Vital Signs: Recent immigrants struggle with sense of ‘belonging’ amid pandemic

Louai Moghrabi says he and his family were looking forward to forging connections in their new community when they immigrated to Hamilton in early 2020.

But within weeks of their arrival, Canada, along with much of the world, went into lockdown due to COVID.

Most services for newcomers pivoted to the virtual realm. Gatherings were no longer allowed and regular programming couldn't happen due to physical distancing restrictions. Now, more than a year later, the city many knew and loved before the pandemic - the city Moghrabi and his family were eager to discover - has still not returned to its former self.

We don't exactly know what real life is in Hamilton," he said in an interview. We've been stuck in our house ... it's a little bit hard for us."

Moghrabi, along with his wife and two daughters, are four of the roughly 2,200 newcomers that arrived in Hamilton last year amid the first wave of the pandemic, according to data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. In spite of border closures, that accounts for just a 33 per cent drop in immigration over 2019, compared to a 46 per cent decline nationwide.

Originally from Syria, the family came to Canada with hopes of safety and freedom, said Moghrabi. Even with the threat of the virus around them, he said life during the pandemic is still easier" in Hamilton than it would be in another country thanks to the tools" available to them.

But while immigration levels remained relatively stable, newcomers to the city faced new, unanticipated barriers, said Lily Lumsden, senior regional manager of community, employment and immigrant services at the Hamilton YMCA.

A major hurdle her organization has had to overcome in assisting newcomers is making programs work virtually - a task that has come with significant challenges," she said.

For instance, the YMCA's English language assessment program has taken a hit with moving remotely. Lumsden said while they were able to make the change, digital literacy and technology issues have made it impossible for dozens of recent immigrants to access the service, creating a wait-list that never existed pre-pandemic.

When someone isn't even literate in their own language, doing an assessment remotely is very difficult to do," she said, noting that at least 60 people have had their assessments paused until in-person services can resume.

Another program that has been affected is the organization's newcomer youth program, said Lumsden. A bulk of participants, who are high-school aged, are struggling."

Not only are they adapting to online learning, which presents challenges around technology and language, they've also lost access to in-person youth centres, which were packed" before the pandemic hit, she said.

Homework clubs and leadership camps are now virtual, but activities such as soccer have yet to return. And with all socializing done online, the mental health of their clients has taken a hit, said Lumsden.

We find our newcomer youth struggle at the best of times with feelings of belonging," she said. Add this forced isolation ... I think it's going to take a few years for them to gain back what has been lost over the last year."

That struggle to find a sense of belonging is something Moghrabi and his family have also experienced, but they're participating in as many online activities through local agencies as they can.

We still don't have many friends or much knowledge about the community around us," he said.

And even if the programming is there, COVID has created barriers to access, said Tehreem Zafar, manager of Immigrant and Settlement Services at YWCA Hamilton.

Her organization has felt that impact with its Join program, which is aimed at assisting newcomer women, youth and LGBTQ youth settle into the community.

Zafar said when Join was launched the YWCA had lots of LGBTQ youth registered, but the program has since seen low" turnouts. She believes it's connected to forced isolation and the lack of a safe space to participate.

They don't feel comfortable talking to us from their homes," she said. They don't want to say these things in front of their family."

At the same time, the pandemic has presented an unexpected benefit for newcomers, said Rosemary Aswani, manager of front line settlement services at the Immigrants Working Centre.

Before COVID, newcomers would have a settlement worker guide them through the process of accessing services - essentially holding their hand" along the way. But now, they tend to coach" clients through forms and applications instead, while still encouraging them and looking over their submissions.

It's helped the newcomers gain a bit of independence doing basic things," Aswani said. That's been seen as being a big impact."

Fallon Hewitt is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach her via email: fhewitt@thespec.com

Hamilton newcomers

Over the past six years, nearly 17,000 people have immigrated to the city. Here's a year-by-year breakdown:

2015: 2,315

2016: 3,485

2017: 2,510

2018: 3,065

2019: 3,250

2020: 2,200

Source: Government of Canada