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Portage Local Immigration Partnership helps foster a more inclusive community
Team members for Portage Local Immigration partnership (PLIP) : Mitch Tilk, program coordinator, and Megan Romphf, cultural connector.
The Portage Local Immigration Partnership (PLIP) is a program funded by the Immigrant, Refugee and Citizenship of Canada (IRCC). The PLIP is desigend to assist with making Portage la Prairie and more welcoming and Inclusive community for newcomer immigrants. PLIP is governed by a council comprised of both professionals and newcomer community members who assist in identifying the challenges newcomers face, including transportation, affordable housing, childcare, accredidation, and community cultural spaces. Newcomers also expressed a need for recreational opportunities for nonwesternized sports and social events. The mandate of the PLIP is to foster a more inclusive community while working toward improvements in areas such as economic development, social integration, and civic engagement for all newcomers.
There are two full-time staff members, Mitch Tilk, who has been working with PLIP since 2019, and Megan Romphf, who has been with PLIP since 2020. Some recent activities and events that PLIP has collaborated on with community partners and stakeholders include I Heart Heritage Festival, the Indigenous Enrichment Gathering, Circles for Reconciliation, and Anti-Racism Week. PLIP was the leading organization in the labor Market Study, consultations with newcomers immigrants around childcare and affordable housing, as well as employment and entrepreneurial research to better the visibility of newcomer owned businesses. The Employment and Entrepreneurial outcomes from these working groups led to PLIP’s very own Tastes of Portage la Prairie, which showcases newcomerowned-and-operated restaurants.
This year, PLIP has partnered with the Chamber of Commerce for Portage la Prairie’s Chamber Awards. New this year, there will be an Outstanding Contribution to the Community by a Newcomer Award. PLIP will be attending the awards ceremony with the top three nominees in this category. “We hope this award will bring a sense of accomplishment to the newcomerowned business and highlight their importance as an integral part of our community,” Cultural Connector Megan Romphf says.
