{"id":816393,"date":"2026-07-21T13:05:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T13:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/816393\/"},"modified":"2026-07-21T13:05:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T13:05:09","slug":"immigrant-volunteers-provide-a-safety-net-to-help-newcomers-navigate-life-in-canada","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/816393\/","title":{"rendered":"Immigrant volunteers provide a safety net to help newcomers navigate life in Canada"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Care Between the Lines<\/a> is a summer series, which will introduce you to volunteers in health care who fill gaps and provide compassion in a system that can be isolating and scary. <\/p>\n

Leny Rose Simbre sat in a doctor\u2019s office in Toronto, accompanying a friend from the Filipino community to hear the result of a daunting medical exam. As the physician explained something about precancerous cells, her companion froze and was unable to speak. She had no money, insurance or family in Canada to turn to for support. <\/p>\n

If it wasn\u2019t for Ms. Simbre, she would have been utterly alone for the May appointment. <\/p>\n

\u201cShe sometimes could not understand what the doctor was saying. Of course, you\u2019d be overwhelmed and your mind would be all over the place when you\u2019re in shock from hearing that you\u2019re sick,\u201d Ms. Simbre said in Tagalog. \u201cI stepped in and tried to understand what the doctor said and read the documents given to her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Language barriers, unfamiliarity with the system and, sometimes, their immigration status can daunt newcomers when they receive health care in Canada \u2013 a process that can be profoundly different from what they were used to in their home countries, and sometimes more expensive. <\/p>\n

To alleviate these problems, many immigrant volunteers go beyond the confines of formal organizations and programs, bridging fellow newcomers to the Canadian health care system and other supports. Many of them are aunts, uncles, sisters and brothers in diaspora communities where kinship extends beyond blood relations. They translate, manage documents and connect people with resources. Often, their presence is all that\u2019s needed, especially for those who are alone in Canada.<\/p>\n

Ms. Simbre, 46, has been assisting immigrants from the Philippines since 2012 with health care, labour and legal issues \u2013 both through formal networks such as Migrante Ontario and Kababayan Multicultural Centre, and informally through word of mouth. She came to Canada in 2007 as a live-in caregiver. She now serves on the board at Kababayan and works as a research assistant at the York Centre for Asian Research. <\/p>\n

At the appointment in May, Ms. Simbre was the one to speak with the doctor instead of the patient \u2013 her stunned Ate, a Tagalog honorific for older woman or sister. She remembered how her Ate zoned out, looking at nothing in particular; she understood English but could not fully process what she heard. She turned to Ms. Simbre, asking in Tagalog, \u201cLen, am I understanding this right?\u201d <\/p>\n

Ms. Simbre translated and confirmed the doctor\u2019s findings. They found abnormal cells in the results of her Ate\u2019s colposcopy \u2013 an exam to screen for any irregularities in the cervix, vagina and vulva. It could develop into cervical cancer if left untreated, the doctor said.<\/p>\n

In a fluid mix of Tagalog and English, dubbed Taglish, Ms. Simbre told The Globe: \u201cI remember always telling her, \u2018Ate, we\u2019re here for you. You\u2019re not alone.\u2019 Sometimes I would say, \u2018Let\u2019s do this step by step, Ate. Let\u2019s hear what the doctor says, and then we\u2019ll figure out the next step.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Two weeks later, her Ate underwent a quick procedure to remove the precancerous cells. Ms. Simbre came with her to the hospital, waiting 30 minutes until the minor surgery was over. She stayed with her as she rested and accompanied her home. She said in Taglish, \u201cAt least she knows that someone is with her.\u201d <\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

As a single mother with no relatives in Canada apart from her son, Ms. Simbre says her family is her community. She found her calling in aiding Filipinos who, like her, are far away from their homeland.<\/p>\n

Through Ms. Simbre\u2019s years of service in migrant and settlement organizations, she has become known in her community. She seems to always be on the move, her calendar filled with people she takes to the clinic, to the consulate, or wherever they need to be.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m the one people always come to,\u201d she said in Tagalog. Through word of mouth, Filipinos who need help find her. Her Ate found her the same way.<\/p>\n

Informal support coming from their ethnic community \u2013 typically from friends and relatives \u2013 often serves as a bridge between newcomers and formal organizations that provide resources, said Miu Chung Yan, a professor in the School of Social Work at the University of British Columbia.<\/p>\n

Recent immigrants often have no idea about settlement and ethnicity-specific organizations or what they can provide, Dr. Yan said. Neighbourhood ates, kuyas (the honorific for an older man or brother), aunts and uncles put them in the know, guiding them as they build their lives in Canada.<\/p>\n

Ms. Simbre looked for other ways to help her Ate. She took advantage of her network of like-minded immigrant volunteers, and for her 46th birthday started a fundraiser on social media. In a Facebook post, she wrote, \u201cInstead of gifts, I am asking for solidarity.\u201d<\/p>\n

The fundraiser aimed to pay for the medical bills of her Ate and another Filipino worker she calls Kuya, who suffered a stroke. She raised $1,700 in two weeks. The money helped ease their financial burden, if even just a little bit, Ms. Simbre said. <\/p>\n

For temporary residents, eligibility for publicly funded health insurance depends on their province and the type of permit they hold. Many seek out private health insurance. In 2022, 29 per cent of health care spending overall came from out-of-pocket costs and voluntary insurance, a report from the Canadian Institute for Health Information found.<\/p>\n

When the people she helps require assistance beyond her own capacity, Ms. Simbre refers them to Migrante and Kababayan. She hopes their resources can help her Kuya realize his wish to scrape together enough funds for a ticket back to the Philippines, so he can be with his family as he recovers from the stroke. <\/p>\n

While Ms. Simbre uses her connections to help her people, other immigrant volunteers offer their education and professional health training.<\/p>\n

Khush Fatima, 21, recently graduated from a biology for health sciences program at the University of Toronto Mississauga. She volunteers as a medical assistant at the walk-in clinic in her neighbourhood. <\/p>\n

Ms. Fatima, who arrived from Pakistan when she was nine years old, also often receives requests from Pakistani family friends to check their electrocardiograms, blood tests and other routine assessment results for irregularities.<\/p>\n

Her community knows that she and her mom, who is a physiotherapist, have health-related backgrounds, so people often come to them with medical concerns. <\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

After years of service in local migrant and settlement organizations, Ms. Simbre has become well-known and highly regarded in her community.<\/p>\n

Her mom\u2019s friend\u2019s mother, who suffered a heart attack, sent them her ECG and results of other standardized tests. The doctors confirmed everything looked good and there was no need for surgery, Ms. Fatima said, but the family was skeptical. She and her mom looked at the documents, which reassured them that nothing was amiss. They reminded the family that the doctors knew what they were doing.<\/p>\n

The family was relieved \u201ceven though we didn\u2019t really add too much to what they already knew,\u201d Ms. Fatima said.<\/p>\n

Language barriers can become a hindrance when building trust between newcomers and health professionals, she added. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a fear that they would misunderstand what the doctors are saying because they often tend to use big medical jargon or scary words … as opposed to if they were getting their treatment done back home, where everyone speaks the same language,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Ms. Fatima said it\u2019s amusing that family friends trust their knowledge even though they are not technically medical professionals. Typically, all people seem to need is reassurance from somebody in their community with whom they have a higher \u201ccomfort level,\u201d she said. A certain kind of understanding shared between people who not only speak the same language but also connect with the same culture.<\/p>\n

Immigrants leave behind the community dynamics and family support that make dealing with health scares easier, Ms. Simbre explained. \u201cIn the Philippines, when somebody is hospitalized, almost the entire family is there. There\u2019s someone looking after you. Someone brings you food. Someone talks to the doctor. Even the neighbour sometimes knows you\u2019re in the hospital,\u201d she said in Taglish.<\/p>\n

Having a community to advocate for the sick is particularly important because of hiya \u2013 a Filipino concept loosely translated to shame \u2013 in her culture, Ms. Simbre said. \u201cWe don\u2019t want to ask too many questions because we don\u2019t want to be seen as demanding or difficult,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Volunteers \u201ccannot always solve the person\u2019s problem. We are not doctors. We are not the ones making the medical decisions,\u201d she acknowledged. \u201cBut we can make sure that a person feels seen, heard and cared for.\u201d <\/p>\n

Dr. Yan pointed to connection as the reason why the likes of Ms. Simbre and Ms. Fatima freely give their time to their communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople like to connect with real human beings,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

With society \u201cbecoming more and more fragmented,\u201d Canadians can learn something from tight-knit immigrant communities, Dr. Yan said. As loneliness and isolation become common phenomena, particularly in urban areas, people can benefit from the sense of \u201cphysical togetherness\u201d and from doing a good deed without expecting anything in return, he said.<\/p>\n

Her family is her community, Ms. Simbre said. As a single mother who has no other relatives to support her in Canada except for her son, she said, \u201cI know it\u2019s hard to be alone.\u201d <\/p>\n

She found her purpose and calling in serving Filipinos like her, who are far away from home. \u201cWe need to stand with people in their most vulnerable moments so they don\u2019t feel alone,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

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