Joanne McQuarrie, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter | [email protected]
Moving to a new town or city can be an overwhelming change.
But there is a team in Jasper from Community Outreach Services (COS) who is dedicated to helping with the transition.
Sandra Campbell, a settlement worker with COS, met with volunteers - students at local schools - on August 26 to get organized for the upcoming school year.
"The whole program is here for immigrants and anyone who is a newcomer," Campbell said. Settlement work, she continued, is done, "to support and promote cultural diversity by providing multicultural training for new students.
“We have so many people who need support and [get] referrals to community services," she said.
In a usual year, before school begins, Campbell contacts the school to find out if new students have been enrolled, then meets with the volunteers who are active during the year and decides who will peer mentor the new students.
Usually, from nine to 13 young folks take part during the year and in addition to Canada, they are from countries like Jamaica, Mexico, the Philippines, Barbados and Mauricio's Islands, she said.
"This group of volunteers is called Newcomers in Action," Campbell said. "We meet out of school hours during the year for conversation circles and training. We normally talk about life changes: studying in Canada, important issues and how they feel.
“I have also occasionally invited other organizations, such as Jasper Employment and Education Centre, to provide us with information sessions."
The sessions are about youth working and career information.
Campbell said the peer mentors are active throughout the year in the community helping at community dinners, with trick and treat activities and at other community volunteer programs.
The peer mentors are a valuable resource.
"They are here to support the successful school integration for newcomers who just registered at school," Campbell said.
"They collaborate with school counsellors to help them and show them the community - where the library is, where the movie theatre is. They can also advise them about sport clubs and recreation programs."
She added that a portion of that job is tied to working with students' parents at the elementary school, helping them to meet the teachers, school registration, and assist them at meetings, or if there are language barriers, so they can understand what is needed.
Adult peer mentors, Leaders of Welcome Communities, help families who have just moved to town with communicating in English, job searches and self-marketing strategies.
Additionally, they help the newcomers get to know the layout of the town - including shopping options and recreational activities, and events. Volunteers also help with citizenship preparation.
Campbell said this year she hasn't had many families register yet but last year had three active adult volunteers with the Settlement Services adult peer mentor program.
Campbell works directly with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to guide people. When help is needed with translation, Campbell calls on a company that provides professional interpretation services. A conference call follows.
That assistance is needed "especially for people who are doing a citizenship [application] or are applying for sponsorship. They need to understand the agreements, the commitment,” Campbell said.
"If you don't understand things, we can get you an interpreter. We try to provide a person with full understanding of what they're going through."
After a session takes place, "We print the forms, explain to them how to do it, and they send in the application."
The service through COS is free of charge.
Campbell said her dream is to have families in town who can help newcomers, either families or individuals, to learn about life in Canada, including English, as well as the culture, educational opportunities, places to work, shopping and recreational activities in town.
