In this episode, Joudy discusses her experience coming to Canada as a young newcomer, continuing university and overcoming social isolation during the pandemic with the help of Together Project volunteers.

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Together Project looks forward to working with a new spring cohort of TD Welcome Group volunteers who will be matched with refugee newcomer families for six months of social and integration support. With the support of the TD Ready Commitment Network, Together Project has matched 14 TD Welcome Groups consisting of 96 TD volunteers since 2019. In our most recent survey of government-assisted refugee participants, with 9 households responding:

-100% of households reported satisfaction with the match experience

-100% of households reported feeling less socially isolated

-100% of households reported feeling that their match has helped them make progress towards their most important integration priorities

-89% of household reported the formation of stronger social connections

-78% of households reported feeling more welcome in their communities.

Learn more about a match between a newcomer family from Mississauga and a TD Welcome Group at TD Stories.

Thank you to MakeWay for featuring Together Project’s work in this new article. ”

“Since its inception, Together Project has partnered with five settlement agencies and made more than 175 matches between 650 newcomers and 700 volunteers. 90% of volunteers report having learned more about refugee integration, and 80% of refugee newcomers report that their Welcome Group has helped them feel more connected to their communities, and resilient through their settlement journey in Canada. Pivoting to continue programming through the Covid-19 pandemic, Together Project was able to design a model of “remote social support.”

Together Project would like to thank the Government of Canada’s Emergency Community Support Fund and Toronto Foundation for providing generous support for our Remote Social Support for Newcomers program. This support allowed Together Project to build remote social connections between a total of 151 newcomer refugees and over 200 volunteers. The program served 49 newcomer households (31 Government Assisted Refugee Households and 18 refugee claimant households) with a mix of newcomer single-parent families, families with low language levels, youth (18-28), and LGBTQ+ individuals. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, program outcomes are promising;  100% of newcomer households reported feeling less socially isolated and 89% of newcomer households reported having formed stronger social connections after participating in a Welcome Group match.

In this episode, Jane shares how volunteers have been able to support her family with career navigation, children’s literacy, and navigating healthcare. Through weekly video chats over six months, Jane has built strong social connections with the volunteers and is now ready to give back.

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In this new podcast episode, Ngozi shares how Together Project volunteers supported her in finding employment in Canada and how now she wants to volunteer to empower other newcomers.

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