CFN @ Calgary Pride

CFN is excited to once again be marching in this year's upcoming Calgary Pride Parade and look forward to being a part of what is no less than an important and very special event.  The signature Calgary Pride Parade is one of the city's most colourful celebrations of the year.  This family friendly parade sees upwards of 60,000 spectators as over 150 entries from community groups, corporations, politicians, churches and public services roll through the heart of downtown, and celebrate the tremendous diversity of Calgary’s community.

The Centre for Newcomers offers services to the full range of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and other sexually diverse newcomers to Canada. Whether you have permanent residency, filing for asylum as a refugee, or here under any other status, then you can use our LGBTQ+ newcomer services. We provide service to those in Alberta from any country in the world.

For organizations and professionals, we provide organizational assessments, training, information, referrals, and client advice. For individuals, we provide 1-1 support services, group supports, information, referrals, and settlement advice. For people with permanent residency we offer ‘The Settlement Newcomers Settlement Support Project,’ and for refugee claimants and LGBTQ+ people with any other status in Canada, the ‘Alberta LGBTQ+ Newcomers Project’ can assist you.

The LGBTQ+ Newcomers Settlement Support Project

The Centre for Newcomers LGBTQ+ Settlement Support Project provides settlement support services to LGBTQ+ new Calgarians. LGBTQ+ immigrants often describe a sense of isolation and do not have social networks to help set them up in a new city when coming to Canada. Sometimes, LGBTQ+ people are fleeing extreme levels of persecution, have often experienced traumatic situations, and have virtually no one in Canada that they can be open with about their sexual orientation or gender identity.

The CFN LGBTQ+ New Canadians project provides support services, information and orientation, needs assessment and referral, interpretation support, active referral to employment and other related services. These and other support services will be provided either at CFN or partner organizations sites depending on the clients’ preferences.

The Alberta LGBTQ+ Newcomers Project

The Centre for Newcomers has partnered with Centre for Sexuality and End of the RainbowFoundation to offer settlement and peer support services specifically for the

LGBTQ newcomer community. LGBTQ+ rights in Canada are some of the most advanced in the world. At the same time, many LGBTQ+ newcomers come from countries where they have faced overt discrimination, violence, and persecution as a result of their sexual orientation or gender identity. In almost 80 countries, LGBTQ+ persons are still criminalized for who they are, how they look or whom they love.

This project aims to build upon piloted services for LGBTQ+ newcomers and offer services not only in Calgary but also build capacity for LGBTQ+ newcomer services across Alberta.

We will serve any community with immigrants and refugees that request supports. Although both agencies are located in Calgary, we will provide support to communities that we market in across Alberta. Attention will be given to smaller cities such as Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, Red Deer, Brooks, and Fort McMurray. Organizations in Edmonton will also be targeted, especially for a capacity building within the city. Within Calgary, our focus will be on refugee claimants and Canadian citizens who are LGBTQ+ immigrants requiring services.

For LGBT Newcomers:

• Providing sexual orientation and gender identity/expression needs assessments

• Providing letters and support for Immigration and Refugee Board hearings

• Information and referrals to LGBTQ+ and other organizations

• Orientation to Canada

• One-to-one support

• Volunteer opportunities

• Support groups and mentoring

For Alberta Practitioners:

• Teaching practitioners about LGBTQ+ newcomer issues

• Teaching practitioners immigrant and refugee system processes

• Teaching practitioners best practices in conducting sexual orientation and gender identity/expression needs assessments

For Alberta Communities:

• LGBTQ+ education

• LGBTQ+ capacity building

• LGBTQ+ organizational assessments

  
  

  If you would like to make an appointment or need more information, then please email:

  Boban Stojanovic at b.stojanovic@centrefornewcomers.ca or

  Kelly Ernst at k.ernst@centrefornewcomers.ca

 #Calgary #LGBTQ+ #Newcomers #Pride #YYC