• Home
  • About
  • The Big Picture
  • Resource Centre
    • Topic
    • Refugee Category
    • Region
  • Publications
    • Reports
    • Info-Pages
    • Factsheets
    • Key Statistics & Figures
    • Toolkits
  • Training
  • Events
  • Success Stories
  • Contact

Report: Provision of Settlement Services for LGBTQ Newcomers

  • Home
  • What’s New
  • Resource Centre Topics LGBTQ
  • Report: Provision of Settlement Services for LGBTQ Newcomers
Report: IEC–BC – Mapping Refugee Skills & Employer Needs in Surrey & Abbotsford
May 21, 2018
Report: Supporting the Mental Health of Refugees to Canada
May 21, 2018
Show all

Report: Provision of Settlement Services for LGBTQ Newcomers

May 21, 2018
Categories
  • LGBTQ
  • Reports
Tags

The Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers:

November 2016 – Provision Settlement Services for LGBTQ Newcomers to Edmonton: Identifying Needs and Best Practices

(Excerpt from Report)

Executive Summary:

It is vitally important that LGBTQ newcomers be given the lead in identifying needs, designing services and programs to meet those needs and in determining the approach to outreach to co- national communities. Settlement agencies can take the lead in instituting policy to increase visibility of LGBTQ newcomers to staff, training staff, and reducing institutional homophobia however it is necessary to go slowly and to consult with newcomers to avoid alienating mainstream clientele. Confidentiality is of the highest importance for LGBTQ newcomers; and sexuality and sexual needs may be prioritized differently than expected. Fostering connection with co-national communities and addressing homophobia in those communities is also of utmost importance for newcomer sense of identity and belonging, and, with the guidance of LGBTQ newcomer consultants, settlement agencies may identify roles to play in the process. LGBTQ newcomers’ stories are characterized by sometimes profound trauma in the sendingcountry and re-traumatization attendant to the refugee process, and settlement may bring with it the discovery of homophobia in mainstream Canada and newcomer communities, creating urgent needs around access to counselling and supports. Importantly, homophobia means that most settlement issues are also LGBTQ issues, as LGBTQ newcomers will need supports around learning how to assess personal safety and strategies for managing, coping with, or addressing homophobia. Many settlement service providers who were also newcomers report becoming more accepting of queer people, but many still need supports and training in this area; as do non- newcomer service providers. All providers need to resist the narrative of Canada as a savior nation because it obscures complexities of the newcomer experience and inhibits the ability to be reflexive about service design and delivery.

 

Share

Related posts

January 5, 2023

CYRRC – Report: The Labour Market Vulnerabilities of Refugees in Canada – The Impacts of Entry Programs


Read more
November 16, 2022

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada: Supplementary Information for the 2023-2025 Immigration Levels Plan


Read more
November 15, 2022

BWSS: Colour of Violence: Race, Gender & Anti-Violence Services


Read more

Browse by

  • Events
  • Publications
    • Factsheets
    • Info-Pages
    • Key Statistics and Figures
    • Reports
    • Toolkits
  • Resource Centre
    • Refugee Category
      • Blended Visa Office-Referred
      • Government Assisted Refugees
      • Privately Sponsored Refugees
      • Refugee Claimants
    • Region
      • Caribou-North
      • Fraser Valley
      • Metro Vancouver
      • Thompson-Okanagan
      • Vancouver Island
    • Topics
      • Children
      • Cultural Profiles
      • Education
      • Employment
      • Financial
      • Housing
      • Language
      • Legal
      • LGBTQ
      • Mental Health
      • Primary Healthcare
      • Refugee Policy
      • Settlement
      • Storytelling
      • Women
      • Youth
  • Success Stories
  • Training

Recent posts

  • 0
    BC Refugee Hub / BC RRN Webinar: Welcoming Newcomer Ukrainian Families – Best Practices for Hosts and Landlords
    February 9, 2023
  • 0
    Invite to Register – Webinar: Human Trafficking, Exploitation, Scams and Fraud – What Newcomers Need to Know
    February 6, 2023

Join our mailing list to receive regular newsletters from the BC Refugee Hub


JOIN NOW
© 2018 BC Refugee Hub. All Rights Reserved. Website Developed By Blue Tree Project Solutions Inc.

    [text* your-name class:lh-cf7-newsletter-name placeholder "Name" akismet:author]