NEWS RELEASE
CHALMERS COMMUNITY SERVICES CENTRE
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Did you know that Chalmers Community Services Centre (CCSC) has been providing food, clothing and community to those in need for twenty-two years?
In 2018 alone, they received almost 14, 000 guest visits, more than half of whom were served at their Chalmers West location on the property behind Three Willows United Church on Willow Road. In the last five years in particular, volunteers and staff have seen a shift in who is accessing service at CCSC.
“We are serving more guests at Chalmers West than ever before and definitely more and more new Canadians. When you enter our registration area and cafe on a Thursday morning, the buzz of conversation is a beautiful mix of Arabic, Nepali, Tagalog, Farsi, Kurdish and Tigre,” says Sarah Dermer, CCSC’s Program & Volunteer Coordinator. “It’s really exciting!”
That buzz of conversation has led to a new partnership between CCSC and Immigrant Services Guelph-Wellington. Since September 2018, Immigrant Services has been offering a free Conversation Circle to CCSC guests in the sanctuary of Three Willows United Church on Thursday mornings.
According to Immigrant Services’ Volunteer Mobilizer, Sreeja Venugopal, “Our partnership with Chalmers to run this Conversation Circle has been a very rewarding one in terms of having another avenue for our clients to practice English. The fact that the food service that Chalmers provides brings people into the location anyway, and the fact that they can learn the language, becomes an added value for them. We have been fortunate to have two lovely dedicated volunteers who run these sessions every Thursday, tirelessly. We are certainly looking forward to continue this collaboration with Chalmers in supporting this circle and others in the future.”
Helene Bates and Maryam Motia, Immigrant Services volunteers who have been facilitating the Conversation Circle since its beginnings, have been assisting Chalmers guests with everything from talking to the doctor to speaking on the phone. As facilitators, their key objective is to help individuals “take responsibility to keep improving their language skills in order to better integrate into the community and to address their daily living needs.”
Building confidence also seems to be key in what the Conversation Circle is able to offer. In fact, CCSC volunteers have already witnessed the direct benefits of guests engaging with the Conversation Circle. After the first class, with her name tag still on, one guest introduced herself to volunteers and asked how they were doing. Joan Wilson, a long-time Chalmers West volunteer, shares, “I was immediately struck by her confidence as we made eye contact. She spoke very clearly.” Wilson says that this guest had never spoken to CCSC volunteers before taking part in the Conversation Circle.
Ultimately, this new partnership between Immigrant Services and Chalmers Community Services Centre is providing an opportunity to remove barriers and build community, benefiting all who are involved.
For more information about the Thursday morning Conversation Circle, contact Sarah Dermer, Program & Volunteer Coordinator, Chalmers Community Services Centre: (519) 822-8778.
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