ACCANO receives $170,000 grant from province for social integration programming

The African Caribbean Canadian Association of Northern Ontario (ACCANO) has received $170,000 in grant money from the provincial government to lead a social integration project for families relocating to Sault Ste. Marie. 

The funding, made possible through the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services by way of the $13-million Youth Opportunities Fund, was announced by Sault Ste. Marie MPP Ross Romano during a virtual announcement Friday. 

“This is providing support to those parents, to those guardians, to those caregivers to ensure that they can settle into the community successfully, that they can settle in comfortably - that they can get connected with the types of supports that they need in terms of housing and employment,” said Romano. “And this way, they can empower the children that they are raising to be in a position to join the social fabric of our community as a family, as a group.”

Project director Jane Omollo says the programming, which will be undertaken in partnership with the Sault Community Career Centre, will include monthly gatherings for families in search of support as they integrate into the community. 

The programming aims to connect with 80 parents over the course of the next two years. 

“As we gather together and have a meal together, we’ll have guest speakers every time to talk about different topics - different topics to inform, different topics to empower, different topics to help us move forward,” Omollo said.

Parenting in Canada is very different from parenting where most of our parents have come from, Omollo says, and having a safe space to address challenges in terms of cultural differences and language barriers will ultimately benefit families moving to Sault Ste. Marie.  

“It’s nice to be able talk about them in a safe space where they’re not feeling threatened,” she said.

The second component of the programming will teach families about water safety. 

“We want to tell parents, come out and enjoy the beautiful scenery and the water that we have here - not just go and sit around the beach, go into the water and swim and enjoy it,” Omollo said. 

Curriculum development will take place throughout July and August with hopes of launching the social integration programming in September. 

Omollo says it’s possible that gatherings may have to happen virtually at first due to provincial emergency measures surrounding limits on social gatherings. 

Although numbers tend to fluctuate, there are roughly 150 people who are currently members of ACCANO. 

“The community of Sault Ste. Marie is a beautiful place to live in, and we have fallen in love with this place - and we want to stay here,” Omollo said.