PRSN

In 2021, the Private Refugee Sponsor Network (PRSN) was incorporated as a not-for-profit organization founded by private sponsors to create its own sponsor voice about what is needed to achieve best practice for private refugee sponsors. Its broader aim is to build relationships with those in the sector, share information, problem-solve and offer trainings to sponsors on post-arrival issues and topics they identify. To achieve that goal, PRSN is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors with representatives from the sponsor community, settlement agencies and the business community. Its mission is to “connect, learn and share”.

Purpose

In October 2022, PRSN launched a survey to better understand how sponsors and settlement agencies relate with the hope of finding promising practices and experiences that could help sponsors to support newcomer settlement more effectively. The hope was also that this would lead to new opportunities to develop best practices around post-arrival issues through partnerships with settlement agencies. A copy of the full report can be accessed here.

Context

“The 1976 Immigration Act established refugees as a class separate from immigrants. Soon after, Canadians responded to the ‘Boat People’ crisis of the late 70s and early 80s which allowed ordinary people from across the country to assist these refugees through private sponsorship.”[1]

In 2016, Canada welcomed 40,000 government-assisted and privately sponsored newcomers to Canada, responding to war, violence and crisis in Syria. As many Canadians were new to the Private Sponsorship of Refugees (PSR) program, they sought advice on how to establish a sponsor group and to get a better understanding of the requirements and challenges.

The Refugee Sponsorship Training Program (RSTP) had been funded by Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to provide support to Sponsorship Agreement Holder organizations (SAHs) and to train private sponsors about the process. But the services offered by RSTP were felt to be unable to meet the enormous challenges with so many new arrivals.

To determine how to support sponsors through the process, a group of experienced private sponsors engaged Eco-Ethonomics in 2017 to conduct research seeking to identify gaps in support for sponsors including: best practices, training, formalized networking events and mentorship to match new sponsors with those more experienced. Post-arrival issues, like finding employment, were top of mind. 

Eco-Ethonomic’s research revealed that sponsors felt that RSTP was focussed on pre-arrival issues, helping groups start the sponsorship process and with completion and submission of documentation and forms. RSTP did not seem able to respond with information to help private sponsors address post-arrival issues.

The research also revealed a reluctance among sponsors to seek support through settlement agencies. While settlement agencies are mandated to provide services to refugee newcomers, there was a perception among sponsors that only newcomers were welcome to contact settlement agencies. Sponsors believed they were not welcome to approach agencies on behalf of the people they sponsored.

Eco-Ethonomics also found that sponsors were seeking support that was more individualized and “welcoming” for newcomers. This type of support went beyond what established agencies would typically provide. Their findings and recommendations became the basis for the establishment of the PRSN.

PRSN set out to build on Eco-Ethonomics’ work to gain additional insights about the relationships between private sponsors and settlement agencies. PRSN’s Partnership Committee, with a mandate to build relationships within the sector, was asked to investigate.

The Survey

The Partnership Committee launched a survey of sponsors and settlement agencies in Ontario with the objective of capturing promising practices and experiences with respect to newcomer settlement that would lead to new opportunities for the Network to partner with settlement agencies more effectively and to increase access to services and programs. More broadly, PRSN was interested in expanding the Network across the country and would use the information gathered to support that goal.

PRSN launched the survey with two target cohorts in mind:

1. Private refugee sponsors: Questionnaires were sent by email to 400 individuals in the Network’s database. PRSN also asked the SAH Council to share the survey with its Ontario members, requesting it be sent to their constituent groups. Forty (40) responses were received, considered adequate for this survey. The questionnaire is included in the report appendices.
2. Settlement agencies: Questionnaires were sent by email to 200 settlement agencies using a list provided by the Ontario government. Only eight (8) responses were received, too few to base conclusions. The low response rate prompted PRSN to identify 25 agencies across five regions in Ontario (Eastern, Southwestern, Hamilton/Niagara, GTA and Northern), and to engage Decision Point Research to conduct the survey by telephone. Data were collected from 22 of the 25 agencies. The questionnaire is included in the report appendices.

What We Learned from Sponsors

Sponsors indicated that they learned about issues related to the settlement of newcomers from other sponsors, relying on each other’s prior experience. Sharing experiences was most important, in particular, making a personal connection with someone they could trust to give them the information they needed. Sponsors also look to their SAHs for post-arrival information and training to help navigate the challenges of settlement.

The most challenging issues that sponsors felt needed to be addressed included: housing (75%), employment strategies (41%) and finding supports for mental health (35%).

Overall, sponsors felt they were disconnected from settlement agencies. Responses reinforced the idea that settlement agencies’ responsibilities were to newcomers directly and saw little or no reason to interact with sponsors. There was also the feeling that the funding model for agencies played a role, as interactions with sponsors were not recognized for payment. Some sponsors stated they were not able to problem-solve with settlement agencies, feeling a resistance to collaborate. This was exacerbated in smaller communities where there were limited or no agencies to offer services.

Sponsors saw a role for PRSN to provide training, solve problems and share information, in addition to the opportunity to connect with other sponsors. The quality of PRSN training offerings was found to be excellent by 54% of those who completed the questionnaire, with another 25% rating them as good. Going forward, sponsors expressed the desire to see more services offered by PRSN: online resources (78%), a resource directory developed by sponsors for sponsors (60%), a hotline for help with urgent problems (40%), a mentorship program (30%), and developing better relationships with settlement agencies (37%).

What We Learned from Settlement Agencies

Settlement agencies are funded to provide services to newcomers, whether they are government-assisted or they have arrived through private sponsorship. Agencies indicated that they employ a variety of means to provide supports to newcomers through telephone contact, email, in-person meetings and online resources.

In conducting the second round of outreach, Decision Point also noted difficulties getting agencies to respond, citing ongoing responsibilities. These difficulties were considered a finding of this research. 

From an organizational perspective, among the agencies engaged, some supervisors seemed unaware of the challenges faced by frontline staff while at the same time, frontline staff struggled with policy issues.

Regarding sponsors, agencies expressed concerns that sponsors do not understand what the agencies do or the services they offer. There was also a feeling of confusion about roles and responsibilities. Agencies say they do collaborate with private sponsors, as needed, but also feel that sponsors want to do everything by themselves, choosing not to seek help.

Agency staff indicated that sponsors lack the necessary knowledge and need guidance to respond to the needs of newcomers. One particular point was the need for sponsors to empower those they sponsor more. 

In keeping with the existing funding model, settlement agencies want sponsors to refer privately-sponsored newcomers to them, feeling that resettlement needs were best handled by professionals, reinforcing the view that the agencies provide newcomers with supports, not sponsors.

Settlement agencies lack awareness of PRSN and its role. Rarely, if ever, are referrals made to PRSN. Agencies most often refer newcomers to the local service organizations.

Most agencies (63%) said their organization could provide experts for training workshops, if approved by senior management, for common topics like housing, financial issues, mental health, cultural issues, conflict resolution, and preparation for Month 13 when resettlement support ends. More complex issues that sponsors bring to settlement agencies include domestic violence, family breakdown, managing expectations, mental health and employment.

Agencies see an opportunity to develop better working relationships between their organizations and sponsors. Some expressed an interest in learning more about PRSN, its services and programs, the role it plays currently and how that could evolve in future.

Recommendations

Based on the survey results, there appears to be a significant opportunity to re-set the sponsor/settlement agency relationship to be more productive and with PRSN playing a connecting role.

The report identifies three points to respond to the issues raised in this survey:

[1] https://www.rstp.ca/en/infosheet/private-sponsorship-of-refugees/?format=HTML