In February of 2017, MOSAIC commissioned a settlement and integration needs assessment of the Tigrinya, Amharic and Oromo-speaking communities, primarily in Edmonds area of Burnaby.
MOSAIC staff have become concerned about the multiple settlement barriers this group of newcomers (primarily from Eritrea and Ethiopia) is facing, resulting in long waitlists of clients from these communities for its case management program called Moving Ahead. Many from this newcomer group have or are settling in Edmonds, close to other residents from Eritrea and Ethiopia, as well as their faith communities. MOSAIC’s initial assessment was that this newcomer group was taking longer in their settlement process compared to other newcomer groups.
To that end, this asset-based needs assessment sought to explore the barriers to and levels of integration for this newcomer group, as well as the extent of their settlement needs. This research focused on the needs of members of these three communities who were in Canada eight years or less.
