Services for immigrant women: an evaluation of locations

Abstract

The Toronto region receives one‐quarter of new immigrants to Canada and they become widely dispersed throughout the metropolitan area. Most immigrants arrive with language, social and cultural needs, creating demand for social services from existing agencies. ‘How can agencies choose locations that meet the needs of new immigrants?’ is the central focus. The results of a study in Metropolitan Toronto of 68 nonprofit agencies that provide a variety of settlement services for immigrant and refugee women are discussed. Immigrant and language groups and the agencies serving them are mapped; the locations of agencies are evaluated. While service agencies are responding to the arrival of new groups and the spatial dispersion of new immigrants, more services in the northern portions of the study area are required. The spatial dispersion of some language groups means that they have poorer access to services than groups that are concentrated in the traditional immigrant reception area. La région de Toronto accueille le quart des immigrants au Canada, et ceux‐ci sont dispersés dans l'agglomération torontoise. La plupart d'entre eux ont des exigences linguistiques, sociales et culturelles qui augmentent la demande en services sociaux dispensés par les organismes en place. Ce document porte essentiellement sur la façon dont ces derniers determinent les lieux de prestation de services qui répondront le mieux aux besoins des immigrants. II est également question des résultats d'une étude menée dans la communauté urbaine de Toronto auprés de 68 organismes à but non lucratif offrant un éventail de services d'établissement pour les immigrantes et les réfugiées. Les immigrants et les groupes linguistiques, ainsi que les organismes qui les servent, y sont répertoriés géographiquement. La localisation de ces organismes fait aussi l'objet d'une évaluation. La plupart répondent déjà aux besoins des nouveaux venus et tiennent compte de leur dispersion mais, selon cette étude, il faudrait plus de services dans le nord de l'agglomération torontoise. En raison de cet éparpillement, certains groupes linguistiques ont plus difficilement accès à des services que d'autres qui se trouvent dans les zones d'ancrage habituelles.

Locating diversity: race, nativity and place in health disparities research

“…They affect access to resources and services, healthy and unhealthy environments, and opportunities for social interaction and social capital. Among immigrant groups and other vulnerable populations, varying residential geographies lead to varying levels of spatial access to health and social services, and employment, recreational and educational services (McLafferty and Grady 2005;Truelove 2000;Wolch et al 2005). Cultural appropriateness of services is also important, and the intersections between geographical and cultural barriers for specific immigrant populations are just beginning to attract research attention (Wang 2007).…”

The Emotional City: Refugee Settlement and Neoliberal Urbanism in Calgary

“…Moreover, the location of settlement services in relation to places of residence and work is crucial. Building on scholarship on the impacts of a "spatial mismatch" between locations of work and home (McLafferty and Preston 1996;Preston and McLafferty 1999), the literature examining the accessibility of a range of social services reveals that "location becomes a proxy for access" (Wang and Truelove 2003, p. 581), and may disadvantage some groups more than others (Truelove 2000). Schellenberg (2004) finds that recent immigrants use public transit to commute to work more than people who are born in Canada, and this reliance persists "even after length of residence is taken into account" (p. 38).…”

“…Schellenberg (2004) finds that recent immigrants use public transit to commute to work more than people who are born in Canada, and this reliance persists "even after length of residence is taken into account" (p. 38). Immigrant women are particularly reliant on public transit (Truelove 2000). While recent immigrants depend on public transit, the economic constraints many of them face mean that their housing might not be conveniently located to access well-serviced routes.…”

Evaluation of settlement service programs for newcomers in ontario: A geographical perspective

“…An equitable distribution of services can be defined as one that treats the needs of all users fairly and equally regardless of their residential location (Truelove, 1993). Lucy (1981) discusses equitable service provision as: services distributed according to need, demand, or preferences; or according to willingness to pay.The question of who benefits from public services and whether the pattern of benefits is equitable has WANG and TRUEI.OVE been an important area of research and a public policy issue (Talen, 1997(Talen, , 1998Talen & Anselin 1998;Truelove, 1993Truelove, , 2000. For this study we assume that unless service and need coincide in spatial terms, equity has not been achieved.…”

“…For new immigrants, participating in the programs can positively affect their quality of life and settlement in Canada, so a match between service and new immigrant population should be an important policy concern. Because new immigrants are most likely to use public transit for access to settlement services while juggling work, family, and other responsibilities (Truelove, 2000), it is assumed that those who live farther from a service have lower access.…”