Attracting and welcoming newcomers to Chatham-Kent is up for discussion as officials battle with a declining immigrant population.
The Chatham-Kent Local Immigration Partnership held its first commUNITY Connections Forum this week.
Project coordinator Victoria Bodnar says the group will be launching the Chatham-Kent Welcome Network. "That will be available for all community stakeholders as a way to promote what they're doing to integrate and welcome newcomers in their daily operations," says Bodnar. "And to promote to newcomers that we're a welcoming community, grateful for their contributions and we're here to help them through their settlement process."
Bodnar says the network will be ready in the spring or summer. Moving forward, she says the focus will be to ensure newcomers know about the services that are available to them. "They come with multiple hats. They come with diverse skills, language abilities, lots of background experience in employment as well as just life experience," says Bodnar. "They're really a value-asset to our community. Diversity within a community in and of itself is a benefit."