City Resolutions #11

We are now at city resolution #11 from Brent Toderian.  It states: "Do everything you can to ensure that immigrants, and especially refugees, feel welcomed, supported, and valued in your community. Your family was very likely at some point in their shoes, and they will make your city better."

If you are not already connected to newcomers in our community, there are a number of local organizations that can help with that! First off, take some time to learn more about some common experiences of newcomers to better understand current conditions, patterns, and stories. I recommend subscribing to the Immigration Waterloo Weekly which provides updates on a variety of events, statistics, and news articles relating to newcomers. You can subscribe to that here.

You'll also want to connect with the KW Multicultural Centre. For many in our community, this organization is well-known for it's annual Multicultural Festival in Victoria Park. And of course that is returning this year, on June 22nd and 23rd. However, KWMC also offers a myriad of services including settlement and refugee services, career planning workshops, and English language support.

Reception House is another organization supporting newcomers in our community. They also offer various services such as a refugee health clinic, youth programs, art with Pamela, and resettlement assistance. Many of these organizations have several ways you can become involved, whether it's through a donation of time, money, or needed items. If you are able to contribute you some way, please connect with the organization directly.

This is only a small sample of organizations supporting our newcomer population. There are many more (and I hope to highlight more of them soon). Perhaps you'll follow today's city resolution and find a way to connect and support newcomers in your neighbourhood. #365ofgoodWR