Every year, Canada welcomes more than 250,000 new arrivals from all over the world. Approximately 45,000 of these new immigrants come to Alberta each year, and while most will choose to live in our province's largest cities (Edmonton and Calgary), many more also choose to live in smaller communities.
In our Rural Small Centres program, we offer settlement services and supports for children, youth, and adults who live in smaller communities throughout Central and Eastern Rural Alberta. We have school-based programming, adult programs, and offer services to support newcomers settling into these communities– and communities adapting to newcomers’ needs.
We work closely with our team members at the Edmonton office.
If you are new to Canada, and you live in a small community outside of Edmonton, please click here to learn about how we can help and how to make an appointment.
Settlement Workers in Schools (SWIS) is a program which supports immigrant and refugee children enrolled in K-12 schools, as well as their families and school teams. We can provide translation, interpretation, individual support, and group programs. Click to learn about how to access our programs.
In our three regions, we can help adult newcomers needing support with any type of Canadian system or service: needing support with accessing housing, healthcare, legal supports, and more.
We offer free, customizable workshops for cultural competency and anti-racism. This is available to any organization, including FCSS, schools, libraries, municipalities, or any one else hoping to serve diverse communities more effectively.
Beyond SWIS, we offer activities and programs for immigrant and refugee children and youth, including summer camps, sports and recreation activities, and homework help.
Outside of Edmonton, we have limited capacity to support newcomers looking for work. We support newcomers in understanding Canadian employment and referring them to appropriate local resources.
We are able to support two kinds of mental health referral: into our Edmonton office and its services, and with referrals into local or provincial-level services.
Camrose
Cold Lake & Bonnyville
Address: Community Futures Lakeland
5010 50 Ave, Bonnyville, AB T9N 2J4
Email: coldlake@a4hc.ca
Social Media:
Leduc Beaumont
My little girl loves dance and music and performing arts. She was overjoyed when she got a chance to learn ballet last summer during the weeklong training. It was amazing seeing her and other little ones get a shot at ballet and experiencing a dance studio. As children, they got something to TELL about during their Show and Tell sessions at school. As a newcomer, it’s those opportunities don’t happen every day.
Catherine Namuddu, Leduc
My favourite time each month is when SWIS comes to my school! We play games, do activities, and we learned how to make ice cream from a bag! I love when we get to do SWIS. It makes school fun.
Student
EICS School Division, age 9
Our family would like to sincerely thank AHC for all that they have done for us. We are new to Canada, and AHC has been even more caring than a family to us, helping with physical, emotional, and psychological support. When we came to Canada we were confronted by the cold winter, and AHC showed us how to protect ourselves from the cold and brought us all that we needed to keep warm. All of us truly loved that. With their help, we are finding our place in Alberta society, Canadian society. We are getting there, little by little, we are moving forward.
The Bakajika Family
Leduc
I just wanted to send you a HUGE thank you for all of your help. Mom has let us know that he has been approved for his citizenship which is amazing news. I cannot believe how quickly it happened. We are very much appreciative of all your support and guidance.
Education Partner
Lakeland
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