About 34% of all newcomers to Canada are under the age of 25 according to Statistics Canada. Photo: Kyle Glenn/Unsplash
Hea Nay spent the majority of her young life growing up in a refugee camp in Thailand. She and her family, who are members of the Karen minority, escaped Myanmar fleeing civil war when she was just two years old. After 14 years in the camp, where she went to school, Hea Nay, her parents and her five brothers and sisters settled in Langley in August of 2019.
Duha and her family arrived in the Lower Mainland last summer, too finding a home in Surrey. In 2012, her family fled Syria’s civil war to Russia and in 2016 they moved on to Turkey. Duha was unable to go to school there because they did not accept Syrian school certificates.
Unique challenges
Sixty (60) percent of newcomers to Surrey are youth and like Hea Nay and Duha, they often struggle adjusting to life in a new country.
“I have [a] problem to communicate with others because I do not understand what people are saying most of the time,” says Hea Nay. “I would like to learn how to express myself and be more confident to talk to others even with my limited English.”
Duha also finds it difficult to express herself in English and to communicate with others. “I would like to meet new friends and engage in the Canadian society,” she says. COVID-19 has made that difficult.
“Newcomer youth face unique challenges as they settle into Canada, from language barriers, to trauma, and lack of community connections,” says Mike Lally, Manager of Youth Programs at Surrey’s DIVERSEcity Community Resources Society, which offers a number of programs to help about 45 young people in Surrey, White Rock and Langley as they transition to their new lives.
“In this time of COVID-19, these obstacles are amplified, and young newcomers are facing additional stress and isolation, impacting their mental well-being,” Mike says.
Greater isolation
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March, community centres, schools closed, while agencies like DIVERSEcity had to dramatically shift their operations, leaving young people like Hea Nay and Duha, who had already suffered much in their lives at a greater loss than most. Not only were they adjusting to a new country, they were now cut off from meeting with friends and social contacts outside their family members.
“Most of the clients had to stay home due to COVID-19, bored, and worried about their future and [wondering] when they would be able to learn English and pursue their education and later on find a job,” says Rola Naserddine, a Youth Case Specialist at DIVERSEcity, who works with teens and young adults primarily from Syria, Iraq and Somalia.
Thanks to the United Way-supported COVID-19 Youth Mental Health and Well-being Emergency Community Support Fund, this is changing.
United Way supports youth mental health
“Newcomer youth are already working hard to adjust to life in Canada. With school and community centre closures brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, these youth, who have already experienced much uncertainty in their lives, face increased isolation and hardship,” says Kim Winchell, Senior Director of Strategy & Operations at United Way British Columbia.
“United Way British Columbia, through the Emergency Community Support Fund, is showing our local love by supporting the YouthExpressions! program to help foster connections and support newcomer youth well-being during this extraordinary time.”
DIVERSEcity received funding to launch Youth Expressions!, an innovative new program, aimed at empowering diverse teenagers to engage with community programs, gain confidence, improve their coping strategies and mental health, and make new friends using expressive arts therapy, dance and other forms of expression. Youth can express their voices, cultures and feelings in creative ways.
A new way to gather
Raphael Ochil, DIVERSEyouth Program Coordinator helps runs YouthExpressions! along with Rola Nasserdine, and Saw Joe Teeshara, RISE-Youth Case Specialist.
YouthExpressions!, which has been running since early July, offers 60-minute online workshops and activities to about 15 youth, including Hea Nay and Duha, twice a week.
“With Youth Expressions!, we want [the youth] to feel an increased sense of belonging by bringing them together through online platforms, giving them the time and space to connect with other youth in creative ways,” Mike says. “We’ve already had some tell us they are feeling less alone and isolated.”
Hea Nay and Duha agree both saying they have learned more English and are learning practical skills like how to book appointments and take the bus.
“The volunteers and workers are understanding and nice to me [and] they help me to feel safe in learning. I can see my friends online and talk to them as well,” Hea Nay says. “The program helps me to connect and learn new things during this time so I would love the donors to keep supporting this program so the youth can benefit from it.”
United Way British Columbia and its donors show their local love and support for youth through a variety of initiatives including Youth Future Leaders, which prepares young people for success by helping them gain leadership skills and practical work experience and the Youth Futures Education Fund, which helps former youth in care with vital financial assistance for basic living expenses while the pursue post-secondary education.
To date, the United Way-supported COVID-19 Youth Mental Health and Well-being Emergency Community Support Fund is helping 73 agencies offering programs focused on enhancing resiliency for youth living with disabilities, to providing bereavement support and online counselling.
Show your local love. Donate today to support a healthy, caring inclusive community for all.
Topics : Building strong communities, COVID19, Kids and Youth, Local love, Surrey
