Written by Sally Morrison
Between 2003 and 2006, 3,219 government-assisted refugees arrived in the Greater Vancouver Regional District, of these, 11% were under the age of five. It is because of these children, and those that have arrived since, that a unique center, called First Steps, has just opened.
First Steps celebrated its official launch on Thursday November 20. Families, service providers and funders were present to cut the ribbon on the Lower Mainland’s first early childhood bridging program; focused specifically on refugee children (aged 0-6) and their families.
Deborah Irvine, Spokesperson for United Way of the Lower Mainland who is one of the funding partners of the program said, “For many young refugee children in Surrey the first steps to a bright future will begin here.”
Offering culturally adapted programs to suite the needs of refugee families, First Steps is a place where families can feel welcome and understood, where children are nurtured and where adapting to life in Canada is made easier.
First Steps operates at two sites in Surrey: The First Steps Centre at the DIVERSEcity community resources society welcomes newly arrived refugee children and their families. The second centre operates a program at Umoja called Hand in Hand; providing services to refugee children and their caregivers who have been in Canada for several years but have not yet made the transition to mainstream early childhood development or other family resources.
The Surrey experience serves as a model for 5 other communities in the Lower Mainland. Services to support refugee children are also being developed in Burnaby, Richmond, the Tri-Cities, Vancouver and Langley.
The six pilot projects, including Surrey’s First Steps, have been developed in partnership with various funders and partners including; Immigrant Integration Branch (IIB) of the Ministry of Advanced Education & Labour Market Development, United Way of Lower Mainland, Ministry of Children and Family Development, school districts, local health authorities, municipal governments and community service providers.
For more information on First Steps please call 604.597.0205 or visit the First Steps centre at 201 – 7380 137 Street, Surrey.
