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PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY August 16 - 31, 2016
CARE Centre Opens for Caregivers
The Caregivers Assistance,
Resource and Education (CARE)
Centre is an emergency and respite shelter facility open to caregivers of all ethnicities in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland.
It offers information and training
workshops to help caregivers integrate into Canadian society and
upgrade their skills in order to improve their standard of living and
aid their families.
It also serves as a
venue for caregivers to gather on
their days off from
work, where they
can socialize with
others to assuage
the loneliness of
living away from
their families and
homeland. The
Centre connects
caregivers
with
the government and non-profit
institutions that provide the services they need. It is staffed by
volunteers, the majority of whom
are current or former caregivers
whose experience and perspective make them ideal resource
persons. The CARE Centre aims
to be a caregiver’s safe haven.
According to Maria La Rosa,
on a case to case basis, the centre can accommodate transients
who need to stay at the centre
longer to assess and solve their
situation.
“In cases of emergency, we
can accommodate three women
and give them a stipend for their
daily needs,” she says. La Rosa
adds that they had cases where
some caregivers were abruptly
dismissed or have fraudulent
cases, and they were immediately
accepted because of their situation.
“We are also a respite centre, where caregivers can stay on
weekends if they want to stay at
the centre away from their employers, “ La Rosa adds that they
also had caregivers some in from
Victoria and other places outside
of Vancouver and needed a place
to stay so that they can do their
errands in the city without having
to stay in expensive hotels.
“They usually just give us
an amount as a donation for the
centre,” La Rosa explains. All of
the services the centre offers is
free, and there are a number of
individuals and groups who help
support the cause of
CARE.
CARE is hoping to
expand their accommodations in the next three
years, and hopefully,
affordable facilities that
can accommodate liveout nannies. They also
have tie-ups with organizations such as the
ISS of BC, Westcoast
Domestic Workers Association, and church
groups, and they can come and
use the common space for their
meetings with the caregivers.
The idea of the CARE Centre grew out of the experience of
the Vancouver Committee for Domestic Workers and Caregivers
Rights (CDWCR), which assisted
caregivers fleeing from abusive
employers, or those who, victim-
ized by unscrupulous employment agencies,
arrived in Canada with no
employers.
CDWCR found
temporary accommodation for these
caregivers in
the homes of
their members
or with shelters run by non-profit
organizations; organized information and skill-building workshops;
and hosted socials in their members’ homes or at community
centres. CDWCR identified the
need for respite housing -- many
caregivers needed a place for
rest and recreation on their days
off. The Caregivers Assistance
Resource and Education Centre
Society was organized to meet this
end.
Funds were
raised by the Society and CDWCR, and matched
by a sponsorship
from Scotiabank,
from the premiere
of the film “Tran-
WWW.PHILIPPINEASIANNEWSTODAY.COM
sit” (about Filipino caregivers in
Israel) at the Vancouver Jewish
Film Festival in November 2014.
The funds were used to set up the
Centre that opened its doors on
March 2015.
For more information,
please contact Maria La Rosa or
Julie Diesta at 604.874.0649 or
778.881.8345 (in cases of emergency)