They say there are three things that matter in property: location, location, location.
Well, the Southeast Newcomers Services (SENS) saw some changes as the calendar flipped from 2013 to 2014, and perhaps the most important of all was the move out of office space at the Estevan Comprehensive School and into a new, more central location at 1108 Sixth Street.
SENS changed service providers in the new year, as the contract with the Southeast Regional College expired. The service that deals with not only immigrants coming to the Estevan area but also Canadians who are coming here to work, is now operating within the Southeast Advocates for Employment.
Becky Wock, SENS settlement adviser, said while there is a location change and new staff, the services will remain largely the same and the 170 new clients they saw in 2013 can continue to receive the same resources they have come to expect.
"There haven't really been any changes as far as our centre, what we do and the logistics of how we get it done," said Wock.
"I think being connected with another community non-profit organization that has a different focus than the college is a new partner for us, and it just provides more connections and more opportunities to work with other organizations in the community."
Many of the SENS clients don't drive or do not have vehicles, so the previous location in the northeast part of the city was a bit of an inconvenience for those clients.
"Our physical move is an important change because we're now centrally located. That's going to have a big impact on newcomers and people using our centre," said Wock.
"It makes us a little more integrated with the rest of the community at large, rather than being seen as an outsider. I think for a newcomer, whether that's a foreign worker or someone who is coming from another province, to physically go into a space that is within the core area of the city, it's one step closer to integration and helping someone settling in our community."
Wock noted there is no funding change as part of the provider switch, with the organization receiving its resources from the Ministry of Economy.
The new location will see some change to its hours of operation, as the group will experiment with staying open until 9 p.m. on Thursday evenings.
"We're also trying to broaden our range of clients from just foreign workers and immigrants to Canadians who are here in the community working from other provinces and aboriginal people who are moving in from other communities," added Wock.
While not all but many of the immigrants using the service require language training, SENS is also there to connect newcomers to other agencies and recreational groups in the city.
"People have such a wide variety of needs. Not every immigrant needs English classes. Community groups, sport and recreation for kids or themselves is a need," said Wock.
SENS plans to host a grand opening in February to introduce the new space to the entire community, but dates have yet to be set for the event.
