Open for just over four months, Estevan's newcomer gateway is proving to be very popular with immigrants throughout southeast Saskatchewan.
Â鶹´«Ã½AVeast Newcomer Services opened in December and has become a sort of one stop shopping location for newcomers seeking information on everything they need to make their transition to the area a smooth one.
"I always say when a client comes in, we can answer any question expect for what they want for supper that night," said Katie Burham, who is a settlement adviser at SNS. "If they want to know what local groups are there in my community, what jobs are available, what are the local churches or religions in this area or how do I renew my work visa or permanent resident cards ... we cover pretty much everything."
Located at the Â鶹´«Ã½AVeast Regional College's location in the Estevan Comprehensive School, SNS is one of 11 newcomer gateways in the province. The southeast location provides services for people within a 150-kilometre radius of Estevan, an area which includes 55 different communities.
"Before not all the communities were covered; whereas now, with the gateways, every community is covered."
Burham said in their short time of operation, the service has been well used by immigrants.
"We have helped people from 11 or 12 different countries," she said. "It's been exciting just to learn about the different cultures that have come in, it's kind of neat. I found that a lot of people don't know exactly what we offer and when they come in they're like 'oh, you can help me with that.'
"They are excited to see that there is someone out there interested in their success in Saskatchewan."
Although Estevan and much of the southeast has become home to many newcomers in recent years, Burham said they still face many challenges that require assistance, which is obviously where they step in and fill any void that may exist.
"English classes are a big challenge, finding jobs in their area or finding the studies that they need to get those jobs," she said. "We help a lot of people sponsor their skilled family members to come over. A lot of people don't realize that it's not easy to immigrate into Canada. You have to have skills, the position has to be advertised for three months and go through a whole process before it can be available to an immigrant, it's not easy.
"We have a lot of people coming in looking for some place to rent. I think everyone is having that issue here but it is kind of challenging for them."
Burham added that on March 2 SNS is hosting a multi-cultural potluck dinner at the Church of Christ on Eighth Street from 7 to 10 p.m.
