Immigrant volunteers provide a safety net to help newcomers navigate life in Canada

Important supports:

…Language barriers, unfamiliarity with the system and, sometimes, their immigration status can daunt newcomers when they receive health care in Canada – a process that can be profoundly different from what they were used to in their home countries, and sometimes more expensive. 

To alleviate these problems, many immigrant volunteers go beyond the confines of formal organizations and programs, bridging fellow newcomers to the Canadian health care system and other supports. Many of them are aunts, uncles, sisters and brothers in diaspora communities where kinship extends beyond blood relations. They translate, manage documents and connect people with resources. Often, their presence is all that’s needed, especially for those who are alone in Canada.

Ms. Simbre, 46, has been assisting immigrants from the Philippines since 2012 with health care, labour and legal issues – both through formal networks such as Migrante Ontario and Kababayan Multicultural Centre, and informally through word of mouth. She came to Canada in 2007 as a live-in caregiver. She now serves on the board at Kababayan and works as a research assistant at the York Centre for Asian Research. …

Source: Immigrant volunteers provide a safety net to help newcomers navigate life in Canada