The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, January 22, 2016 | 8 HMC to support 50 Syrian refugee families by April by Julia Le Oakville Beaver Staff Halton can expect to welcome 50 Syrian refugee families by the end of April. Kim Jenkinson, executive director of Halton Multicultural Council (HMC) told the Oakville Beaver Tuesday (Jan. 19), with the first wave of 14 families already settling into Halton and the surrounding GTA area, the community is ready to support the next wave of Syrian refugees on a path to a better life. Support is key "One of the really good things for the families coming is to make sure they have social and family support," she said. That's where HMC has stepped in, to work alongside a number of other community groups that have come forward to offer assistance. HMC is a community-based settlement agency that provides a variety of programs and services to immigrant and refugee communities. Headquartered on Speers Road in Oakville, it also has offices in north Oakville, Burlington and Milton. HMC boasts a staff of 79 full- and part-time employees and more than 250 volunteers, who are dedicated to helping people, regardless of race or ethnic origin, participate as full and active members of the community through fostering mutual respect and understanding of one another. Connecting people to resources Jenkinson said HMC has taken on the role of connecting people to the right resources. Over the last two months, it has been hosting sponsorship information sessions to inform residents what it takes to bring a family from Syria or a refugee camp to Canada -- what the responsibilities are and the resources and support that family will need in its first year living here. "We have received information requests from literally hundreds of volunteers," she added. "... we're getting at least two or three emails a day about, `How do I help?, How do I volunteer?, Where do I donate clothes?, Where do I donate furniture?,' all those kinds of things." While HMC doesn't have the space to hold donated clothes, furniture and other items, it's been directing residents to connect with Safetynet Children and Youth Charities in Oakville and the Compassion Society in Burlington. Syrian refugee fund It also started a Syrian refugee fund that has already raised $25,000 to help fill in the gaps where a family may need support with housing or other living expenses, or if a sponsorship agreement breaks down. As well, HMC settlement workers have been meeting families at the airport as they arrive in Canada. Volunteer interpreters, who have gone through police background checks, are being recruited to help act as translators between a sponsoring group and a family. We have received information requests from literally hundreds of volunteers. We're getting at least two or three emails a day about, `How do I help?,How do I volunteer?, Where do I donate clothes?, Where do I donate furniture?, all those kinds of things. Halton Multicultural Council executive director HMC is connecting Syrian refugees with community groups like the Dar Foundation, an Islamic non-profit organization that services the Muslim and Arabic communities. Making refugees feel at home Sahar Youssef, a volunteer with the Dar Foundation, which is located on Morden Road, near the HMC, said that agency has been actively working to make refugees and new immigrants feel at home in the Halton community. It's extending many of its existing programs to serve Syrian newcomers, as well as creating new initiatives to help them settle into their new lives. They include the Dar food program, which started two years ago to help low-income families and is sponsored by both Food for Life and Dar Foundation; weekly Saturday family night get-togethers; and, monthly neighbourhood dinners where families cook extra food for other families. Youssef said Dar Foundation also plans to connect each new Syrian refugee family with a local family in order to establish a friendship and minimize isolation. The local family will not only act as extended family, but will help its counterpart integrate into the community. Very little English "We realized many Syrian families come to Canada with very little English or no English at all," added Youssef. "It's very hard for them to communicate to locals." To assist, Dar Foundation members have created a Survival Deck. The deck of cards comes into play by helping refugees communicate basic and urgent phrases. "Each side of the card has one phrase in English, a picture, the Arabic translation, and how to pronounce the English phrase," she said. Newcomers can sound out the phrase, find the card they need or show it to others. Jenkinson said Halton can take great pride in how it has responded to the humanitarian crisis overseas. From individuals creating backpack drives to help Syrian children integrate into the school system to community organizations raising funds and preparing to help in whatever way they can, the support has been overwhelmingly positive. At the same time, Jenkinson admits it hasn't come without its fair share of challenges, too. Affordable housing a huge challenge The most daunting is finding affordable housing for the families being sponsored by Halton groups. In Halton, renters may experience difficulty finding suitable rental housing with overall vacancy rates at 1.6 per cent, according to Halton Region's 2014 State of Housing Report. That, while, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), a vacancy rate of at least three percent is considered necessary for adequate competition and housing options. see Syrian won p.15 Kin Jenkinson We realized many Syrian families come to Canada with very little English or no English at all. It's very hard for them to communicate to locals. Dar Foundation volunteer Sahar Youssef Kim Jenkinson | Oakville Beaver file photo Dar Foundation members have created a Survival Deck. The deck of cards comes into play -- literally by helping family members communicate basic and urgent phrases. Each side of the card has one phrase in English, a picture, Arabic translation, and how to pronounce the English phrase. | submitted photo Next week, HMC is offering cultural sensitivity training, and registration is already full as people want to learn more about how they should interact with Syrian refugees without being offensive or ignorant. Jenkinson added it's working on a partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) to connect the Arabic community and break down any stigmas that surround mental health issues.