Syrian refugee children now have the chance to play as kids.
Ottawa community health centres — including the Centretown Community Health Centre on Cooper Street — have partnered with numerous recreation centres across the city to provide early childhood development services for Syrian refugee children and their families.
The playgroups are geared towards children up to six years old. The children are provided the opportunity to improve their language development and decrease social isolation.
Parents are also able to receive information in their native language about community resources for health and wellness, libraries and recreational programs. They also gain reassurance that they will continue to receive services once they move out of temporary accommodations.
Jennifer Theriault, the early years co-ordinator and health promoter at the CCHC, says the parents and children benefit equally from playgroups.
“For parents, it means a break from the routine, a place and time to gather with other parents, as well as an opportunity to ask questions and learn about community resources that can help them and their children,” she says.
In order to help those in need, Ottawa citizens have come together to donate their clothing, appliances, toys, and bedding. However, with all of this generosity comes thievery.
According to College ward Coun. Rick Chiarelli, scammers from outside of Ottawa are setting up false donation boxes that look identical to the ones placed out by legitimate aid groups.
Chiarelli has teamed up with Capital Welcomes, the Ottawa Neighbourhood Services, Refugee613 and other local community groups to crack down on fraudulent boxes.
There are currently 1,472 refugees living in Ottawa, according to the CCHC’s website. Patricia Lemieux, president of the Ottawa Neighbourhood Services, says refugee families are in need of everything from bedding to toys.
“We were looking for toys because at the time when they were first starting to come in, that’s one of the things they were looking for,” says Lemieux.
“There’s nothing that they don’t need and they haven’t been placed yet, and that’s the difficult part.”
Of the 1,472 refugees, only 1,083 of them are government sponsored, meaning the federal government is responsible for temporary housing and supporting them financially for a year.
According to Theriault, some Syrian refugees came to Ottawa through private sponsorships and have gone on to live in permanent housing, where the children can play outside of the confines of a hotel.
“While some of them are still living in temporary housing, most government sponsored refugees have been relocated to permanent accommodations at this point, and connected with community resources,” says Theriault.
One issue facing refugee families is having safe places for their children to play. Some families expressed concern over their children being confined within the walls of a hotel and not having any space to truly be children.
Those who are interested in donating their time or items to help the Syrian refugees can visit Chiarelli’s website to find out which donation boxes are legitimate (http://www.rickchiarelli.com).
Those interested in donating time can visit Refugee613’s website, along with many others.