Program Update

Community Outreach Services and its coordinator, Swati Fernando, have become an integral part of Calgary’s growing community, especially among seniors who have limited or no English skills. Community Outreach has made many strides within the East Indian community. In providing services with compassion, clients are ensured quality provisions and understanding.

Many immigrants face day to day challenges, and Community Outreach is there to assist in all areas. This may be as simple as helping to fill out government forms, or assisting older clients receive senior bus passes, to counseling clients about Canadian law or domestic violence. New immigrants, especially the elders, require help with numerous services.

Community Outreach provides assistance with the Canadian government and legal systems as well as education about Canadian culture. In one instance, an older gentleman had been taken advantage of through a long distance fraud. Community Outreach intervened and contacted the local telephone company and also the police. Without this service, the client would have been forced to pay the wrongful charges.

Domestic abuse is unfortunately becoming a growing concern among immigrants. Elderly clients are often neglected by their children upon arriving in Canada, and feel they have nowhere to turn. Community Outreach provides counseling, referrals, translator services as well as short or long term support.

Numerous workshops were held in 2002, bringing an educational tool to immigrants that they would not find elsewhere in their local area. Community Outreach was a key player in organizing a health fair for Punjabi people in collaboration with CRHA at a northeast high school. Altogether, there were over 250 people in attendance. Flu vaccinations were offered to the community, and 182 people were vaccinated in one day. Conferences about Osteoporosis, Diabetes and Alberta Health Care were all also very well attended.
 

(C) World Job and Food Bank.
jedison@wjfb.org