40 years and growing for Nanaimo based immigrant aid group

Some background to the upcoming Nanaimo by-election: 14.6 percent are immigrants, 8.2 percent visible minority, and 8.3 percent Indigenous:

Helping well north of 1,000 immigrants a year in the Nanaimo area represented the will of the community to make life easier on new arrivals to the mid island.

The highly regarded Central Vancouver Island Multicultural Society (CVIMS) is celebrating its 40th anniversary of helping people acclimatize to their often vastly different realities.

Jennifer Fowler, the agency’s executive director, said it was 1979 when a volunteer led task force explored how to make life easier for local immigrants.

“They wanted to see how we could best help an influx of newcomers that were coming here 40 years ago,” Fowler said. “It was a community initiative that grew us to where we are now.”

Fowler said volunteers of the non-profit agency have long drove their success, which she said would not survive without the incredible support provided to their nearly 40 employees.

Fowler said their one-stop re-settlement hub including language classes, on-site childcare and employment services enriches the entire communitiy, not just directly impacted.

She said despite the supports provided by the CVIMS immigrants face many hurdles while attemping to contribute to the local economy.

“We’ve got a lot of immigrants that are under-employed looking for work in there areas. We need to find ways to utilize these people and resources in a better way.”

Fowler said overall the people of Nanaimo have been incredibly welcoming to those adjusting to life in the Harbour City.

She said Nanaimo is doing its share to pick up the slack of some 64 million people around the world who are displaced.

“From the just over 200 refugees that we welcomed to Nanaimo last year, I like that we’re doing our part in bringing people here.”

Source: 40 years and growing for Nanaimo based immigrant aid group