Wednesday, September 8th, 2021 Pacific Immigrant Resources Society Selected as B.C.’s Council of the Federation (COF) Literacy Award 2021 Recipient Pacific Immigrant Resources Society (PIRS) was thrilled and honoured to receive the 2021 British Columbia’s Council of the Federation (COF) Literacy Award on September 8th, 2021. The $500 award will be used to continue its … Read more
PIRS is gravely concerned about the developing situation in Afghanistan where the Taliban is currently in control of two-thirds of the country. This is a devastating blow to human rights, peace, and democracy, and particularly to the rights of women and girls. As an organization serving immigrant and refugee women and their children, we applaud … Read more
[IMAGE: Building Bridges program participants, guests, PIRS board, and staff members at the online graduating conference event on May 23rd, 2021.] In 2020, we started a new program at PIRS to support newcomer and immigrant women with visible and invisible disabilities, to foreground their experiences through learning around communication, public speaking, resilience, and advocacy. Together, … Read more
[Image: “Every Child Matters” designed by K’omoks/Kwakwaka’wakw First Nation artist Andy Everson] We are a group of immigrant and newcomer women in Metro Vancouver. We came from different parts of the world at different times; what brought us together is the Building Bridges program at the Pacific Immigrant Resources Society (PIRS). After completing the program … Read more
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, June 16th, 2021 Pacific Immigrant Resources Society Stands with Muslim Canadians: Statement on Islamophobic Murder of London Family On Sunday June 6th, 2021, a Muslim family in London, Ontario was attacked, leaving four family members dead, and one individual with serious injuries. The Pacific Immigrant Resources Society (PIRS), serving immigrant and … Read more
We are thrilled to announce this new initiative, Unpacking Greatness, championed by Pacific Immigrant Resources Society (PIRS) in partnership with PowHERhouse! It is an innovative, inviting, and inclusive engagement, activation, and amplification designed to share the stories, learnings, and desired next steps forward of the Learning Journeys project. Learning Journeys is a participatory research initiative … Read more
Celebrate March 8th with us by watching the above film, Stories and Experiences of Immigrant Women and Childcare in BC: A PIRS Learning Journeys project by and with immigrant women. This film highlights access to quality, affordable childcare as a major integration barrier for immigrant and refugee women. When newcomer women don’t have access to quality, … Read more
At the heart of Learning Journeys stands a fundamental question: What lessons and growth points emerge for immigrant women, their families, communities, and service providers in Canada if the settlement process is more focused on showcasing and engaging immigrant women’s strengths and skills? As this research project nears its two-year mark, we aim to explore … Read more
Learning Journeys is pleased to introduce their newest partner, Njoki Mbũrũ, who is writing a series of blogs that capture the essence of a 2-year long journey: Learning Journeys is like a garment; a complete and comprehensible creation formed from the union of individual strands. The strands by themselves do not form the garment unless … Read more
Gyda Chud has been a Board member of Pacific Immigrant Resources Society for nearly 40 years. She began her journey when PIRS was based in the Strathcona area, and the staff there observed that many women who wanted to participate in programs were not able to because of a lack of access to childcare. Gyda, … Read more