Settlement Experiences of Syrian Refugees

Statistics Canada (2017) reports that over 40,000 Syrian refugees have arrived in Canada since November of 2015. This large influx of refugees, some with psychological trauma, poses a great responsibility to service providers to ensure services meet the needs of their new clientele. One service provider in Midsized City, Ontario, which will be referred to as The Resource Center, has taken a new and culturally informed approach to providing service. This center has held multiple “Welcome Neighbour” events across the city to invite newcomers to form a closer community and give them the platform to express their needs as refugees. Open-ended questions focused on settlement experiences included: “What causes you to feel settled?”, “What causes you to feel unsettled?”, and “What would help you feel more settled?”. Open-ended questions focused on experiences with community services included: “What do you like about the services?”, What don’t you like about the services?” and “How well do the services serve you and your family?” The researcher reviewed all questionnaire responses, coded individual statements into general topics, and finally, categorized coded topics into overarching themes. Four themes emerged, including: needed skills and resources, community feelings, present adequate resources, and positive feelings of the future