Resources

COVID-19 Resources:

Multi-lingual resources: Support the efforts of health care providers and advocates in your community to increase access to current, accurate, and place-specific health information on COVID-19. Be sure to contact the Settlement Organizations in your area to find out about place-specific resources. Please contact OJNN at caotnewcomernetwork@gmail.com to add new resources to the list.

COVID-19 Health Information:

• RSTP – List of COVID-19 resources in multiple languages
•  COVID-19 Printable Project for Self Isolation and Self Management handouts in 26 languages. The Self Isolation handout is for the general public on what self isolation entails. The Self Management handout is for people who have been assessed by a health care professional and testing results are pending results or have been confirmed as positive for COVID-19. The resources will be updated regularly and are based on best practice guidelines.
• World Health Organization – resources in English, French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian, and Spanish
• Ontario Ministry of Health – scroll to the bottom to access information in 33 languages
• COVID-19 Ressources et informations (français) – Table de concertation des organismes au services de les personnes réfugiées et immigrantes
• Alberta Health Services – posters and signs in English, French, Arabic, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Punjabi, Tigrinya, Vietnamese
• Advocate for your local Public Health Agency and workplace to translate necessary resources into all languages required in your area. Click here for COVID-19 backgrounders in Tigrinya and Amharic
• Advocates and scholars at the Centre for Refugee Studies at York University engaged crowdsourcing to translate and update health care and financial resources specific to Canada, Ontario and Toronto in Amharic. They are looking for community translators to assist with Tigrinya translations.
• Public Health Agency of Canada infographics in multiple languages:
  • About COVID-19 (in 33 languages)
  • Know the Facts about COVID-19,
  • Be Prepared (Factsheet)
  • Physical Distancing
  • Wash your Hands
  • Vulnerable Populations and COVID-19
  • How to Isolate at Home
  • Pan-Canadian Response to COVID-19

Mental health resources during COVID-19:

• Free Guide to Living with Worry and Anxiety Amidst Global Uncertainty in 29 languages by Psychology Tools.
• Public Health Agency of Canada infographic on Taking Care of your Mental Health (COVID-19) in 10 languages (Arabic, Bengali, Hindi, Punjabi, Spanish, Urdu, Românā, Inuktitut (ᐃᓄᒃᑎᑐᑦ), Polski, and Innuinaqtun).

COVID-19 and newcomers in Canada – benefits, access to healthcare, advocacy:

• Updates from Canadian Council for Refugees on Canadian policies relevant to newcomers and COVID-19, resources and Frequently Asked Questions

Parenting and Caregivers:

• Public Health Agency of Canada infographic on How to Care for a Child with COVID-19 currently in 7 languages (Bengali, Greek, Gujarat, Hindi, Inuinnaqtun, Korean, and Punjabi) and How to Care for a Person with COVID-19 at Home in 20 languages.

Benefits, Employment and Work during COVID-19:

• Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has created list of Questions and Answers about COVID-19 financial assistance for newcomers, temporary residents and refugees
• Public Health Agency of Canada infographic on Preventing COVID-19 in the Workplace in 28 languages.
• Public Health Agency of Canada information sheet on Cleaning and Disinfecting Public Spaces in 6 languages.

 

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Check out the links below for lists of resources according to the following topic areas:

Support for OT Advocacy Work & Occupational Justice:

• WFOT Resource Manual: Occupational Therapy for Displaced Persons (PDF downloadable document, March 2019).
• A 50-minute recorded presentation by Trisha Dempsey at Dalhousie University (April 2016) titled: How can OTs more effectively support the health and wellbeing of newcomers?
• The idiOT’s Guide to Working with Refugees, by OOFRAS (PDF downloadable document, 2006).
• Occupational Justice Literature & Position Statements

 

• Network Blog Articles:
  • Information about Immigration Detention in Canada, (April 4th, 2018)
  • Policy Changes, Unlawful Detention, Safe Third Country Agreement & Asylum Seekers from the United States (Nov. 2018)

• Relevant OT Now (CAOT’s practice magazine) advocacy articles:

• • Winlaw, K. (2017). Making the Connection: Why refugee and asylum seekers need occupational therapy services . Occupational Therapy Now Open Access, July/Aug 2017, 19.4, 18-19.
  • Huot, S. (2016). The production of precariousness through policy: Occupational injustice faced by forced migrants in Canada. Occupational Therapy Now, 18, 23-24.
  • Wilberg, S. (2012). “To boldly go…. a new frontier for occupational therapists in Canada”. Occupational Therapy Now Open Access, January 2012, 13-14.

• Occupational Opportunities for Refugees & Asylum Seekers (an international network of OTs — OOFRAS)
  • One of OOFRAS’ goals is to create a directory of OTs working with displaced peoples around the world (in some capacity, whether pro-bono or through paid work). If this applies to you, you are invited to join the directory and be added to their public map via filling out this online form.

Information about Healthcare for Newcomers (in Canada):

• Healthcare Insurance & Coverage for Newcomers in Canada
• Addressing Language Barriers within Healthcare
• Newcomer Mental Health
• Canadian Collaboration for Immigrant and Refugee Health
• Caring for Kids New to Canada
• Canadian Doctors for Refugee Healthcare 

Academic Literature:

• The Relevance of Meaningful Occupation to Migrating People & Newcomers
• Occupational Therapy Interventions in Newcomer Contexts
• Occupational Therapy  & Cultural Diversity
• Odysseus Network PhD Catalogue- Stay up to date with all the research out there on migration

Current Updates on Refugee-Related Social & Policy Issues:

Internationally:

• United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) 
  • We recommend you use UNHCR’s Refworld as a tool to support you if interested in:
    • Country information
    • Legal information
    • Policy Documents
    • Reference Documents
• International Organization for Migration

In Canada:

• We recommend the Canadian Council for Refugees’ web page titled: ‘Refugee and immigration issues in Canadian media’, which features a continually updated list of recent news headlines and articles listed by date, providing an overview of the national public dialogue on relevant issues.