Community Child Abuse Council

Outreach, Assessment, & Specialized Intervention Services (OASIS) Program

This program offers specialized mental health services to immigrant and refugee children, youth, and their families who have experienced trauma in another country, while on their journey to Canada, or while in Canada. Children and youth fleeing with their families from their country of origin, or dealing with resettlement and acculturation can face significant stressors and challenges and the OASIS Program is designed specifically to meet their unique mental health needs.

Outreach - Immigrant and refugee families experience a great number of challenges and stressors not only prior to but also when they arrive in Canada. Parents must attend to the most important basic needs, including housing, school enrolment, employment, language skills, and health concerns. Seeking help for mental health-related issues is influenced by cultural factors and there tends to be an underutilization of these services. Families also face cultural and linguistic barriers that hinder their ability and desire to discuss historical trauma. There is a need to reach out to this population in a variety of ways and at different times and stages in their acculturation process.

The Community Child Abuse Council works collaboratively with a number of agencies and organizations serving immigrant and refugee families in order to identify children and youth who would benefit from specialized intervention services to address issues related to trauma and acculturation.

Assessments - The assessment aims to identify the traumatic events witnessed or experienced by children or youth, as well as to determine the impact these events and the acculturation process have had on their current functioning. Typically, an assessment will take one to three sessions with the Counsellor. Meetings are also held with the parents or caregivers and sometimes additional information is sought from other counsellors or professionals in contact with the family. A final report is prepared by the Counsellor following the assessment, highlighting and summarizing the information obtained in relation to various aspects of the child's functioning. The report identifies specific recommendations for treatment with possible intervention strategies.

Counselling/Treatment - Counsellors who are both culturally sensitive and competent provide individual and family counselling/treatment and address the recommendations identified in the assessment. Parental involvement and support is critical to the successful participation of the child. Psycho-educational sessions for parents are also provided. Trained Interpreters are made available.

Research - As with our other programs, a commitment to participating in and supporting research in the field which further improves the delivery and efficacy of services provided to children and youth is important to us. Participant involvement in any research is voluntary and choosing not to participate in no way impacts the provision or delivery of services to children, youth, or their families.

Referral Process - Referrals come from CONTACT Hamilton as well as some specific agencies providing direct services to this population, including SWIS workers in schools and Resettlement Counsellors. For information about the OASIS Program or to make a referral, call the Community Child Abuse Council. Any questions concerning the referral process can be directed to Hana Pinthus, Intake and Outreach Coordinator, OASIS Program, at
(905) 523-1020 ext. 15.

Staffing - Immigrant and refugee families come from all over the world, representing many cultures and speaking many languages. For this reason, in addition to requiring the appropriate professional qualifications and cultural competencies, we aim to recruit clinical team members who represent cultural backgrounds reflective of our client group and invest in them by providing ongoing training in this specialized field. Trained interpreters are also used as needed.

Fees There are no fees for services through this program.