WEYBURN – There are many services and programs available to newcomers to help them get settled into life in Saskatchewan, Weyburn Rotary members heard in a presentation on Thursday.
Representatives from the Southeast Newcomer Services included Laura Eddy, a settlement advisor, and Allyson Van Roon, employment consultant for Southeast Advocates for Employment.
Eddy has been in her position at the Weyburn office since last July, and noted she helps newcomers who need help do the paperwork for such things as getting a health card, applying for child tax benefits, or have access to computers, phones and photocopying.
“There isn’t anything we can’t help with. If we can’t do it, we’ll reach out to other services that can help,” said Eddy, who mainly works with adults. Colleagues work with newcomer children through the Settlement Workers in Schools (SWIS) program.
“We do go out into smaller communities to offer our assistance,” she said.
One of those programs is to help get newcomers into drivers education if they don’t have a driver’s licence, and this program will give them six hours in a vehicle and six hours in a classroom.
“That’s something having grown up in Saskatchewan I take for granted. I didn’t know people have to pay for drivers education,” said Eddy. “I’ve learned a lot of things that I’ve taken for granted as a Canadian citizen.”
Having come to Weyburn at the age of 19, Eddy said she has learned Weyburn is a very good community. “I get to experience Weyburn through a newcomer’s eyes, and it’s a very safe and welcoming community.”
She recently had newcomers take a pottery course with herself and art teacher Regan Lanning at the pottery studio in the new Credit Union Spark Centre, and they made clay flower pots.
“For some newcomers, this was the first thing they were able to do in the community. Many of them are supporting two families and work a lot. I got to do some really fun things and meet new people, and we had a really good workshop,” said Eddy.
Lanning also helped to arrange newcomer youth and adults to exhibit works of art in the Weyburn Art Gallery, depicting how racism has affected them, added Eddy. “I’m very proud of our community for embracing that. For newcomers, it’s very emotional.”
For some newcomers here, they did not realize that school supplies aren’t provided to them, where it is in some of their home countries.
Rotary member Mal Barber asked if they keep track of how well the newcomers are doing, such as five years after arriving.
Eddy noted that there are some newcomers who still come back to the office for assistance even three or four years after arriving, as the settlement workers are a friendly and familiar face for them.
Van Roon explained that in her position, she helps newcomers navigate the forms and requirements to be able to find a good job in Weyburn or area.
“We work with anyone who has a barrier to employment,” she said, noting this is often in obtaining documents and credentials from their home country so they can be placed in a job here.
This can include getting a driver’s licence, or helping an immigrant to keep his or her employment, helping them deal with any barriers that might come up.
Van Roon said she’s done a lot of work with people to get credentials, and this can be quite expensive at times. In one example, an accountant had documents sent from the Philippines, which cost about $17 – only to cost $450 to have them processed here in Canada.
“You have to contact your home country and get stuff sent to them. It’s very confusing to newcomers, especially if English is not their first language,” said Van Roon.
Sometimes clients can’t afford the fees for documents, and this is an area where the organization is hoping to find Canadian partners who can assist with the cost. Some of the professions she’s helped with include pharmacists, nurses, teachers and engineers.
