How to Support Newcomers in Your Community

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Support immigrant youth and kids by encouraging your children to talk and play with newcomers.

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A welcoming community “has a strong desire to receive newcomers and to create an environment in which they will feel at home” (National Working Group, 2007). A welcoming community works on helping the anticipated newcomers meet their needs and use their capacities to enrich their hosting communities, build new traditions, new relationships and vibrant neighbourhoods, and have a sense of belonging, safety and community pride. 

 

Here are some ways to support newcomers in your community:

  • Show your respect, kindness and friendship by learning some common phrases in a newcomer’s language or by offering flowers or vegetables from your garden. 
  • Show your willingness to help by being a newcomer’s contact in case they need something – they might not have anyone – or by offering to practise English with them. 
  • Share community programs and resource information such as how services like garbage collection and dog licenses work.
  • Help newcomers get familiar with the community and neighbourhood by inviting them to community events or offering a tour of the neighbourhood. 
  • Improve your understanding of immigrants and their culture by talking to them about the culture and background of their home country and by acknowledging news and events happening in their home countries 
  • Share your immigration experience if you are an immigrant. 
  • Support immigrant youth and kids by encouraging your children to talk and play with newcomers in their class or by assisting teachers to organize field trips or activities where students can learn about different cultures.
  • Share information and tips for daily life such as local medical services (dentists, walk-in clinics) and postal services such as mail forwarding. 
  • Support newcomers with their housing and accommodation by helping an immigrant family find their first accommodation and how to fill out needed forms. 
  • Support newcomers with application and registration processes such as school registration, employment services, Internet, and phone services. 
  • Self-educate to better assist new immigrants by collecting information about immigrant services and passing it along to newcomers in need.
  • Another way is to connect them with the support services at the local libraries.

They can assist newcomers to integrate into Canadian society. Activity-based programs can offer English conversation, computer training, how to navigate Canadian systems, and the promotion of health and wellness. These programs are a good way to meet people from the community, learn from guest speakers, and learn about leadership and volunteer opportunities. 

 

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