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Thursday, July 24, 2008
What will New Dawn Refugee & Immigrant Reception House look like?
"New Dawn" Refugee & Immigrant Reception House is a project who’s time has come. For Hamilton as a city of many diverse cultures, it presents a new community vision for SISO to launch a capital campaign to raise $5 million dollars to build a multiple family transitional housing complex for refugee and new immigrant families. This welcome house will help transition them into our culture within a safe, mentoring, diverse cultural learning environment located in Hamilton.
80% of Government assisted Refugees coming to Hamilton each year are children. With proper learning, mentoring and encouragement they will prosper to become the future fabric of our city.
Here, in this caring environment, they will learn about Canada and its culture, and in due course find their feet and adapt to their new land. We believe that a Reception House is a necessity in order for SISO to provide the comprehensive services required.
This house will truly be a home that includes private living quarters for several families as well as common rooms such as a large kitchen to prepare meals together, social sharing rooms, prayer rooms and play areas for children. This home will also include training and healthcare rooms for visiting physicians as well as trained SISO staff to deliver on-site language, employment assistance and day-to-day living skills training.
All this will ensure the newcomers a more smooth transition into permanent housing within our Hamilton culture. The Reception House will be great for our newcomers and great for Hamilton! New Dawn Reception House will include the following rooms:
- 10-12 hotel-type rooms
- 6-8 family housing units
- community kitchen & dining area
- laundry facility
- children's indoor & outdoor play area,living room/common area
- spiritual room
- health/medical area
- meeting rooms
Hamilton FACTS - Did you know:
- 7,000 – 7,500 Government assisted Refugees are accepted into Canada each year as part of their International humanitarian commitment
- Of that number, 400+ Refugees are received in Hamilton
- 80% of the Refugees coming to Hamilton are children
- In addition, 5,000 new immigrants choose Hamilton to be their new home each year
- 100+ different languages make up the diverse cultural groups in Hamilton
- SISO provides language, skills training and translation in 80 different languages
- 24% of Hamilton’s population are Immigrants
- 70% of the Hamilton labour markets’ growth over the last 10 years was due to new immigrants available in the job market.
Return to the New Dawn Reception House Overview Page
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