Staff at the Humboldt Regional Newcomer Centre hosting weekly virtual Table Talk. (submitted photo/Elvircia Natlazo)

By Angie Rolheiser

Table Talk

Humboldt Regional Newcomer Centre now hosting virtual Table Talk

Oct 28, 2020 | 11:08 AM

The Humboldt Regional Newcomer Centre (HRNC) is hoping to reach its clients and the community with the new platform ‘Table Talk.’

Table Talk sessions are broadcast live on the HRNC Facebook page.

Executive Director Janine Hart told northeastNOW this is a better option than a Zoom meeting for their clients.

“We thought we would talk some of the content from our information sessions that we would normally do and put it into a table talk where we can do it as a team,” Hart said.

Hart came to Saskatchewan 13 years ago from northern England and has been with the HRNC for almost 11 years. She began as a settlement advisor but took over as the executive director when the centre was developed.

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‘Table Talk’ features Hart as well as other staff at the centre including Elvircia Natlazo who is the client service manager.

Natlazo came to Canada in 2008 from South Africa. She began working with the HRNC in 2010 and wants to share her experiences and help those who are also new to the country and province.

“Our community members and area get the opportunity to understand what things look like from a newcomer’s perspective,” Natlazo said.

The centre started off as having a settlement service area of 150 km around Humboldt but that radius was taken away and there really are no boundaries for the service.

Newcomer employees from overseas are a large part of its base as well as providing information about the region. In 2014, the centre secured funding from the federal government to provide settlement in schools for kindergarten to Grade 12 called the Settlement Workers in Schools (SWIS) program.

From “our own personal experience of immigrating to Canada and not having settlement services, we try our best to help clients by connecting and relate to them and their experiences,” Natlazo said.

The centre sticks by its clients long after the initial arrival to the area with things constantly changing in daily lives.

Hart and Natlazo and staff at the HRNC previously ran a conversation cafe where spouses of newcomers would drop-in at the centre for coffee and chat as well.

“It was just to feel safe and the isolation was minimized a little bit until they found employment which is what the goal was,” Hart said.

The new Table Talk live videos have the same aim of providing that information and connecting through these trying times of the COVID-19 pandemic as well.

“We are that safe place for our clients and we have some great resources within our community that we can refer them to,” Hart said. “At the end of the day they know our doors are open regardless of the situation.”

The centre closed on March 12 and staff worked from home but still had a lot of crisis work in that time including supporting clients with filing CERB applications. Schools were also closed but families with children in schools needed help with online learning specifically those who have English as a second or third language. They also helped with getting groceries for clients as well.

“It was a whirlwind, it was busier with professional development, crisis work than ever before,” Hart said.

The busier days have led to an increased need to debrief after each day.

“In our organization, we came up the idea to start our day with a debrief after working with clients from the day prior to support each and advise each other on how to proceed if there are any issues,” Natlazo said.

Those conversations and experiences led to the idea of hosting a table talk on social media so the community and clients can be part of those talks.

According to the pair, they are reaching people on a global level with people from their country tuning in. Further to the table talks, they have done shorter videos where they take their lunch hour or just a few minutes to remind people to move their bodies by simply dancing.

Content so far has included conversations about parenting and the journey for staff at the centre on immigrating to Canada and Saskatchewan. Tomorrow’s show will be based on winter preparedness and experience. Looking ahead, they are hoping to do a show on cooking but adding in some humour.

“These are our struggles as well and we understand,” Natlazo said.

Some of the feedback they have heard has come from someone that immigrated 13 years ago and how it differs from immigrating in recent years so they hope to have a panel from people who have those experiences as well.

The centre is not only open to newcomers but the community and area.

“If ever there are times that you are down and low, give us a call or pass on your questions, we are here to listen and to help,” Natlazo said.

Previous ‘Table Talk’ sessions are available on the HRNC Facebook page. New videos go live on Thursday’s weekly.

“The Table Talk is purely experiences and opinions of staff and in no way based on research or theory,” Hart said.

Any questions of topics that the public would like to see featured on Table Talk can be submitted to the centre through Facebook,by phone at 306-682-4277 or through email on its website.

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angie.rolheiser@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @Angie_Rolheiser@jpbg.ca