Responding to COVID-19

Many of the COVID-19-related challenges faced by newcomers-to-Canada are similar to those of other people living here: isolation, financial difficulty, lack of access to technology and information, and more. However, these challenges are exacerbated by factors including language barriers, pre-existing trauma, and lack of community. We are working with newcomers to address these challenges, and we are also learning *from* them and and their incredible resilience. Many people with refugee experience have gone through lock-downs and great future and financial insecurity before, and they have much to teach us.

That said, being new means they also have fewer community resources to draw on to address changes to every-day-life presented by COVID-19, and that’s where you can help. Particularly we are looking for:

1. Leads on affordable housing in the lower mainland: preferably close to transit
2. Basic food and hygiene items: specifically flour, oil, salt, sugar, pasta, toothbrushes, toothpaste
3. Devices: specifically laptops or tablets (new or used). These will enable families to continue with their kids’ online schooling and with their own English classes
4. Adult bikes: many/most newcomers do not have cars, and with transit feeling somewhat unsafe/more risky, they, like many Vancouverites, are looking to bike more, both for exercise/pleasure and to get to work, grocery stores, etc.
5. Financial donations: all donations are greatly appreciated and you can give online by clicking the “Donations” button at the top of this page

If you are a newcomer-to-Canada or you are supporting newcomers-to-Canada, our friends at World Renew have put together a list of resources related to COVID-19, most of which are in multiple languages.

1. General Resources
2. Financial Resources

Arabic Resources

These resources, in English and Arabic (or Arabic only, as indicated) are designed to help newcomers feel more informed about various aspects of settling into life in Canada.  For guides available in both languages, it can be helpful to sit down with newcomers and go through these guides at the same time (sponsoring/supporting group in Arabic, newcomers in English).

ENGLISH AND ARABIC

General:

• Your First Two Weeks in Canada:  Videos from Citizenship and Immigration Canada in English and Arabic.
• NewtoBC Resources for Newcomers to Canada: A comprehensive source of guides and tools to assist immigrants and refugees to settle in their new communities and workplaces. (Find the English version here and the Arabic version here).
• Welcome to Canada: What you Should Know:  A Guide from the Canadian Government in English and Arabic.

Learning English:

• An excellent list of English-Language learning Resources (apps, programs, etc.) for Arabic-speakers learning English, compiled by Refugees Belong.

Food:

• Tips on recipes, cultural appropriate food, stocking  a pantry for a Syrian family, etc.
• Eating Well With Canada’s Food Guide:  In English and Arabic at this link.

Health:

• Vaccination Guide:  Public Health Agency of Canada’s guide to vaccinations in English and Arabic.
• Taking Care of You and Your Baby:  A Parent’s Guide from the Canadian Public Health Assocation in English and Arabic.

Housing:

• Checklist of precautions regarding fire in the home.  English and Arabic

Employment:

• Information on Workers’ Rights in a variety of languages, including English and Arabic

Financial:

• Videos in a variety of languages on how Canada’s Tax System Works.

Education:

• Bullying: We Can All Help Stop It
• Daily Attendance at School 
• For Our Kids – Video 
• Full-Day Kindergarten: A Question and Answer Guide for Parents
• High School Courses and Choices
• If Your Child has Medical Conditions or Special Needs
• New Moves: An Orientation Video for Newcomer Students
• Parent Teacher Interviews (Elementary School) – Video 
• Parent-Teacher Interviews
• Parent-Teacher Interviews (Secondary School) – Video
• Safe and Welcoming Schools
• School Communication with Parents
• Solving Problems at School
• Special Education
• Starting School
• Student Success Program
• The School Code of Conduct
• When Children Speak More Than One Language
• Your Guide to Registered Education Savings Plans

Community

• New to Canada? Join the library. It’s free!
• Your Library – Videos

ARABIC ONLY 

Housing:

(Created by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), and linked by Refugees Belong)

• Renting your first home; what newcomers need to know
• Signing a lease
• Keeping your home in good condition
• Checking out a home or apartment
• How to find and rent a home if you have a large family
• Paying the rent – what’s included
• Understanding ‘for rent’ ads
• Newcomer’s Guide to Canadian Housing — How to Find, Rent or Buy a Home in Canada​

Financial:

• “Smart Saver” RESP information in Arabic:  A guide for Arabic-speaking newcomers to help them begin to understand how to access and save for an RESP.
• Scotiabank:  Banking in Canada video

Refugee Sponsorship:

• Private Sponsorship of Refugees:  Information on the process of Private Sponsoring.  Great for newcomers who are interested in getting involved in the process of helping to bring family members over.

If you are interested in getting involved in the Private Sponsorship of Refugees (in which groups of people together provide financial, social, and emotional support for an individual or family who are refugees and who are resettling in Canada) we encourage you to learn more from World Renew, who is the Sponsorship Agreement Holder between the Canadian Government and the Christian Reformed Church.

If you would like to learn more about other opportunities to get involved, we encourage you to use the contact form on this site to get in touch with us.

Current Needs

While we anticipate posting more specific volunteer opportunities in the fall, we are currently looking for the following. If you can offer any of the below or would like to learn more, please get in touch with us using the contact form on this site.

Volunteer Needs

• Housing search volunteers: people willing to work with newcomers to explore housing listings and opportunities

Donation Needs

• “Welcome Boxes” of food and hygiene items for newly-arrived families and individuals. Please contact us using the form on this site to learn more about what specific items go in these boxes and how you can get involved.
• Adult bikes
• Laptops, phones, or tablets in good working condition
• An infant/toddler highchair
• A large “playmat” for an infant

Types of refugees

Thanks for your patience with us as we build this website.  More information coming soon!

Why should I get involved?

Thanks for your patience with us as we build this website.  More information coming soon!

Who is a Refugee?

According to the 1951 Refugee Convention (held following WWII) and its 1967 Protocol, a refugee “is someone who is unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion.”

People of all religions, nationalities, ethnic groups, financial classes, and genders can become refugees.