Syrian refugees to get help to overcome trauma

Edmonton settlement agencies are getting ready to support Syrian refugees facing mental health challenges.

"We have been alerted that a significant number of the Syrian refugees will face some trauma issues," said Alice Colak, vice president of immigration and settlement service atCatholic Social Services.

"We are trying to gear up and prepare for that, both internally as well as in the community and in discussions with Alberta Health and other colleague organizations who might have those supports."

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Alberta is welcoming up to 3,000 refugees in the next few months. About half are expected to settle in Edmonton as government-sponsored refugees.

They are arriving from United Nations' refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey after fleeing the bloody civil war now in its fifth year.

"There will be people coming from very traumatic situations, long stays in camps and so on," said Colak. "This will likely be an issue at some point."

Thorough medical check

Upon arrival in Edmonton, refugees undergo a thorough medical check up which screens for mental health concerns, said Kathryn Friesen, program manager for Catholic Social Services.

Each family is then assigned to a settlement counselor who is trained to look for red flags which might not appearuntil "that three-month mark after people have moved into their permanent accommodation," she said.

"The whirlwind of the first time period is over, it's calmed down and now people have time to realize and think about what they've actually been through."

As recently as a year and a half ago, mental health support tailored towards refugees was harder to come by in Edmonton, with wait times of up to five weeks.

But the roster of therapists at the Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers has more than doubled in recent years, growing from three positions to eight.

The federal government funds two positions, with a part-time position paid for by Alberta's Child and Family Services.

"Adjusting to life in Canada is made significantly more difficult when weighed down by the impact of torture and trauma," said Erick Ambtman, executive director of the Mennonite centre.

"Even before this group of refugees coming, there was a recognition that refugees need more mental health supports."

Ambtman is optimistic that recognitionwill continue with the influx of Syrian refugees.

"We have spoken to several ministries and they have indicated they will work to secure funding for mental health," he said.

Mainstream mental health services are available to newcomers, but can be difficult to access for those learning the language or working two or more jobs. Transportation and the need to arrange childcare are additional challenges.

But Ambtman said his staff hasbeen providing workshops for social workers, doctors and therapists at non- immigrant serving agencies to better support victims of torture and trauma.

PTSD "is something that in western medicine wasn't well recognized but something that we asan immigrant-serving agency have been seeing for our history," said Ambtman.

"For 30 years we've been working on a practice and so now there's an appetite to learn our practice."

andrea.huncar@cbc.ca

@andreahuncar