Welcoming Syrian Refugees Resettlement Information Bulletin April 4, 2016

Transcription

1 Welcoming Syrian Refugees Resettlement Information Bulletin April 4, 2016 CCLC is a community organization that exists to provide settlement services and support to newcomers and to promote intercultural awareness and understanding. London Cross Cultural Learner Centre 505 Dundas Street, London, Ontario N6B1W4 Tel: Fax: cclc@lcclc.org

2 Resettlement Assistance Program (RAP) The Resettlement Assistance Program (RAP) at CCLC welcomed the first, Government Assisted Refugee (GAR) Syrian family of four to London, Ontario in December 20 th Fallowing that first movement, another 12 families or 57 Syrian arrived. Together we welcomed 13 families or 61 Syrian people to London, Ontario just before the New Year CCLC s Reception Centre was full and hotel accommodation was selected to accommodate the surging number of Syrian GARs arrivals. By the second week of January 2016, we had to search for a 2 nd hotel to accommodate more Syrian refugees. By the end of January 2016, 82 Syrian families (431 people) were destined to London, Ontario. The same number (431 GAR Syrian or 88 families) arrived for the month of February And by the March 6th, we had 915 Syrian GARs or 184 families resettled in London, Ontario. For the last three months, the Syrian GARs were temporarily staying at five locations, Jeremiah s House Reception Centre at CCLC, Residence Inn by Marriott, Econolodge, London Executive Suites and Holiday Inn Express and Suites. The RAP program delivered approximately, 290 mandatory orientations to Syrian GARs covering important subjects such as: RAP budget entitlement, responsibilities, managing money, the Canadian health and education systems, services available in the community, family life, living in Canada and housing. In addition, orientations about various services available at CCLC are also provided such as Community Connections, Orientation Services for Newcomers (OSN), Job Search Workshop (JSW), Language Assessment and Referral Services (LARS), etc. We have had collaboration from the community to support the Syrian resettlement effort. We would like to mention Marymount Children Services who provided their staff to work with our staff to coordinate children's activities. Also the YMCA, the Boys and Girls Club of London, the TVDSB Gentle Centre that provided buses to transport children 2

3 to their facilities. We would also like to thank the many volunteers and student placements who had join our staff in welcoming Syrian refugees to London. RAP Life Skill Work program has recruited more than 35 Life Skill Workers that speak Arabic, to match with Syrian families and help them with life skills when they move from temporary to permanent accommodation. Life Skill Workers have also provided extensive orientation for Syrians, during their short stay at hotels, to better use the hotel facilities and to help them to enjoy and successfully integrate their way of living in a hotel environment. As of March 31, 2016, the Housing Team has been able to find permanent housing for 149 families (780 people). That is approximately 85% of all Syrian refugees, that arrived at CCLC. We were also, able to provide approximately 120 strollers for families with children. We thank the donors and our partners from the Muslim Community, who provided great support to the strollers drive. Some remarks: Syrian GARs come with various needs such as medical, mental and emotional. Many clients require wheelchairs or wheelchairs accommodations upon arrival. The majority of Syrian GARs are young families with children from various ages from under a year to 17 years old. We have received great support from the community who donated diapers and baby formula but we have an ongoing need for these items. We need ongoing funding for supervision for children when parents are attending orientations. Searching permanent housing has also been difficult as many clients require accommodations due to medical needs and/or large size families. We would like to thank all the CCLC staff for their hard work in the last months to make the Syrian operation successful. 3

4 Housing Syrian Newcomers in London, Ontario Postal Codes # of Families # of Individuals N6H N6E N6J N5Y N6K N5Z N6C 8 47 N5X 9 36 N5V 3 18 N6A 3 13 N6G 2 13 Total:

5 5

6 Community Connections Program (CC) The Community Connections team has been extremely busy in the last few months in the provision of programs for the newly arrived Syrian refugees. The team has provided childcare services and programs for children and youth and organized family-centred activities to promote health and well-being, socialization and community engagement. Partnerships with the Boys and Girls Club of London, Tourism London, The London Arts Council, Museum London and the YMCA have developed and enabled the team to provide engaging and educational activities for the new families on a daily basis. Our small groups continue to welcome and engage newcomers in a variety of activities, and provide valuable information sessions covering a wide variety of topics including: Housing, Financial Literacy, Internet Safety, and Health and Well-Being. Over the March Break, families had the opportunity to participate in an organized tour to Eldon House and Museum London, as well as enjoy a performance at the Grand Theatre arranged by the London Arts Council. Young children have also been able to engage in activities at the YMCA, the Boys and Girls Club of London and Merrymount Children s Centre on a daily basis. For the month of March, the Youth for Art team completed a new mural for the Youth Room, Youth Action learned skills on professional interviewing and facilitation, and the Leadership Programs began with their CPR/First Aid training. Also, Syrian youth are being integrated within existing programs; for example, some 6

7 Syrian youth joined the Youth for Art team through creative games and art making, Youth Action team planned a social gathering for Syrian youth, and young Syrian women were invited to dance. Our Outings encourage Syrian youth to explore key places and people in the city, and the Women Wellness program invites young Syrian women to focus on well-being through experiential learning activities, stretching, body-strengthening, dancing, and breathing. Newcomers have also had the opportunity to participate in our Match program in which they are connected with a CCLC volunteer and provided with mentorship with regards to access local resources, learning English, and familiarizing themselves with the City. Our Mutual Assistance Network continues to provide workshops aimed at enhancing the skills of our newcomer clients and developing networks for professional advancement. Since January, 2016, we have provided basic English conversation circles for the Syrian refugees residing in temporary housing. This program is open to adults and youth, and takes place three days a week for 1.5 hours. Every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, the clients join our volunteers from 1:30pm to 3:00pm. Attendance ranges from 5 to 25 participants depending on other activities and obligations taking place during the same time slot. All Basic English conversation circles are led by Canadian volunteers. In total, 6 volunteers have contributed to this program. Our COACH program is also well underway and has successfully trained and certified 11 Physical Activity Leaders (PALs) in Soccer, Volleyball and Fitness. Our PALs will be completing their placement segment of the program in which they are running group sessions for newcomers focused on physical literacy and activity. During the week of March the COACH program hosted a volleyball mini-camp at H.B. Beal Secondary School to introduce the sport to our Syrian newcomer youth and provide access for other newcomers within our community. The 7

8 week was filled with engaging sport and recreation and educational sessions on physical literacy. In addition to these activities and opportunities for newcomers, we have developed a program to address the needs and challenges for Privately Sponsored Syrian refugees. Our new position, the Community Network and Match Facilitator for the PSR s, has been busy connecting with faith-based groups and community members who are in the sponsorship process to ensure support for the integration and settlement of the newly arrived families is available. This role has also been actively recruiting volunteers to enhance our programming, and providing workshops based on welcoming and integrating the newcomers to the London community. Partnerships with local high schools, Western University and service providers have developed and greatly increased the collaboration between the CCLC and local stakeholders. A series of roundtable discussions commenced in mid March as an opportunity for sponsor groups, newly arrived Syrian refugees, community members and service providers to share their experiences and challenges of integration and develop solutions and best practices. In collaboration with our Groups Facilitator for the PSR s, we will be implementing Circle of Friends support groups in which sponsors and newcomers are able to learn about community resources, local services and a variety of information topics and develop friendships to assist in their integration. Client Support Services (CSS) CCLC is working in partnership with the London InterCommunity Health Centre and other medical service providers to address urgent medical issues upon arrival and to connect Syrian refugees with primary care. For the months of February and March, 338 8

9 clients with medical issues and 200 clients with dental issues have been seen by a medical team and/or dental clinics. We established a medical clinic at CCLC where Syrian GARs are initially seen to conduct medical screening. A total number of 502 clients were connected, or are waiting for an appointment with family physicians. The Middlesex London Health Unit vaccinated 119 clients in March