The Yellowhead East Branch of the Saskatchewan Association of Social Workers (SASW) celebrated Social Work Week with a "Lunch and Learn" event on Yorkton immigration services March 21.
Edith Montesclaros, settlement senior supervisor for Partners in Settlement & Integration (PSI), a service of the Saskatchewan Abilities Council outlined what her organization does peppered with anecdotal stories about the challenges foreign workers face adjusting to life in Canada.
She said studies have shown it takes and average of around 10 years for immigrants to become truly settled. She told the gathered social workers Thursday that programs such as the Yorkton Newcomer Welcome Centre and events such as Festival of Cultures, which in just two years has become a massive success with newcomers and long-term residents alike, significantly reduces that period of adjustment.
"We want them to be really part of the community," she said.
The centre operates on a philosophy of promoting understanding among neighbours and offers services such as: referrals to resources for daily living, employment and housing; social groups, i.e. International Women of Yorkton and International Men of Yorkton; basic computer training; language assessment scheduling; and translation services.
Joanne McCready, vice president of the local SASW, said the presentation was a good fit for Social Work Week.
"We thought this would be of interest to everybody because there are so many newcomers," she said.
So many, in fact, that last year the centre received 1,020 visits and registered 315 new immigrants.
"That's a big number for such a small area," Montesclaros said.
The SASW donated proceeds from the lunch to Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS).
"We are grateful for the opportunity to be part of this," said Irma Van De Bon-Nicol, executive director of the local BBBS. "We have seen the benefits of matching bigs and littles from other countries."
She illustrated those benefits with the story of a young immigrant from Ukraine who was getting in trouble at school for kicking other students. After BBBS matched him with a Ukrainian big brother, they discovered he was merely trying to initiate a popular Ukrainian game called "frog," but didn't know how to communicate it with his Canadian schoolmates.
Participants in the Lunch and Learn were also asked to bring non-perishable food items, which were passed on to Soup Haven.
In its provincial budget last week, the Saskatchewan Party announced an increase of $1.5 million for immigrant settlement support programs. Montesclaros said she did not yet know if the Yorkton Newcomer Welcome Centre would see any of that money.
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