Corina Carroll and Community Resources Society

Syrian refugees: Surrey is destination for nearly half of the more than 1,600 Syrian refugees that arrived in B.C. since Nov. 4, and settlement agencies are now attempting to tackle an emerging mental health challenge, according to Metro News. The first task for families after they arrive is, of course, to find housing, get their kids in school, learn English, and eventually look for work, said Corina Carroll, manager of counselling services for DIVERSEcity Community Resources Society. Because many asylum-seekers have fled war abroad — some having been tortured, kidnapped, or witnessed unfathomable violence — those traumas can leave unseen scars that only surface once in a safer place. But even unexpected things can trigger their trauma. Even as refugee settlement organizations scrambled to find homes for the influx of refugees from the Middle East over the past eight months, amidst sky-high B.C. housing costs, the mental health needs of the new arrivals became obvious. For some it might be a sense of smell or a fear of quiet, she said, or seeing a police officer. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.