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Chinese Immigration Act 100th Anniversary Commemoration Events

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In 1923, the Canadian government enacted the Chinese Immigration Act, commonly referred to as the Chinese Exclusion Act, in order to prohibit Chinese immigrants from entering Canada.

Fast forward to 2023, and it marks the centenary of the Chinese Exclusion Act. To honor this milestone, the Youth Leadership Project of ECSSEN Career School in Calgary, along with other associations, has come together to organize commemorative activities.

This project is featured by its emphasis on youth leadership, where young individuals take charge and engage their peers in listening to historical narratives. By remembering the past, the aim is to prevent the resurgence of anti-Chinese sentiments.

This comprehensive project entails the following activities:

  • Workshop in the afternoon of June 18, 2023 (Sunday):
    Attendees will have the opportunity to learn about the history of the Chinese Exclusion Act from an esteemed guests, David Wright, Professor of History from University of Calgary; and descendants of railway workers will also share the stories of their ancestors and highlight the contributions of Chinese individuals to Canada and Calgary.
    Time: 1:00-4:00pm
    Location: Bay 9, 1431 40 Ave NE

  • Workshop on June 24, 2023 in the afternoon:
    A guest speaker is invited to delve into the history of Calgary’s Chinatown. 
    Location to be announced

  • Chinese Culture Museum Tour on June 24-25, 2023

  • Youth Speech Contest on the Chinese Exclusion Act on July 29, 2023. 
    Location to be announced

Note: Participation in all activities, including visits to the Chinese Culture Museum and participation in the speech contest, is free of charge.

Active student and volunteer involvement in the activities will be prioritized for participation in the speech contest

Event registration is now open to the public!

In order to reduce the workload of on-site volunteers, please register in advance.

How to register: Click on the QR code above, or click on the registration link here: https://forms.office.com/r/wxDKdnmVAR to enter your or your child’s information.

Also, in order to reduce everyone’s workload, this registration form allows everyone to register for all activities at one time, including registering as a volunteer.

This project is funded by the City of Calgary and co-hosted by:

Welcome everyone to sign up and support youth activities!

ECSSEN Career School Youth Leadership Program together with the Calgary youths 100th Anniversary Commemoration of Canadian Immigration Exclusion Act Team

June 14, 2023

 

 

Calgary Youths Working Together

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In 1923, the Canadian government officially passed the Chinese Immigration Act (Also known as the Chinese Exclusion Act) to prevent Chinese immigrants from coming to Canada.

This year is 2023. On this 100th anniversary of the Chinese Exclusion Act, the youths of the Youth Leadership Project of  ECSSEN Career School and other associations in Calgary are working together to hold activities to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Immigration Act. 

The feature of this project is youths lead youths, and let youths listen to historical stories, remember the history, and prevent the resurgence of anti-Chinese ideology!

 

This project includes a series of activities:

  • Invite guests to tell youths about the history of the Chinese Exclusion Act

  • Invite a descendant of a railway worker to tell the history of their ancestors and the contribution of Chinese people to Canada and Calgary’s history

  • Invite a guest to talk about the history of Calgary Chinatown

  • Visit the Chinese Culture Museum in the Calgary Cultural Center

  • At the end of the project, we will hold a youth speech competition on July 29, 2023 on this Chinese Immigration Act (aka, Chinese Exclusion Act)

  • Cost:
    Participation in various activities, including visiting the Chinese Culture Museum in the Cultural Center and speech contests are free

 

Contact:
Because this is the Youth Leadership Program, the main contacts are the two Youth leaders:
  • Liangray Li
  • Grant Li
Tel: 403)970-0400
This is the contact’s QR code:

 

The project is at the stage of recruiting youth leaders now, and currently, the students are meeting via Zoom every Friday evening to discuss the progress of the project and share the information they have researched.
Members of the youth leader team of this project have priority in participating in the speech competition.
If you think these activities are important, and you want your child(ren) to exercise leadership skills, please contact us.
Let your child be a member of the Youth Leadership Team!
This project is supported and funded by the City of Calgary.
The following are the project partners:

Thank you for your attention!

ECSSEN Career School Youth Leadership Program together with the Calgary youths 100th Anniversary Commemoration of Canadian Immigration Exclusion Act Team

June 10, 2023

Hotline Webinar #28 – Mental health and wellness support for patients with chronic diseases or cancer（浅谈慢性病和癌症病人心理需求及相关资源）

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Time: Friday, April 21, 2023, from 7:00 – 8:30 PM (Alberta time – MST)

Zoom:

Registration: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN__8ig2lknQCWKyg_JZQnETg

Direct meeting link: https://zoom.us/w/95646038323

Meeting ID = 956 4603 8323

Registration QR code

*Registration & webinars are free.

Outline of webinar:

— Introduction of chronic diseases and cancer

— Physiological and psychological impacts

— Chronic disease health management and how to maintain mental health

— Resources

We are pleased to have Jessie and Ivy as our guest speaker on this topic. Jessie and Ivy both have over 15 years of experience in related area and know very well about the needs of patients and their families, and supporting resources and procedures.  Jessie is a registered nurse in Alberta. She started to work in the hematology wards in 2008 and joined Tom Baker Cancer Centre (TBCC) in 2011. Jessie has done clinical work in chemotherapy, hematology/blood cancer and solid tumor clinics, and she is mainly in charge of diagnosis/triage of new cases of blood cancer now. Ivy used a geophysical engineer. She came to Canada in 2003 and studied in a Nursing program before she started working as a nurse in 2008. Ivy has extensive experience in kidney transplant/renal failure, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, solid tumor and hematology clinics.

This webinar is part of our Chinese Emotional Support Hotline presentation series, with the purpose of improving the Chinese community’s wellbeing and mental health through providing free educational seminars raising awareness on the resources available to support you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hotline Webinar #27 – The power of mindfulness: Helping you overcome emotional distress

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正念的力量: 助你走出情绪的困扰

为什么我们有时会感到不快乐、抑郁或焦虑?

·  什么是正念？它的作用有哪些？

·   如何通过正念的方法调节情绪？

·   如何制定正念练习计划？

在这次讲座中，我们有幸请到了阿尔伯塔省注册社工 — 李敏老师 。李老师曾在卡尔加里排忧解难热线、卡尔加里移民妇女协会、加拿大心理健康互助中心健康大使项目等多家非盈利机构或项目为多族裔移民提供情绪支持服务。

这次的讲座是排忧解难热线 (Chinese Emotional Support Hotline) 系列公益讲座的一部分。我们希望通过免费公开性质的讲座给大家科普身心健康方面的知识和提供社区服务资源和信息，从而提升华人群体的生活质量和精神健康。

Why do we sometimes feel unhappy, depressed or anxious?

· What is mindfulness? What are its benefits?

· How can we regulate our emotions through mindfulness?

· How can we create a mindfulness practice plan?

In this lecture, we are fortunate to have Ms. Li Min, a registered social worker in Alberta, as our speaker. Ms. Li has provided emotional support services to multi-ethnic immigrants in several non-profit organizations or projects, such as Calgary Distress Centre, Calgary Immigrant Women’s Association, and the Healthy Ambassador Project of the Canadian Mental Health Association.

This lecture is part of the Chinese Emotional Support Hotline’s public welfare lecture series. We hope to provide knowledge on mental and physical health and provide community service resources and information through free and open lectures, thereby improving the quality of life and mental health of the Chinese community.

 
 

Time:   Thursday, April 6th , 2023, from 7:00 – 8:30 PM (Alberta time – MST)

 Zoom:

Registration:   shorturl.at/acADE

Direct meeting link: https://zoom.us/w/91529281114

Meeting ID = 976 9824 6327

Registration QR code

*Registration & webinars are free.

 

This webinar is part of the Mental Wellness Seminars: Career Exploration Series from the Chinese Emotional Support Hotline. We hope that through free and open lectures, we will give everyone knowledge about physical and mental health, so as to help the Chinese community better integrate into Canadian society.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hotline Webinar #25 – Our Experiences of Applying to Canadian Medical School

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Time:  Part I:  Monday, February 6th , 2023, from 7:00 – 8:30 PM (Alberta time – MST)

           Part II:  Saturday, February 18th , 2023, from 6:00 – 7:30 PM (Alberta time – MST)

Zoom:

Registration:   shorturl.at/acADE

Direct meeting link: https://zoom.us/w/91529281114

Meeting ID = 962 5417 9826

Registration QR code

*Registration & webinars are free.

Brief  introduction:
In this session, we will share the experience of six medical students with different backgrounds applying for Canadian medical schools. At the same time, we will explain to you in Chinese the important procedures and precautions for applying for Canadian medical schools. From making up your mind to actually being admitted, applying for medical school is a long process. We will answer your questions and share your experience in the process of applying for the exam. The first part of this lecture will be recorded in the medical school application process (Chinese), and the second part of personal experience sharing will not be recorded (combined Chinese and English).

Questionnaire:
If you have specific questions, please submit them in the following questionnaire link in advance. We will answer the questions in the questionnaire in advance during the lecture.
Warm reminder: Because everyone’s background is different, we cannot provide advice based on personal circumstances.
https://forms.gle/UQ1bNLkwzhYdEyGT7

Key points:

  • Is there such a thing as a pre-major? Undergraduate Requirements
  • Identity needs
  • GPA score
  • MCAT North American Medical College Admissions Test
  • Recommendation letter
  • Interview process
  • Length of medical school
  • Tuition fee
  • Our personal background
  • Resources share
  • FAQ

Our Guests:

 

Jing Han holds a Bachelor of Science Honors in Psychology from the University of Alberta. Before medical school, she researched cultural psychology and served as a program leader for a problem-solving hotline. She is passionate about mental health communication and hopes to provide more diversified mental health platforms targeting different cultural backgrounds.

 

 

Angelo Law holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Bachelor of Education from the University of Calgary. He has worked as a teacher in Calgary, teaching grades 3-12 in a variety of subjects. His interests are ethics, population health, Aboriginal health and mental health. Having entered med school as a “mature student” and “non-traditional applicant,” he understands the challenges (and benefits) of working for years before finding the courage to apply to med school and return to campus, and is more than happy to help those who may be considering a career transition ( studying medicine).

 

 

Breanna Fang holds a Bachelor of Science in Math and Physics from the University of Alberta. She was a math teacher for 10 years. Outside of school, Breanna enjoys acting in theater, and weight training. She is passionate about helping students with their educational difficulties.

 

 

 

 

Before medical school, Felicia Deng was a third-year Bachelor of Health Sciences at the University of Calgary, where she studied the body’s immune response to infectious disease. She is a firm believer in the power of education and has worked with Amnesty International and World Vision Canada to advocate for educational equity around the world. As a music lover, Felicia teaches piano and plays as a volunteer in a nursing home.

 

 

 

 

Richard Peng holds a Bachelor of Immunology and Neuroscience at the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Science Honors. He has worked in various areas of academia, with clinical and basic science research experience in gastroenterology, immunology and pediatric neuroscience. Richard is also involved in academic guidance and teaching, serving as a student advisor and helping several young students extend their academic experience.

 

 

 

Janelle Wai holds a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology with First Class Honors from the University of Calgary. She is completing a Masters of Science Physical Therapy before attending medical school. In her free time, she enjoys rock climbing and baking!

 

 

 

 

This webinar is part of the Mental Wellness Seminars: Career Exploration Series from the Chinese Emotional Support Hotline. We hope that through free and open lectures, we will give everyone knowledge about physical and mental health, so as to help the Chinese community better integrate into Canadian society.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hotline Webinar #20 – Responding to Crisis Situations（危机应对）

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Time: Wednesday, November 30, 2022, from 7:00 – 8:30 PM (Alberta time – MST)

Zoom:

Registration: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_LF6HUeHgQDKw_poL6vLlOA

Direct meeting link: https://zoom.us/w/91529281114

Meeting ID = 915 2928 1114

Registration QR code

*Registration & webinars are free.

The holiday season is coming, so are the exams… Have you got an overwhelmed student at home or are you answering calls on our hotline from stressed students? Are you wondering how to support but not really sure about where to start and what the best way is? Please join our workshop and Linnea has all the answers! 

Outline of workshop:

  • Tuning into the need for help
  • The foundations of helping: listening & attending:
  • Helping as a process
  • Crisis response
  • Crisis referrals.

We are pleased to have Linnea Vendittelli as our guest speaker on this topic. As the Mental Health Education Coordinator, Counselling Services, Division of Student Success at Red Deer Polytechnic, Linnea is an ambassador and advocate for mental health and wellness. She strives to educate and inspire others to create a supportive and collaborative environment. Linnea is a strong facilitator in mental health literacy programs, such as the MHCC’s Mental Health First Aid and The Inquiring Mind, LivingWorks SafeTALK, and Alberta Health Services’ Community Helpers Program. Linnea has a Bachelor of Health Science, Biomedical major and Psychology minor, and experience working and volunteering with mental health groups in Canada. Linnea seeks opportunities to combine her passion and knowledge to have a positive impact on individuals. When Linnea is not at work, she can be found creating greeting cards in her side-gig Card Construction or with her adorable puppy, Moxie!

This webinar is part of our Chinese Emotional Support Hotline presentation series, with the purpose of improving the Chinese community’s wellbeing and mental health through providing free educational seminars raising awareness on the resources available to support you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chinese Emotional Support Hotline Volunteer – Super Stars of the Month September

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In September, the Chinese Emotional Support Hotline selected two star volunteers, Supervisor Lily Pang and Listener Bill Zheng.

Lily Pang, a hotline supervisor, made Calgary her home in 2004. In 2010, after completing her Ph.D. at the University of Calgary, she found that academic research was not the direction she wanted to pursue from the bottom of her heart, so she made a bold decision. Like many first-generation immigrants, she made a reselection on her career in Canada. Eventually, she decided to enter the social service industry, and got a bachelor’s degree in social work and became a registered social worker in Canada. Although it has been a hard journey, Lily feels that she has found the meaning of her life and the direction of struggle after seeing that she can help social vulnerable groups of many different races to live better.

Because of the years of working on the front line of the community, she deeply understands the challenges of immigrants of all races settling in Canada. Therefore, in order to help Chinese immigrants with language barriers better integrate into Canadian life, she joined the team from the beginning of the hotline preparations. Up to now, Lily is very happy to see that the hotline is operating in an orderly manner and the volunteer team is gradually growing.

Talking about the topic of mental health, she admitted that many friends around her have encountered challenges in this area, but people often feel that this is too personal and should not be told to others. “Especially in Canada, a country of immigrants, those vulnerable groups with language barriers, such as the elderly, have even less channels to decompress and release,” Lily said. For these people, her advice is to first let them know that it is normal to experience mental distress, and their distress is common to many people. If you are embarrassed, or it is not convenient to talk to your relatives and friends, you may wish to call our 24-hour Chinese Emotional Support hotline 587-997-5977. There are trained volunteers who keep your privacy absolutely confidential to relieve your pressure and share sad.

Regarding the current operation of the hotline, Lily thinks that the team members are doing a great job with due diligence. In the future, it would be even better if we could pay more attention to subdivided groups in the Chinese community, such as teenagers, the elderly, or unemployed and reemployed groups, and provide them with more targeted help.

Another of our star volunteers, Bill Zheng, is a registered nursing student at the University of Calgary. Outside of studies, he has a wide range of interests. In addition to music, film, and photography, Bill is currently a flight student. When it comes to volunteer activities, he also has a wealth of experience, including being a listener at a distress center and doing outreach work at Safelink Alberta. Currently, Bill is also an outreach and events coordinator for a homeless agency. Recently, he just participated in the completion of the Calgary Pop-Up Care Village.

When talking about the opportunity to join the hotline, Bill said that at the 2022 Ecssen Career School Award Ceremony, when he learned that the Chinese Emotional Support hotline was recruiting listeners, he immediately decided to join the team, “I think the hotline can provide me opportunities to serve  the Chinese community, but also to improve my Chinese level.

When it comes to mental health, Bill said that in fact, many friends around him have had mental troubles. After training and practicing on the hotline, he now has more confidence and experience to help those around him. “My friends know they can come to me for anything and trust me because I don’t judge them. I listen patiently, try to understand and help them with their stress.” At the same time, he suggested that if a friend comes to you to talk about troubles in life, we should try to maintain an open attitude to listen, instead of using our own values ​​to judge the other party’s behavior and right or wrong.

Due to busy studies and more social activities, Bill also often feels that his body will send out signals of fatigue. In this regard, he listed a self-cherishing plan for himself, not to overwork. In addition, he guarantees to sleep for 7 hours every day. He believes that adequate sleep is the foundation of maintaining physical and mental health.

Finally, he also wants to use the platform of our hotline to talk about a few words about the first aid field related to his profession. He suggested that if possible, everyone might as well learn some simple first aid knowledge. If you find that someone around you is poisoned and fell to the ground, you can provide simple rescue as soon as possible to help them  over the difficulties. Every day, about three Albertans die from drug poisoning, according to Bill. During his volunteer work and routine job, he personally encountered 5 cases of opium poisoning.

The Chinese Emotional Support hotline is composed of volunteers who have different experiences like Lily Pang and Bill Zheng. If you also want to contribute to the Chinese community, please call our 24-hour  Chinese Emotional Support hotline 587-997-5977 to sign up.

 We look forward to your join!
 

 

Hotline Webinar #19 – Immigration, transition into Canadian life!（移民：一个人的心脑历程！）

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Time: Wednesday, October 26, 2022, from 7:00 – 8:30 PM (Alberta time – MST)

Zoom:

Registration: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_KyrTcqjWSgqItq5liy9aEw

Direct meeting link: https://zoom.us/w/99124092600

Meeting ID = 991 2409 2600

Registration QR code

*Registration & webinars are free.

Summary:

Dr. Siu Keung (Kent) Tsang is going to talk something about how immigration has given impact on our mental health taking into references of recent relevant studies. Common psychological issues related to mental health issues will be discussed with some practical skills to improve mental health for new immigrants.

We are pleased to have Dr. Siu Keung (Kent) Tsang as our guest speaker on this topic. Dr. Siu Keung (Kent) Tsang, PsyD (Clinical) is a registered psychologist with the College of Alberta Psychologists.  As a new immigrant, he has experienced first-hand the anxiety-ridden process of moving and adapting a new home and is helping new immigrants to overcome various mental difficulties that arise from settling into a new culture and environment in Canada. Other than that, he is working in various medical clinics and counselling centers in Calgary seeing clients who are struggling with mood and anxiety problems, substance misuse problems, to other more complicated mental health problems such as, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, psychosis, schizophrenia. He also supports clients who are impacted by car accidents or workers compensation cases for various traumatic and psychological injury services.  

This webinar is part of our Chinese Emotional Support Hotline presentation series, with the purpose of improving the Chinese community’s wellbeing and mental health through providing free educational seminars raising awareness on the resources available to support you. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chinese Emotional Support Hotline Volunteer – Super Stars of the Month July

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 Li Luo and her husband came to Canada from Shanxi, China in 2005, and graduated from Columbi a College, majoring in Human Services. Currently working as an education assistant for the Calgary City Board of Education, she is a mother of two children.

Li Luo’s youngest son has severe autism. He is very unable to adapt to life during the epidemic, so the life of the whole family is also facing great challenges. During the epidemic, Li Luo paid attention to the opening of the Chinese Emotional Support hotline from Ecssen Career School. She felt that this service would bring a lot of convenience to the Chinese in Alberta, so she signed up and hoped that she could also contribute to the Chinese community.

Li Luo felt that sometimes Chinese people are still more resistant to and guarded against the topic of mental and mental health. But in fact, the mind, like the body, needs regular maintenance. Negative emotions need to be expressed to prevent them from accumulating and becoming mental illness.

Li Luo said that the new Covid-19 pandemic has brought unimaginable disasters to people. The economic situation, the way we work and study, the way we socialize, and our daily lives have changed like never before. For Chinese people living in Canada, they often face unwarranted racial discrimination and prejudice. These experiences bring not only mental stress, but also psychological distress. The Chinese Emotional Support Hotline provides a very good platform for Chinese health and mental health services in the Chinese-speaking community in Alberta. While receiving more community services, Chinese people can also pay attention to the mental health of ourselves and those around us.

When asked what could be improved on the hotline, Li Luo said: Due to her son’s condition, she usually pays more attention to information about children and families with special disabilities, but she did not find any relevant information in the hotline’s information database. Calgary also has a WeChat group for children with special disabilities and families. She also received information about parental consultation during her hotline duty. She thought that if she hadn’t been on duty, other volunteers would not have known this information. How can this information be updated in a timely manner so that other volunteers can know it in time? Hope the hotline has an efficient and fast route. Regarding Luo Li’s suggestion, the author has already fed back the information to the hotline management department. The hotline management team attached great importance to her valuable suggestions. The volunteer coordinator got in touch with Luo Li in time and added the information she provided to the resource database. .

Before the epidemic, I seldom thought about the importance of self-care, but after the epidemic, Li Luo  will communicate more with her family and friends through the Internet, and also increase some activities that can relax her body and mind, such as going outdoors Hiking in the park, or going to the aromatherapy spa with friends, etc.

For friends who want to join the hotline volunteers, Li Luo said that during the volunteer training, the trainer mentioned that the Chinese Emotional Support Hotline is to provide emotional support and psychological counseling for the Chinese, and sometimes even carry out some effective psychological crisis intervention. Please don’t be hesitated because of these seemingly difficult words. The hotline can not only provide professional training for everyone, but in the process of answering the hotline, she feels that what most people need is someone to listen and accompany them. If you usually help your friends and listen to their worries and concerns, the hotline now provides you with such an opportunity to serve the entire Chinese community. Our volunteer team is also a very loving family. We look forward to you join!

 

 

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