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The Ontario government will contribute $1.3 million to three Ottawa groups that are helping the Syrian refugees who have begun to arrive in town.
The money announced Monday is part of a pot of $8.5 million the province had promised over the next 2 1/2 years for refugee settlement and sponsorship.
Ontario wants to make sure that supports are in place to help refugees to get started in their new country, and to “create the conditions for success” for their long-term integration, said Yasir Naqvi, the MPP for Ottawa Centre, at a news conference.
Most of the money announced Monday — about $800,000 — will go to the Catholic Centre for Immigrants. It will be used for a variety of services both for refugees and support private groups that are sponsoring them, said executive director Carl Nicholson. An estimated 160 to 200 private groups have formed in the Ottawa area to sponsor refugees, he said.
A big chunk of the extra funding for Nicholson’s agency will be for the reception house it runs in the ByWard Market. Government-sponsored refugees stay there for about a month after they arrive in Ottawa, receiving basic instruction about life in Canada and help in finding an apartment, language training, and a job.
Yassir Naqvi, MPP for Ottawa Centre (centre), announced $1.3 million in funding Monday for three Ottawa initiatives supporting refugee sponsorship Monday at the University of Ottawa. Organizers of those initiatives included (from left): Carl Nicholson, Executive Director for the Catholic Centre for Immigrants, which received $800,000; Katie Black, a lawyer with the U of O Refugee Sponsorship Support Program, which received $225,000, and Louisa Taylor, Director of Refugee 613, which received $300,000 in funding.
The reception house is now looking for temporary quarters — in local hotels or dorms — and extra staff to handle the surge of Syrian refugees. About 21 government-sponsored refugees have already arrived, and another 1,146 are expected by the end of 2016, said Nicholson. That’s more than double the number of refugees the reception house usually hosts in a year.
Refugee 613, an Ottawa group created this fall to co-ordinate efforts to help Syrian refugees, will receive $300,000. The group has hosted information nights and run training programs for hundreds of people who want to sponsor refugees, has set up a fundraising arm, and has co-ordinated experts on everything from mental-health services to housing.
But Refugee 613, run by a dedicated band of mostly volunteers, has been overwhelmed. For example, about 3,500 people have signed up to help in some way, from donating clothes to volunteering their time, said co-ordinator Louisa Taylor. But Refugee 613 needs people to co-ordinate efforts, including matching volunteers to the jobs that need to be done.
A program that provides free legal advice to private groups that are sponsoring refugees will receive $225,00. The University of Ottawa’s Refugee Sponsorship Support Program began in October with law professor Jennifer Bond and a small group of volunteers, and expanded quickly. It holds legal clinics for refugee sponsor groups, and trains lawyers — including more than 140 in Ottawa — to offer advice about the complicated process. Lawyers have completed refugee sponsorship applications for 100 private groups in Ontario.
No Ontario funding was announced for extra mental-health services, which settlement groups say are desperately needed for refugees arriving with post traumatic stress disorder after surviving civil war and life in refugee camps. However, Ontario has only distributed $5.5 of the promised $8.5 million; details on how the rest of the money will be disbursed are expected to be announced in the new year.
Circle of friends
Sometimes the help that’s most appreciated by newly arrived refugees is simple, says Lucila Spigelblatt, deputy executive director at the Catholic Centre for Immigrants. Advice about where to buy groceries, for instance. “You don’t go shop at Whole Foods. It’s too expensive,” says Spigelblatt. “Try Food Basics. How else would they know that a doughnut doesn’t have to cost three bucks?”
Carl Nicholson, Executive Director for the Catholic Centre for Immigrants.
It’s that type of conversation that her agency hopes to foster in a new program that will match Syrian refugee families with volunteers. A pilot project will involve meetings in libraries or community halls. Groups of six to 10 volunteers will be matched with refugee families for informal chats. If it works out, the program will be expanded.
The extra money announced Monday for the Catholic Centre for Immigrants will help run just such programs, said Carl Nicholson, the executive director. Long experience — and common sense — has shown that refugees who have friends to help them navigate their new life do better. The Circle of Friends program will help refugees sponsored by the Canadian government, who receive help from settlement agencies, and a small monthly living allowance for their first year in Canada, but otherwise are on their own.
“We would like to surround every refugee with a group of friends,” says Nicholson.
Circle of Friends Information Meeting
When & where: Jan. 12, 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Catholic Centre for Immigrants, 219 Argyle Ave.
查看原文...
The money announced Monday is part of a pot of $8.5 million the province had promised over the next 2 1/2 years for refugee settlement and sponsorship.
Ontario wants to make sure that supports are in place to help refugees to get started in their new country, and to “create the conditions for success” for their long-term integration, said Yasir Naqvi, the MPP for Ottawa Centre, at a news conference.
Most of the money announced Monday — about $800,000 — will go to the Catholic Centre for Immigrants. It will be used for a variety of services both for refugees and support private groups that are sponsoring them, said executive director Carl Nicholson. An estimated 160 to 200 private groups have formed in the Ottawa area to sponsor refugees, he said.
A big chunk of the extra funding for Nicholson’s agency will be for the reception house it runs in the ByWard Market. Government-sponsored refugees stay there for about a month after they arrive in Ottawa, receiving basic instruction about life in Canada and help in finding an apartment, language training, and a job.
Yassir Naqvi, MPP for Ottawa Centre (centre), announced $1.3 million in funding Monday for three Ottawa initiatives supporting refugee sponsorship Monday at the University of Ottawa. Organizers of those initiatives included (from left): Carl Nicholson, Executive Director for the Catholic Centre for Immigrants, which received $800,000; Katie Black, a lawyer with the U of O Refugee Sponsorship Support Program, which received $225,000, and Louisa Taylor, Director of Refugee 613, which received $300,000 in funding.
The reception house is now looking for temporary quarters — in local hotels or dorms — and extra staff to handle the surge of Syrian refugees. About 21 government-sponsored refugees have already arrived, and another 1,146 are expected by the end of 2016, said Nicholson. That’s more than double the number of refugees the reception house usually hosts in a year.
Refugee 613, an Ottawa group created this fall to co-ordinate efforts to help Syrian refugees, will receive $300,000. The group has hosted information nights and run training programs for hundreds of people who want to sponsor refugees, has set up a fundraising arm, and has co-ordinated experts on everything from mental-health services to housing.
But Refugee 613, run by a dedicated band of mostly volunteers, has been overwhelmed. For example, about 3,500 people have signed up to help in some way, from donating clothes to volunteering their time, said co-ordinator Louisa Taylor. But Refugee 613 needs people to co-ordinate efforts, including matching volunteers to the jobs that need to be done.
A program that provides free legal advice to private groups that are sponsoring refugees will receive $225,00. The University of Ottawa’s Refugee Sponsorship Support Program began in October with law professor Jennifer Bond and a small group of volunteers, and expanded quickly. It holds legal clinics for refugee sponsor groups, and trains lawyers — including more than 140 in Ottawa — to offer advice about the complicated process. Lawyers have completed refugee sponsorship applications for 100 private groups in Ontario.
No Ontario funding was announced for extra mental-health services, which settlement groups say are desperately needed for refugees arriving with post traumatic stress disorder after surviving civil war and life in refugee camps. However, Ontario has only distributed $5.5 of the promised $8.5 million; details on how the rest of the money will be disbursed are expected to be announced in the new year.
Circle of friends
Sometimes the help that’s most appreciated by newly arrived refugees is simple, says Lucila Spigelblatt, deputy executive director at the Catholic Centre for Immigrants. Advice about where to buy groceries, for instance. “You don’t go shop at Whole Foods. It’s too expensive,” says Spigelblatt. “Try Food Basics. How else would they know that a doughnut doesn’t have to cost three bucks?”
Carl Nicholson, Executive Director for the Catholic Centre for Immigrants.
It’s that type of conversation that her agency hopes to foster in a new program that will match Syrian refugee families with volunteers. A pilot project will involve meetings in libraries or community halls. Groups of six to 10 volunteers will be matched with refugee families for informal chats. If it works out, the program will be expanded.
The extra money announced Monday for the Catholic Centre for Immigrants will help run just such programs, said Carl Nicholson, the executive director. Long experience — and common sense — has shown that refugees who have friends to help them navigate their new life do better. The Circle of Friends program will help refugees sponsored by the Canadian government, who receive help from settlement agencies, and a small monthly living allowance for their first year in Canada, but otherwise are on their own.
“We would like to surround every refugee with a group of friends,” says Nicholson.
Circle of Friends Information Meeting
When & where: Jan. 12, 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Catholic Centre for Immigrants, 219 Argyle Ave.
查看原文...
