12 NEIGHBOURHOOD HOUSES WELCOME B.C. NEWCOMERS

VICTORIA – Funding of $2.3 million over three years will be provided to the Association of Neighbourhood Houses for the Building Welcoming and Inclusive Neighbourhoods pilot project, Attorney General and Minister responsible for Multiculturalism Wally Oppal announced today.

“Neighbourhood houses encourage residents from diverse backgrounds and cultures to interact by giving them a place to meet and participate in social programs and services and helping newcomers integrate into neighbourhood life,” said Oppal. “By implementing this pilot project with neighbourhood houses, we are funding tools and strategies that encourage inclusion and build on B.C.’s cultural diversity.”

The three-year pilot project will involve a consortium of 12 neighbourhood houses, serving different communities in the Lower Mainland, in identifying best practices for creating welcoming neighbourhoods. The neighbourhood houses will assist and support individuals and families to develop community networks, increase personal and educational skills and obtain information to improve their health and well-being.

“We’re delighted to be a part of this project,” said Association of Neighbourhood Houses executive director Mamie Hutt-Temoana. “The greatest benefit of the project is it will provide a basis for building fair, sustainable and prosperous communities. It will help ensure neighbourhoods are places where social inclusion is a fundamental guiding principle, diversity is appreciated and grassroots leadership is strengthened because participation is the key to community life.”

Neighbourhood houses provide programs, activities and services such as prenatal health classes, community kitchens, youth programs, food banks, law clinics, English as an additional language classes and seniors’ activities. Neighbourhood houses offer environments where people of all nationalities, ages and abilities feel welcome and that are unique to the communities they serve.

The pilot project will explore neighbourhood houses’ leadership role in encouraging communities to be inclusive of residents from diverse cultural backgrounds. They will address racism in creative ways by building on existing community services. The pilot will help communities to learn more about what it takes for neighbourhoods to be inclusive and welcoming to newcomers and people from various cultural experiences.

“Immigration is a major factor in the growth of many B.C. communities,” said Dave S. Hayer, parliamentary secretary for multiculturalism. “This pilot project will help break down the barriers many immigrants experience, so they can participate fully as neighbours in our communities and as citizens of British Columbia.”

The Building Welcoming and Inclusive Neighbourhoods pilot is supported under WelcomeBC, a provincial initiative that unites B.C.’s comprehensive settlement and integration services and programs under one umbrella. WelcomeBC also helps communities to strengthen community capacity throughout B.C. and supports welcoming and inclusive communities.

Funding for this initiative is provided in large part by the Government of Canada through the agreement for Canada-British Columbia Co-operation on immigration.

For information about WelcomeBC, go to: www.WelcomeBC.ca.

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1 backgrounder(s) attached.
Media contact:	Dave Townsend Senior Public Affairs Officer Ministry of Attorney General 250 387-4962 250 889-5945 (cell)

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