SEPTEMBER 2022Question & Answer with Bonnie Wong and Vanessa Wright
Read about gaining the trust of refugees who survived torture; plus, how to create a safe space when counselling couples, especially when safety and abuse are areas of concern.
AUGUST 2022Question & Answer with Dr. Ghayda Hassan and Vince Pietropaolo
Read about supporting the mental health of refugees with acute cate settings
QUESTION & ANSWER JULY 2022Question & Answer with Vanessa Wright and Dr. Clare Pain
Read about asking clients about mental issues, and about the barriers newcomers face in accessing mental healthcare
JUNE 2022Read about how art is being used to increase mental health literacy, resiliency and social connection for newcomer refugee youth in Newfoundland.
MAY 2022Read about how shoes are used as a metaphor for the migration journey and life-transformation of newcomer women in Canada.
APRIL 2022Simcoe County Local Immigration Partnership
Learn how a Local Immigration Partnership and community stakeholders engage in an annual public education campaign to promote positive relationships among local residents and newcomers with the aim of reducing racism and discrimination.
FEBRUARY 2022Immigrant Women’s Peer Support Program, Immigrant Services Society of BC
Learn about a program in British Columbia where immigrant and refugee women both lead and participate in peer support groups, using a two-pronged approach to decrease social isolation.
JANUARY 2022Canadian Centre for Refugee and Immigrant Health Care
Learn about the first interdisciplinary volunteer medical clinic in Canada dedicated to refugees and immigrants who find themselves sick and medically uninsured or precariously insured.
DECEMBER 2021Skills for Change – Mental Health and Wellness Department
Learn about the Mental Health and Wellness Department at Skills for Change that aims to support and empower newcomers who may need to reduce and manage their stress, learn healthy coping skills, and holistically improve their mental and emotional well-being.
NOVEMBER 2021COSTI’s Newcomer Wellness Program
Learn how a community of stakeholders integrated traditional and alternative methods of healing in a wraparound service model to support the settlement and mental health needs of Yazidi refugees.
OCTOBER 2021Learn about Archway Community Services – an organization that provides wrap-around services help improve mental health.
SEPTEMBER 2021Learn about the Willow Place – a Manitoba-based organization that provides inclusive, no-cost family violence prevention services to women, including immigrants and refugees, who are victims of domestic violence.
AUGUST 2021Achēv – TRIEC Mentoring Partnership
Read about Achēv and the TRIEC Mentoring Partnership that aims to support newcomers on their employment journey in Canada to achieve their goals and to improve their overall wellbeing as new members of Canadian society.
JULY 2021National Newcomer Navigation Network
Read about an intersectoral, dynamic national platform designed for the health, settlement, social and educational sectors serving newcomers to connect, learn and collaborate around system navigation.
MAY 2021Landing and Settling Program at Global Gathering Place
Read about a program that recognizes the barriers that may exist for immigrants and refugees in seeking, accessing or receiving mental health supports. As an alternative, through Landing and Settling’s weekly group sessions, clients benefit from social interaction and are guided to build on their inherent resilience while supporting one another in their journeys.
APRIL 2021Women Exchanging Life Lessons (WELL) at Global Gathering Place
Through WELL, participants gain a heightened awareness of their health, and start building a referral network of information and resources. Read more to learn how this program works to equip newcomers with practical ways to address challenges early, through building health literacy and strengthening health supports for their own health and the health of their family members.
MARCH 2021BrightStart! supports mental health and wellbeing for mothers and preschool-aged children
Learn about the BrightStart! program at The Global Gathering Place that uses structured play, crafts, songs and presentations to interrupt isolation and feelings of being overwhelmed for vulnerable immigrant and refugee mothers and children.
FEBRUARY 2021OCASI – The Accessibility Initiative
Learn about The Accessibility Initiative - a national bilingual project that aims to enhance the knowledge and skills of settlement sector professionals so that they are better equipped to serve newcomers with in/visible disabilities and Deaf newcomers.
JANUARY 2021National GAR Case Management – Client Support Services
Learn about a national program providing specialized settlement services to meet the complex needs of Government Assisted Refugees in their first 12-24 months of resettlement in Canada.
DECEMBER 2020Business Edge Program – Intercultural Skills Lab
Learn about a program that helps internationally educated individuals gain skills for obtaining and retaining careers in Canada, and for establishing meaningful connections to help alleviate feelings of isolation.
NOVEMBER 2020Learn about the various innovative, holistic mental health programs at the Mennonite New Life Centre, and how this organization was able to shift to online service delivery due to COVID-19.
OCTOBER 2020Newcomers’ Health and Well-Being program
Learn how Cedar Centre partnered with the Canadian Mental Health Association of York Region/South Simcoe and the Welcome Centres of York Region, to implement a program that integrated a trauma-informed component to address the physical and mental health needs of immigrants and refugees.
SEPTEMBER 2020Living Well in Times of Self-Isolation online program
Learn how the Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia has developed an online program to support immigrants and refugees during the COVID-19 pandemic and practical tools to manage stress and worry.
AUGUST 2020Multicultural Women’s Peer Mentoring Group
Learn about a community connection program at the South Vancouver Neighbourhood House that seeks to alleviate social isolation for immigrant and refugee women.
JULY 2020Traditional Embroidery as a Settlement Mental Health Modality with Arabic Speaking Refugee Women
Learn how Access Alliance Multicultural Health and Community Services incorporates Expressive Arts, through the medium of traditional embroidery, into settlement programs to support the mental health of Arabic women and other refugee groups.
JUNE 2020Newcomer Initiative for Arabic-Speaking Youth
Learn how Kids Help Phone launched a pilot service to provide telephone counselling in Arabic to newcomer youth.
MARCH 2020Black Coalition for AIDS prevention
Learn how a coalition was built to provide ethno-specific and culturally competent services to African, Caribbean and Black communities living with or affected by HIV/AIDS, including immigrants and refugees.
FEBRUARY 2020Learn how an organization in Edmonton developed a program to support the mental health of newcomers who have received a positive HIV result.
JANUARY 2020Trauma Centered Trauma-Sensitive Yoga
Learn how trauma-sensitive yoga practice can be used as an adjunctive treatment for complex trauma and PTSD. Leila, a certified facilitator, shares evidence supporting this practice and speaks about her experience in using yoga with trauma survivors.
DECEMBER 2019Learn how an organization in Manitoba is leveraging technology to break down isolation and provide settlement services to newcomers.
NOVEMBER 2019Women Sharing Heritage Program, Association for New Canadians
A Newfoundland organization is supporting young newcomer women who may have experienced sexual and gender-based violence by breaking the confines of traditional settlement and health settings.
OCTOBER 2019Foothills Community Immigrant Services, Calgary Catholic Immigration Society
This Calgary Settlement Worker in Schools (SWIS) is tackling newcomer children's feeling of social isolation and everyone in the community has a role to play.
