News, Events and Programs
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): Information for refugees, asylum claimants, sponsors and PRRA applicants. https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/coronavirus-covid19/refugees.html
New Westminster is a Resilience BC Spoke!
The Resilience BC Anti-Racism Network is a province-wide approach to identify and challenge racism.
The Resilience BC Hub (Victoria Immigrant and Refugee Centre Society) anchors the program and provides oversight.
In July 2020, New Westminster became one of more than 50 Spokes communities across BC, and established the New Westminster Spoke Committee to address anti-racism and anti-hate work.
New Westminster Spoke's Reports and Projects
To understand what is already happening in the community, programs, resources, and activities with a focus on anti-racism were surveyed.
The resulting “Checking the Pulse” report is available here.
Community and cultural engagement was the focus of the second project. This resulted in "Rising up! An Anti-Racism Report". Findings were categorized into five key themes highlighting the voices, stories and lived experiences expressed by community members: 1) Racism is Real, Raw and Ravaging; 2) Workplace Racism and Discrimination; 3) Intercultural Racism and Discrimination; 4) Public Spaces and Safety; and 5) Racism and Mental Health.
The "Rising up!" report is available here.
For more information about the Resilience BC Anti-Racism Network and anti-racism tools and resources, visit https://www.resiliencebc.ca/
For more information about the New Westminster Spoke, please contact janet.goosney@purposesociety.org
Information for Ukrainians settling in BC
Ukrainian citizens arriving in B.C. can find out about financial assistance, the health system, education, employment, and other important things you will want to know about at this site: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/tourism-immigration/ukraine/welcome
To apply for hardship assistance from the B.C. government. See www.gov.bc.ca/ukrainefinancialsupport