Rural Immigration Support

(May 2019 intake)

How might we help female newcomers between the ages of 20-45 call Miramichi home?

STORY: The prototype they developed is an invitation to new immigrants and longer-term Miramichi residents to a meeting with a social component that focuses on learning what each person could do to help connectivity between new and existing Miramichi residents.

STATUS: Complete

UPDATE:

• They completed their Annual August BBQ that had hundreds of newcomers show-up last year and felt was a valuable event because it had resources all attendees could easily access (eg medicare card sign-up, etc), which the prototype interviews reinforced.

• Chamber of Commerce also had Karen McGrath, President and CEO of Horizon Health speak at their AGM and she spoke of the importance of immigration and the Miramichi members are supportive of Sam, the ED of the chamber, investing time in the immigration file.

• Built a core team that had time to work on the prototype, testing out invitation with existing residents, and getting clarity on the purpose of the event.

• The event went on twice as long as expected

• The team considers the prototype finished and is taking the learnings forward

TEAM MEMBERS:

• Samantha Murphy (lead) - Executive Director - Miramichi Chamber of Commerce

• Craig Silliker - Executive Director - Miramichi Regional Multicultural Association

• David Godfrey - Economist - Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour

• Adam Lordon - Mayor - City of Miramichi

• Rachel Bernard - Community Economic Development Executive - Opportunities NB

• Amy Savile - Phd Student Researcher - University of New Brunswick