Date: September 29, 2015
Location: Surrey City Hall, Surrey

Good mental and physical health is a key outcome of successful settlement and integration. For many vulnerable immigrants, the early years after resettlement are a difficult period. Resettlement stresses such as underemployment, adapting to a new culture, learning a new language and family separation/social isolation can lead to significant mental health challenges. This e-symposium provided an opportunity to provide training and information for Settlement agencies and staff working with and supporting the mental health of vulnerable clients. The e-symposium featured three presentations followed by a question and answers session. AMSSA gratefully acknowledges Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) for providing support for this event. AMSSA would also like to thank all presenters for sharing their time and knowledge with us.

Introduction

Presentation: Re-building Community in the Canadian Context: A Model for Group-based Mental Health for Refugee Claimants – Dylan Mazur and Mariana Martinez Vieyra, Vancouver Association for Survivors of Torture (VAST)

Presentation: Responding to Mental Health Needs of Newcomer Populations – Marc Larrivee, MOSAIC, member of the Vulnerable Immigrant Populations Program (VIPP) Alliance

Presentation: Promoting Mental Health of Immigrant Seniors in the Community – Dr. Sharon Koehn, Simon Fraser University (SFU) Department of Gerontology, and Research Associate at the Centre for Healthy Aging at Providence Health 

Q & A