What is the objective of this project?
Since 2015, the arrival of Syrian refugees in Canada has raised awareness the precarious situation, and the vulnerability in which refugees find themselves upon their arrival to their host country. In order to make a real difference in the course of these refugees’ lives, the project “Vivons nos quartiers” aims to contribute to a successful refugees’ integration in their host country, based on the quality of care and the solidarity of the communities where they live.
This project is conducted in partnership with Centraide of Greater Montreal and la Table de concertation des organismes au service des personnes réfugiées et immigrantes (TCRI). The main objective of this project is to contribute to the creation of inclusive and welcoming neighbourhoods for the refugees and immigrants. For this purpose, the specific objectives are:
1.To enhance the capacities of community actors, to make a better intervention in a context of diversity with a particular attention to refugee people and vulnerable immigrants.
2.To foster the development towards a more welcoming reception of the refugee population within host communities.
3. To ease the interaction amongst the different actors (refugees, stakeholders, citizens) in a context of diversity and mutual respect.
How will this project be implemented in practice?
We are documenting the following activities taking place in different territories chosen by TCRI and Centraide to benefit from "Vivons nos quartiers" :
- Training for community and institutional stakeholders
- Information and awareness events for citizens
- Establishment of communities of practice and supervision groups
- GARD#qa meetings: Action-Reflection Group for the Diversity of Welcoming Neighbourhoods
- Meetings of the steering committee
- Meetings and activities of local committees for intercultural rapprochement of neighbourhoods
- Setting up of a training course on the topic of the facilitation of citizen bridging activities
We also conducted:
- Interviews with key players in the immigration sectors
- Photovoice interviews with immigrants and refugees
What are the phases of the project?
The project is divided into two main phases:
The first phase (2017-2018) documents the deployment of the "Vivons nos quartiers" initiative.
The objective of this phase is to grasp the issues that preoccupy the actors of different neighbourhoods following the arrival of numerous asylum seekers and refugees, and to identify strategies put in place to ease the reception of these newcomers.
Data collection is taking place in 13 Montreal neighbourhoods that have benefited from the "Vivons nos quartiers" initiative.
Several activities to disseminate the results were carried out, including a research report, an article published in Lien social et Politiques, and a Research Digest.
The second phase (2019-2020) aims to document closely the reception of newcomers in three specific Montreal territories (Ville-Émard-Côte-St-Paul, Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve and Bordeaux-Cartierville). The objective is to capture both the initiatives implemented at the local level and the perceptions and experiences of reception practices by newcomers.
The research team observed the meetings and activities of two local intercultural rapprochement committees and conducted "photovoice" type interviews with newcomers in these three neighbourhoods (this last component is largely inspired by the photovoice project conducted by Luisa Veronis of the Ottawa-Gatineau network).
Who works on the project?
This project is a partnership between Centraide of Greater Montreal and the Table de concertation des organismes au service des personnes réfugiées et immigrantes (TCRI). Several member agencies of the TCRI, which are at the heart of reception and settlement initiatives in various Montreal neighbourhoods and regions, have contributed to this project.
The project is also piloted by the GARD#qa, a think tank that brings together a number of key players in the greater Montreal area who are involved in the integration of refugees. The role of GARD#qa is to monitor the challenges and conditions of integration of refugee families, to define the criteria and conditions that facilitate the strengthening of an inclusive community, and to document the most promising reception practices or collaborations.
Phase 1 :
Field Team: Florence Bourdeau and Stephan Reichhold (TCRI); Pierre-Constantin Charles (Centraide of Greater Montreal).
Research Team: Principal Investigator: Chedly Belkhodja; Coordinator: Gabrielle Désilets; Research Assistants: Tiphaine Barrailler, Amel Gherbi, Anna Goudet.
Phase 2:
Field Team: Florence Bourdeau, Stephan Reichhold and Myriam Richard (TCRI); Pierre-Constantin Charles (Centraide of Greater Montreal).
Research Team: Principal Investigators: Chedly Belkhodja and Mireille Paquet; Coordinator: Anna Goudet; Research Assistant: Catherine Paquette
