Civic Engagement of Immigrants in the Tri-Cities Tri-Cities Local - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Civic Engagement of Immigrants in the Tri-Cities Tri-Cities Local Immigration Partnership

Research Goal  To determine newcomers’ perceived community integration needs with regard to social, political, cultural and economic participation in the Tri-Cities

Guiding Questions  What are the settlement and integration needs of newcomers in the Tri-Cities?  To what extent are immigrants civically engaged in their community? In other words, to what extent are immigrants participating in the social, cultural, economic, and political activities in their community?  What might further support the civic engagement needs of newcomers?

Research Methods  Key Informant Interviews  Community Survey  Organization Survey  Focus Groups

Who Did We Hear From? Community Survey Respondents REFUGEE 5 % RUSSIAN ESTABLISHED 3% OTHER IMMIGRANTS 7 % CANADIAN 13% CITIZEN 16 % FARSI CHINESE VERY RECENT 19 % 36 % RECENT IMMIGRANTS IMMIGRANTS 53% PERMANENT 34% RESIDENT KOREAN 79% 35 % Residency Status Length of Time in Canada First (Native) Language

Who Did id We e Hear From? Community Survey Respondents | Place of Residence 11% 9% 80% OF RESPONDENTS OF RESPONDENTS OF RESPONDENTS LIVED IN PORT LIVED IN PORT LIVED IN COQUITLAM MOODY COQUITLAM 21% of Tri-Cities immigrants 13% of Tri-Cities immigrants 66% of Tri-Cities immigrants live in Coquitlam (2011 Census ) live in Coquitlam (2011 Census) live in Coquitlam (2011 Census)

Who Did We Hear From? FOCUS GR GROUP PARTICIPANTS ORGANIZATION SU SURVEY RE RESPONDENTS  Mandarin, Korean, Farsi PUBLIC  25 participants 18% FOR PROFIT 46% 12 MALE 13 FEMALE NON PROFIT 36% (n=32)

Settlement & Integration Needs THEME 1

Key Needs Identified by Immigrants SINCE MOVING TO THE TRI-CITIES AREA, HAVE YOU EVER NEEDED HELP WITH ANY OF THE FOLLOWING? 70% 63% 63% 60% 49% 49% 50% 38% 38% 40% 34% 34% 30% 30% 30% 25% 25% 25% 25% 24% 24% 23% 23% 20% 10% 0% LANGUAGE LEARNING ABOUT FINDING A JOB ADAPTING TO A LEARNING ABOUT FINDING FINDING HOUSING SCHOOL MAKING FRIENDS, TRAINING & ACCESSING NEW CULTURE THE RECREATION REGISTRATION BUILDING SOCIAL HEALTH CARE NEIGHBOURHOOD ACTIVITIES CONNECTIONS SERVICES

How well are immigrants’ needs being met? % WHO DID NOT RECEIVE HELP 140 55% 110 47% 85 65% 66 65% 45% 53% 35% 35% LEARNING ABOUT & ACCESSING FINDING A JOB LEARNING ABOUT THE LACK OF FRIENDS/SOCIAL HEALTH SERVICES COMMUNITY/NEIGHBOURHOOD CONNECTIONS

Challenges Based on Length of Time in Tri-Cities 70% LAN LANGUAGE BARRIER 40% 64% 69% 34% UN UNEMPLOYMENT/ / 30% UN UNDEREMPLOYMENT 33% OF RESPONDENTS WHO HAVE LIVED IN TRI-CITIES MORE THAN 5 YEARS ARE 25% STILL AFFECTED BY AT SOC SOCIAL ISO ISOLATION 18% LEAST ONE OF THESE 23% CHALLENGES 5 YEARS OR LESS MORE THAN 5 YEARS OVERALL

Key Findings – Settlement & Integration  While many immigrants identified that they needed help with language training, most were able to find the help they needed  Lea earning about & accessing health care servi rvices is a key unmet need  Finding a job, learning about the neighbourhood, and building social connections were also key unmet needs  Challenges such as unemployment/underemployment and social l is isolation continue to affect immigrants regardless of how long they have been living in the Tri-Cities

Theme 1 – Discussion Questions 1. From your knowledge and experience, what is your reaction to these findings? Do they align with your experience? 2. What promising practices or approaches, local or otherwise, are you aware of that would improve the ability of immigrants in the Tri- Cities to learn about and better access health care, employment and/or community information?

Connection to Community THEME 2

Reasons for Settling in Tri-Cities 1. . Family or fr friends are already settled in Tri-Cities 46% of survey respondents 2. . Affordable housing and relatively lower cost of living 40% of survey respondents 3. Perception that Tri-Cities is a ‘ family- oriented’ community ~10% of survey respondents and focus group participants

Feeling Welcome in Tri-Cities Communities “I FEEL WELCOME IN MY NEIGHBOURHOOD” Feeling connected to their community is important to 47% 98% 44% are neutral of respondents Feel welcome in their 9% neighbourhood Respondents who feel welc lcome in their do not feel neighbourhood are more lik likely to report welcome bein ing sa sati tisfied with ith th their lif life in in th the Tri ri-Citie ies

Social Connections  More than a quarter of respondents say it is dif ifficult to make new frie iends  45% say it is difficult to make friends with people from other ethnic icities in their community  40% are alo lone more often than they would like  Social isolation is a challenge for one out of every ry four respondents “The loneliness is a concern for everyone who moves here, and with the language barrier it’s hard to make friends…” – Focus Group Participant

Key Findings - Connection to Community  Overall, respondents in the Tri-Cities feel welcome in their neighbourhoods, although there is room for improvement  Many respondents find it difficult to make friends and feel socially isolated, regardless how long they have been living in the Tri-Cities  Respondents who are more comfortable communicating in English are more likely to find it easy to make friends and feel welcome in their neighbourhood  Respondents who feel welcome in their neighbourhood are more likely to report being satisfied with their life in the Tri-Cities

Theme 2 – Discussion Questions 1. From your knowledge and experience, what is your reaction to these findings? Do they align with your experience? 2. What could/should be done in the Tri-Cities to enhance the feelings of connectedness of both immigrants and long-time residents as well as reduce the social isolation of immigrants? What information or support does the host community need? What information or support do new immigrants need?

Civic Engagement in the Tri-Cities THEME 3

Civic Engagement in the Tri-Cities What do we mean by ‘Civic Engagement’?  Civic Engagement broadly refers to people’s connectio ions wit ith th the lif life of f th their ir communit itie ies  We have examined ‘civic engagement’ using a continuum of activities (individual to collective) across social, cultural, political, and economic dimensions  Civic engagement is a key factor in the cohesiveness of a community

Social and Cultural Participation “Since moving to the Tri -Cities, have you done any of the 90% following…” 80% 84% 83% TRI-CITIES 70% 60% METRO VANCOUVER 50% 49% 48% 40% 42% 42% 39% 30% 34% 26% 20% 10% 8% 0% VISITED LIBRARY, HAVE VOLUNTEERED SINCE ATTENDED AN EVENT PUT ATTENDED A RELIGIOUS ATTENDED A COMMUNITY CENTRE, OR MOVING TO CANADA ON BY A CULTURAL OR SERVICE NEIGHBOURHOOD OR RECREATION CENTRE ETHNIC GROUP COMMUNITY MEETING

Volunteering Reasons for volunteering:  To help others (71%)  To feel part of community (59%) 48%  To gain experience in Canada (58%)  To meet new people (57%) have volunteered Reasons for not volunteering: since moving to  Language barrier (74%) Canada  Lack of information about volunteer opportunities (32%)  Lack of time (30%)

Political Participation 70% 61% 60% TRI-CITIES NATIONAL AVERAGE (2004) 71% 50% of eligible 40% 35% respondents 28% 30% 24% have voted in 20% 20% Canada 11% 10% 6% 2% 0% MEMBER OF AN SIGNED A PETITION ATTENDED A PUBLIC CONTACTED A ORGANIZATION MEETING NEWSPAPER OR POLITICIAN TO EXPRESS VIEWS

Economic Participation Emplo loyment Rates of f Co Communit ity Su Survey Resp spondents 27% 30% 21% WILL LOOK FOR WERE WERE WORK IN THE EMPLOYED UNEMPLOYED FUTURE

Economic Participation - Challenges RESPONDENT EMPLOYMENT 27% RESPONDENTS WHO 31% SAY THAT LANGUAGE DIFFICULTIES, 30% 21% WERE COMFORTABLE UNEMPLOYMENT/ A LACK OF CANADIAN COMMUNICATING IN UNDEREMPLOYMENT IS A EXPERIENCE, AND WILL LOOK FOR ENGLISH WERE MORE WERE WERE CHALLENGE THAT CULTURAL DIFFERENCES LIKELY TO BE EMPLOYED WORK IN THE AFFECTS THEIR DAILY LIFE ARE KEY CHALLENGES EMPLOYED UNEMPLOYED FULL TIME FOR NEWCOMER STAFF FUTURE

Key Findings - Civic Engagement  A much larger proportion of respondents participated in social and cultural activities than in political activities  Voter turnout is higher than the national average, but participation in all other measures in the political sphere is low  Language difficulties, a lack of Canadian experience, and cultural differences are key challenges for newcomer staff

Theme 3 – Discussion Questions 1. From your knowledge and experience, what is your reaction to these findings? Do they align with your experience? 2. What could/should be done in the Tri-Cities to increase the civic participation of immigrants? What information or support does the host community need? What information or support do new immigrants need?