Exploring the Syrian Refugee Experience in Waterloo Region

CCBR led two projects in Waterloo Region, both funded by Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada. One project explored the barriers (and successes) faced by local Syrian refugee parents - who stay at home with their children - and Syrian refugee older adults. The second project explored the barriers faced by Syrian refugee youth.

Each project followed a community-based research approach, meaning CCBR worked with several local organizations as well as members of the Syrian community to design the project, gather information, and mobilize the findings. Syrian refugee parents and youth were hired as Community Researchers and have been actively involved throughout the research process.

Final Reports

The Syrian Refugee Parent and Older Adult report can be found here.
The Syrian Refugee Youth report can be found here.
The Policy Brief can be found here.

Community celebration on March 25, 2017

A community celebration was held on Saturday March 25, 2017, at Kitchener City Hall (1- 5 pm), in collaboration with the Waterloo Region Immigration Partnership and Reception House Waterloo Region. The celebration brought together over 500 people, including Syrian refugees, service providers, and other community members. Local service providers and members of parliament spoke at the event and reflected on the settlement and integration efforts in Waterloo Region over the past year. Several Syrian musical and dance groups performed, and there was free food, activities for children, and information booths from local settlement services.

At the end of the community celebration, CCBR presented research findings from these two studies to a subgroup of about 80 people, including Syrian refugee parents, older adults, and service providers, many of whom had participated in a focus group or interview. The community celebration represented an ideal convening moment for study participants and interested others to reflect on study findings and to provide feedback on suggested models and interventions.

The slideshow from the research presentation can be found here. 

Research forum on September 27, 2017