The Fraser Valley Multi-Agency Partnership acts as a collective, facilitating networking and information sharing among relevant stakeholders. We meet monthly within Abbotsford and the funding is provided through the Government of British Columbia’s Ministry of Municipal Affairs.
The mission of FV MAP is to work collaboratively to identify barriers and provide solutions to promote the protection, wellbeing, and integration of refugee claimants in the Fraser Valley.
- Collaborate
- Educate
- Engage
Collaborate, coordinate, and enhance access to services and resources for refugee claimants in the Fraser Valley
- Ensure local voices are heard
- Identify and address gaps in services
- Strengthen community resource linkages between Fraser Valley and Metro Vancouver
- Collect accurate and up-to date demographic information on refugee claimants in the Fraser Valley
Educate service providers and the community
- Service Providers
- Increase awareness of existing services
- Provide information and referrals
- Update stakeholders on policy and regulatory changes
- Community
- Increase awareness of the strengths and challenges faced by refugee claimants in the Fraser Valley
- Promote inclusion and diversity
- Amplify the voices of those with lived experience as refugee claimants
Engage with government agencies to respond to Fraser Valley needs
Ensure that Fraser Valley voices are heard at the government level
Identify needs and opportunities for service provision in the Fraser Valley
Nikita Laranjeira
Housing Coordinator in the Refugee Settlement and Integration Program at MOSAIC
Nikita Laranjeira is the Housing Coordinator in the Refugee Settlement and Integration Program at MOSAIC. Nikita holds a Master of Arts in International Studies from Simon Fraser University where she focused on the impacts of international and national policies on refugee outcomes in Latin America, and the conceptual and practice differences of the refugees and internally displaced persons regimes. Using this knowledge, Nikita has completed an internship at the UNHCR office in Ottawa, along with other federal and provincial positions. As the previous Project Coordinator of the BC CHARMS database which connects refugee claimants with safe and affordable housing across BC, her experience has given her a fulsome picture of the multifaceted needs of refugee and refugee claimants and the desire to highlight refugee voices in decision-making processes. She is excited to bring this knowldege at the Co-Chair of FV MAP and looks forward to building connects across the sector.
Jen Romero
Housing Refugee Claimant Support Services Coordinator at Archway Community Services
Jen Romero (she/her) is the Refugee Claimant Support Services Coordinator at Archway Community Services in Abbotsford. In this role she coordinates trauma counselling services for clients in addition to helping them access employment in the community. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Development Studies from Canadian Mennonite University in Winnipeg, MB where she had the opportunity to conduct her fourth year practicum working with internally displaced people in northern Uganda. After graduation, Jen worked in Lima, Peru for 18 months coordinating an experiential learning program for university students in partnership with local non-governmental organizations. Since then, Jen has worked at Archway in a number of roles, including facilitating English Conversation Circles for adult newcomers; supporting immigrant and refugee youth; and now leading the Refugee Claimant Support Services program. Jen enjoys the opportunity to collaborate with a cross-section of service providers in the Fraser Valley as co-chair of the FV Multi-agency Partnership.
Tracy Tang
Settlement Outreach Worker for Refugee Resettlement and Integration Program, MOSAIC
Tracy Tang moved to Canada with her family as an immigrant in 2012 where she experienced the challenges, barriers, and difficulties of being a newcomer. Because of her experience resettling into a new country, she decided to become a volunteer for a newcomers program in the non-profit sector in 2015 and has continued giving back to her community ever since.
After graduating from an Administration Program at Douglas College, Tracy joined MOSAIC as a Program Assistant in 2019. A year later, she became a Settlement Outreach Worker for the Refugee Resettlement and Integration Program. She provides comprehensive resettlement, employment, language, and housing support for refugee claimants, international students, naturalized citizens, and temporary foreign workers.
Tracy is passionate about supporting refugee claimants and other newcomers on how to integrate into Canadian society. She wishes to bring her passion, knowledge, and skills to work with other stakeholders to help refugee claimants as the Co-Chair for the Fraser Valley Multi-Agency Partnership.
Monika Isaak
Immigrant Youth Services and Refugee Claimant Support Services
Multicultural and Immigrant Integration Services, ARCHWAY Community Services
Having been born into a family with refugee background, experienced the joys and challenges of growing up in a host-country, and immigrating to Canada, I have learned to appreciate and celebrate people’s diverse cultural differences from an early age. Since 2019, I have been working alongside immigrants and newcomers to Canada with Archway Community Services as a Program Coordinator and Youth Worker, where I help them integrate into Candian life by offering support through employment, paperwork navigation, and life skills teaching services. As the Refugee Claimants Support Services Coordinator I also have the opportunity to coordinate counselling services for clients in addition to helping them with employment services, and to co-chair the FV MAP meetings. Prior to my work with Archway, I had been heavily involved with immigrants through the multicultural student council during both my undergraduate and graduate degrees, as well as through my work in the retail industry.