Nora Melara-Lopez: Refugees and Health Support

nora melara-lopez: Her keynote address Saturday to about 250 attending the 24th annual festival at City Hall urged the government to do more to help refugees work in their field after they arrive, according to Hamilton Spectator. She said increased funding for loans is needed while unfair charges need to be removed. Better mental health support for traumatized refugees and funds to fight racism are badly needed, said Nora Melara-Lopez, social worker and co-ordinator of the emergency support committee for refugees at the North Hamilton Community Health Centre. She said delays in family reunification have to be reduced and backlogs cleared for those facing long waits for decisions both here and abroad. "I think Canada can do better," she said. Mayor Fred Eisenberger said bringing Syrian refugees to Canada "is the right thing to do." He called the ongoing refugee crisis "a tragedy for our humankind." He talked about the importance of peace and generosity during his address "notwithstanding things happening across the border." He referenced the American presidential election as bringing out a lot of "racism, hatred and misogyny." "In Canada we represent something different," he said. It significant at a time when more than 31,000 Syrian refuges have arrived in Canada, including more than 1,000 in Hamilton. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.