S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Society and MLC Reaccredited
Both S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Society and the Multi-Level Care Society were due for another term of reaccreditation in the latter half of the fiscal year. A considerable amount of preparation, self-study and documentation was done leading up to the exhaustive and meticulous onsite review and examination by the external review panels. The Board, management and staff all contributed their time and effort to ready the organization for the onsite reviews. The results were amazing.
For the third consecutive time since 2004, S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Society, the social services arm of the organization, has been successfully reaccredited by the Council on Accreditation (COA), an international accreditation agency based out of New York, USA. After three days of intensive on-site reviews in mid November 2011, the decision of the review panel was unanimous and COA gave an officially expedited announcement on December 6, 2011 that S.U.C.C.E.S.S. was reaccredited for another 4-year term starting 2012. Only the top tier organizations fulfilling all COA national standards of best practices in administrative operations and service delivery would be accorded such recognition. The reaccreditation by COA reaffirms S.U.C.C.E.S.S.’ “reputation of excellence, and objectively and reliably verifies S.U.C.C.E.S.S.’ high performance standards and commitment to delivering the highest quality of services that are accessible, appropriate, culturally responsive, evidence-based and outcomes-oriented,” said the COA letter.
At the heart of the COA reaccreditation is S.U.C.C.E.S.S.’ own Performance and Quality Improvement (PQI) Committee and its quarterly meetings. The PQI Committee, led by the Chief Operating Officer, ensures agency-wide compliance of all COA established administrative and service quality standards, conducts peer reviews of client service records and makes recommendations for improvements on an ongoing basis.
Multi Level Care Society (MLC), which provides health services at S.U.C.C.E.S.S.’ seniors care home, adult day centre and assisted living facilities in Vancouver and Richmond, was also successfully reaccredited by Accreditation Canada. Since January 1, 2012, Accreditation Canada has implemented new accreditation decision levels, which factor into the organization’s compliance with the standards, high-priority criteria, required practices tests for compliance, and survey instrument sample size thresholds (for service quality control). There are only four possible accreditation decision levels to be given out: (1) Accredited with Exemplary Standing; (2) Accredited with Commendation; (3) Accredited; and (4) Not Accredited. MLC was awarded with the highest level – “Accredited with Exemplary Standing”. Through comparison with national standards, MLC scored a compliance rating of 99.3%, which reflects the high quality services MLC has been delivering. The next accreditation will take place in 2014 – that would be another opportunity for MLC to top the scale!
With such notable reaccreditation results, funders, donors, sponsors, partners, clients and the community can have confidence in S.U.C.C.E.S.S. commitment to continuous improvement in every aspect of its business.

Because of YOU, WE can.

S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Foundation did it again because of YOU! On February 25, 2012, government officials, community leaders and philanthropists came together for the 2012 Bridge to S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Gala, an evening to celebrate the achievements of immigrants and raise much needed funds for community services. Together, the crowd of over 700 raised $475,000 to support S.U.C.C.E.S.S. services and programs that lack sufficient government funding, particularly those for seniors, women, youth and families. This annual event is one of the premier charitable events on the social calendars of many in the community.
The Gala, which was held at Westin Bayshore in Vancouver, was a night of entertainment and celebration. The evening began at the Vancity VIP Reception, where guests mingled and bid on over 200 exotic items donated by local businesses at the Lugaro Jewellers Silent Auction Pavilion. After an intimate dinner, guests were treated to magnificent performances by The Goh Ballet and Ms. Keeva Mak, a rising Hong Kong recording artist who was educated in Vancouver.
The gala was also a celebration of the achievements of immigrants. “This evening it is our distinct pleasure to pay tribute to two of these immigrants, Mr. Choo Chiat Goh and Mrs. Lin Yee Goh,” said Mrs. Maggie Ip, Chair of S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Foundation. “Together they have founded one of the leading ballet academies in Canada, The Goh Ballet Academy, and produced a Canadian national treasure, Ms. Chan Hon Goh, their daughter and former principal dancer with the National Ballet of Canada. Their journey from ballet dancers to respected educators is a prime example of the triumph of immigrants in British Columbia.”
Among the728 notable Gala guests who joined in on the celebrations, it was a privilege to have the Hon. Alice Wong, Minister of State (Seniors), Government of Canada; the Hon. Christy Clark, Premier of British Columbia; Ms. Wai Young, MP for Vancouver South; the Hon. Naomi Yamamoto, Minister of Advanced Education, BC; the Hon. Ida Chong, Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development, BC; Mr. Harry Bloy, MLA for Burnaby-Lougheed, BC; His Worship Gregor Robertson, Mayor of Vancouver; His Worship Richard Stewart, Mayor of City of Coquitlam and His Worship Malcolm Brodie, Mayor of Richmond in our presence.

S.U.C.C.E.S.S. has been a strong advocate for the immigrant community. Travelling to Ottawa at the invitation by two Standing Committees of The House of Commons, Parliament of Canada, Thomas Tam, S.U.C.C.E.S.S. CEO, presented the organization’s view on two pressing issues affecting immigrants on October 25, 2011.
S.U.C.C.E.S.S. made four major recommendations on how the Canadian government can better manage immigration applications and reduce backlogs cumulated from over the previous years at the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration. The gist of the recommendations includes: 1) an effective administrative measures to address the demand side of the equation and create space to reach back to the backlogs; 2) Flexibility, efficiency and adequate deployment of CIC resources to process the applications; 3) Same service standard, fairness and transparency of the process to all applicants in all visa offices across the globe; and 4) Outcome evidence that progress is being made to regain control of the “uphill battle” – reducing backlogs and decreasing wait time - and Canada is indeed getting the immigrants it wants, in types and numbers, according to its immigration policy in a timely manner.
The House of Commons Standing Committee to Human Resources, Skills, and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities (HUMA) has undertaken a study entitled “A Framework for Success: Practical Recommendations to Further Shorten the Foreign Qualification Recognition (FCR) Process.” In the testimony to the Committee, S.U.C.C.E.S.S. recommended a Six-Point Strategy on how the Government can overcome the systematic challenges faced by internationally education professionals thereby shortening a currently lengthy FCR process.
The six points are: 1) An extended and Comprehensive Case Management of IEPs for the entire duration of the Foreign Credential Recognition (FCR) process; 2) A new and separate Language and Communication Proficiency and Workplace Cultural Competency Training Program for IEPs; 3) An effective “Bridging Mechanism” between IEPs and the Regulatory Bodies; 4) An extensive work placement services for IEPs to gain access to local professional network and valuable Canadian working experience; 5) Increase service support to Employers to gain understanding and acceptance of hiring IEPs and the benefits of a culturally diverse workplace; and 6) Support Regionalization initiatives by connecting IEPs to areas with more opportunities, especially in some heavily sector or industry based small communities where there are skills and labour shortage and retention challenge. To achieve this, government, employers and the community have to invest in more support, more education and more settlement and integration effort to recruit and retain the IEPs.
Shortly after Thomas Tam’s return from Ottawa, S.U.C.C.E.S.S. made another paper submission to Citizenship and Immigration Canada The submission, which was made on November 11, 2011, was in response to Minister Jason Kenney’s October 15 open consultation on a possible change to the language requirements for making citizenship applications. S.U.C.C.E.S.S. supports the overall policy direction to strengthen and ensure the ability of citizenship applicants to communicate effectively in either one of the official languages of Canada. It is a respectable attempt to improve the integrity and effectiveness of Canada’s Citizenship Program. It has reservation, however, on how the proposed change would be implemented and made recommendations to consider special circumstances and address potential problems.
S.U.C.C.E.S.S. is also supporting immigrants at the provincial level. On March 16, 2012, it submitted a position paper to the BC Immigration Task Force in response to the consultation on the current system of economic immigration. The position paper looked at and made recommendations on existing challenges, role of immigration, immigration numbers, the current immigration system and suite of economic immigration programs. S.U.C.C.E.S.S. strongly believes the economic and social integration of new immigrants is inseparable.
The contents of these submissions can be accessed at S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Position Papers.

Over the past years, S.U.C.C.E.S.S. has strongly advocated for skilled immigrants in order to better address the barriers and challenges they face in the foreign credential recognition (FCR) process. With the launch of a new program for internationally educated professionals (IEPs), S.U.C.C.E.S.S. has developed a new avenue to serve immigrants.
On February 22, 2011, the Hon. Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development, alongside the Hon. Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism and the Hon. Alice Wong, Minister of State (Seniors), announced the launch of a pilot project to assist IEPs with FCR and find jobs in their fields of expertise. S.U.C.CE.S.S. is one of the few service providers across the nation to deliver the FCR Loan Pilot Project, which provides IEPs with financial assistance in the form of loans to help pay for short-term training, examination fees, and other expenses that pose as significant barriers to credential recognition.
The uniqueness of the S.U.C.C.E.S.S. FCR Loan Pilot Project is that it is a true Public-Private and Non-profit partnership. Both VanCity and S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Foundation contributed to the FCR loan capital on top of the provision by the federal government. “Through our partnership with the Government of Canada and our years of involvement with bridge programs such as foreign credential recognition, we look forward to providing services for flexible, easily accessible and low cost loan applications to internationally trained professionals,” said Thomas Tam, CEO of S.U.C.C.E.S.S.

S.U.C.C.E.S.S.’ employment and self-employment services were restructured in light of the Ministry of Social Development’s Business Transformation process but is not leaving the community behind.
As of April 1, 2012, S.U.C.C.E.S.S. is no longer providing case management and case managed employment services at its service centres in Vancouver (Fraser and Keefer), Burnaby and Coquitlam. Job seekers can now access the government’s new Employment Program of British Columbia (EPBC) through their local WorkBC Employment Services Centre. Although S.U.C.C.E.S.S. is not a prime contractor in the new EPBC, the agency has a responsibility to the community to ensure existing employment services meet the needs of job seekers. S.U.C.C.E.S.S. staff is working with prime contractors in select areas within the Lower Mainland to deliver sub-contracted employment and self-employment services. The agency will also actively monitor the new EPBC to make sure the needs of all job seekers – particularly immigrants and other specialized population groups – are met in the new model. In addition, S.U.C.C.E.S.S.’ Settlement Labour Market Specialists are committed to directing immigrants to the new EPBC and making sure they are able to access appropriate services to gain labour market attachment.
Outside of the EPBC, S.U.C.C.E.S.S. will continue to deliver employment services through other program initiatives and will continue to seek public funding for specialized employment needs in the community. The newly launched FCR Loan Pilot Project assists internationally educated professionals with their foreign credential recognition while the improved Immigrant in Trades Training Initiative (ITTI) supports immigrants to gain trades qualifications and enter the sector. Job Options BC assists all job seekers in Burnaby and Coquitlam, while the Skills Link Youth Employment Program continues its long tradition of training and linking youth to employment. S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Settlement’s Employment Mentoring Program carries on the agency’s legacy in the mentoring service by matching skilled newcomers with mentors who have Canadian experience in the newcomers’ desired fields. This range of services ensures S.U.C.C.E.S.S. continues to support job seekers. All clients, whether new or old, are encouraged to provide their feedback to S.U.C.C.E.S.S. so that the agency can continue to advocate for their needs.
Meantime, S.U.C.C.E.S.S. has submitted several new proposals to the BC Government for consideration to assist the social and economic integration needs of BC immigrants. A proposed immigrant entrepreneurship initiative also aims at turning the BC immigrant human capital into an asset and effectuates the “hidden advantage” of BC immigrants to become part of the BC Job Creation Agenda.

S.U.C.C.E.S.S. recently announced new media collaborations to better serve the Chinese-Canadian and Filipino-Canadian communities.
Evergreen News, S.U.C.C.E.S.S.’ well-known community publication, has played a vital role in bridging the cultural gap and enriching Chinese immigrants’ understanding of Canadian society since 1985. Run by a dedicated team of volunteers, Evergreen News will now reach an even greater number of readers through S.U.C.C.E.S.S.’ partnership with http://taiyangbao.ca/ a fast-growing Chinese-language news website powered by The Vancouver Sun. Taiyangbao.ca will now be an additional platform for readers to access Evergreen News articles.
“We’re pleased to add Evergreen News’ content to Taiyangbao.ca,” said Valerie Casselton, Executive Editor of The Vancouver Sun. “It’s important community content and we’re proud to help it reach a wider audience.”
S.U.C.C.E.S.S. has also reached a media collaboration with the newly launched Philippine Canadian Inquirer, http://www.canadianinquirer.net, the first nationally distributed Filipino weekly newspaper in Canada on January 11, 2012. The Filipino community is currently the third largest visible minority group in Canada. About 500,000 Filipinos currently reside in Canada contributing to Canada’s economic growth. The number of Filipino-Canadians is projected by Statistics Canada to exceed 650,000 by 2017. S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Settlement Services is sharing stories about “Life in Canada” to new immigrants through a regular column in the newspaper.

 

S.U.C.C.E.S.S. has been concerned about the impact of Hepatitis B (HBV) on the ethnic communities in BC for many years. Hepatitis B is a widely unrecognized health issue among Asian and South Asian communities. But for those who suffer from the disease, they face many barriers to access proper health care and often endure in silence with great financial burden on their families.
The epidemiological situation is that Hepatitis B (HBV) is generally uncommon in Canada. “But in areas where there are large Asian communities, such as the BC lower mainland especially Vancouver-Richmond-Surrey, HBV rates approach that of Asia. In BC, the estimated number of HBV patients is estimated anywhere from 30,000 -60,000 and many are, unfortunately, diagnosed very late after the discovery of cirrhosis or liver cancer,” according to Dr. Eric M. Yoshida, Professor & Head, Division of Gastroenterology, UBC Medical School.
S.U.C.C.E.S.S. has formed a Partnership with the Division of Gastroenterology, UBC Medical School and the BC Hepatitis Program to launch an advocacy campaign on HBV. An Advisory Committee consists of Dr. Jessica Chan, S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Director & Family Physician (Chair), Dr. Eric M. Yoshida, UBC Professor & Head, Dr. Peter Kwan, Assoc. Professor, Ms. Jo-Ann Ford, Clinical Research Director, BC Hepatitis Program and Thomas Tam, CEO, S.U.C.C.E.S.S. The Partnership will engage a multi-pronged strategy to address this challenge and recommends efforts be made to (1) increase publicly funded resources for community education and awareness of HBV within targeted ethnic communities in BC; (2) listing HBV on Chronic Disease Management and provide family physicians with additional incentives to treat HBV before it becomes a serious health issue; and (3) increase the resources available to provide earlier diagnosis and treatment.
On April 16, 2012, the Partnership launched a large scale scientific survey within the targeted ethnic communities in BC to assess the existing knowledge and awareness of HBV as a chronic disease. The survey result will establish a new baseline on which HBV health education and awareness program will be amplified. This joint Partnership will continue to advocate for and seek funding resources to deliver HBV education programs targeting at-risk ethnic communities in BC.
In order to contain and reduce the burden of tragic outcomes from liver disease in the future, it is clear to this joint Partnership that the core components of preventive community health education and effective chronic disease management (including the BC Hepatitis Program) must continue and expand. Given the very high cost of prolonged in-hospital care while awaiting a possible liver transplant, that may not happen because of lack of donor availability, an organized program that allows for the early diagnosis and appropriate treatment of liver disease, and reduction of the burden of end-stage disease, will result in health-care cost savings in the long-term.

Since 2004, A chance to choose helped over 300 participants through 24 successful community projects. James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages and Minister responsible for British Columbia, participated a reunion honouring "A chance to choose" held in Port Moody.		Chinese Consul General Fei LIU (R) visited S.U.C.C.E.S.S. on her 1st week arrival in Vancouver. She also donated DVDs to the seniors at S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Multi-Level Care Society. (L): Dennis Chan, Chair of S.U.C.C.E.S.S.
Alice Choi (R), Executive Director of S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Multi-Level Care Society and 98-year-old long-time volunteer Wayne Mak (L) welcomed Michael Y.K. Tseng, Director-General of Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Vancouver.		In October 2011, S.U.C.C.E.S.S. received a delegation from the Committee on Labour and Social Affairs of the German Bundestag, which is one of the German Bundestagˇs 22 permanent committees.
Raymond Yu (L), Resident of S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Simon K. Y. Lee Seniors Care Home,enjoyed his time with BC Premier Christy Clark.		BC Premier Christy Clark (2nd R) met with S.U.C.C.E.S.S. multicultural staff team at Tri-City Service Centre.
Manh Nguiyen, S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Vietnamese-speaking staff helped promote the annual Vietnamese New Year Festival.		A group of visitors from Vienna, Austria, came to learn about S.U.C.C.E.S.S.' services for youth immigrants. The 11-member delegation was hosted by the City of Vancouver.
Dale McMann, Executive Director (far left), Lower Mainland Directly Managed Office, provided an overview on BC Housingˇs roles and partnership with S.U.C.C.E.S.S. for a delegation from Beijing Municipal Housing Fund Management Centre.		Henry Thom (R), Chair of Vancouver Chinatown Revitalization Committee spoke at a joint press conference with UBC and S.U.C.C.E.S.S. on the study for Chinese seniors' housing in Chinatown.
Mrs. Evelyne Decorps,(2nd R) Consul General of France in Vancouver visited S.U.C.C.E.S.S. L-F: S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Foundation Board member Gary Hsu, S.U.C.C.E.S.S. CEO Thomas Tam and Foundation CEO Clarence Cheng.		World figure skating champion Patrick Chan (middle) brought joy to the seniors at S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Harmony House.