Stakeholders from across the region have hashed out a plan to create more welcoming communities for newcomers. Over three-dozen people from Morris, Altona, Plum Coulee, Gretna, Winkler, Morden, and Carman participated in a recent strategic planning session for the Pembina Valley Local Immigration Partnership, or PV-LIP.

"Each community is so unique and has such a different timeline with how many newcomers live there, or how long they've been involved in settlement and integration, that we found it was really important to bring stakeholders from a variety of communities to bring their voice to this important opportunity," explained Elaine Burton Saindon, PV-LIP coordinator.

According to Burton Saindon, the strategic planning session yielded three priorities or goals for moving forward.

Priority one calls for each community to develop their own Welcoming and Inclusive Community policy as a way for local groups to see how they help newcomers feel welcome and that their contributions are wanted.

The second goal seeks to improve communication and better interpret the different needs across the region.

"How do we communicate our information, how do we let people know what's happening? How do people access that information?", said Burton Saindon. "In our surveys in the summer we found that most newcomers found that information very hard to access. It was kind of a 'who you know' was the challenge that they faced."

Finally, Burton Saindon said a priority will be placed on the mental health and wellness of newcomers to the Pembina Valley.

"Everyone from the parents down to the kids in school adjusting and adapting to new cultures, languages, and food, all of those components have an underlying effect," she explained. "It's not so much that we have large volumes of people in dire straights, we just need to recognize how do we help people feel like they are part of our social community and that they are able to fit in."

Burton-Saindon added a committee of people from each community will gather in November to establish a process of how to meet these goals.