establishment of the African Canadian Social Development Council (ACSDC) was essentially about building capacity within the African Canadian community as the Council’s mandate is to assist member agencies in developing their own capacity. COSTI provided support in the incorporation of the organization, the establishment of governance and operational policies and the development of a strategic plan.