Scenario #3: Newcomers’ Struggle – Immigrant and Refugees

Fatima is a 28-year-old who recently moved to Canada. She left a war zone with her two young children. She has experienced trauma and is now staying in temporary housing. She struggles to find health care, jobs, and legal help for her refugee claim. As her community support worker, Devon sees that Fatima faces many overlapping problems. She is a Muslim, a Black woman, and a single mother. She also has to deal with systems that often ignore or misjudge her culture and language.

Devon uses a trauma-informed way of working, meaning he focuses on making Fatima feel safe, trusted, and empowered. He listens carefully without judging and pays attention to any emotional triggers from her past. He makes sure every interaction is kind and understanding. While helping Fatima, Devon thinks about his own advantages. As a white man born in Canada, he recognizes some biases might influence how he offers help. He notices that some organizations he suggests to Fatima do not have enough cultural understanding or translation services. These issues show how deeply rooted systemic barriers are. To fight these problems, Devon advocates for Fatima. He writes letters to organizations, connects her with culturally aware services, and talks about his concerns with his boss. These actions help push for change. This work teaches Devon more about how different parts of identity, like immigration status, gender, religion, and language, can make things harder for someone. It reminds him that support needs to be respectful and customized to each person’s needs.