Cross Cultural & Immigrant Services

The KW YMCA has been a leader in providing newcomers to Canada with the emotional, spiritual and physical support needed to adapt, contribute and prosper in the KW community since 1985. Our programs assist them in various ways:

• Host Program is a befriending program matching newcomers with Canadian volunteers. It also now matches internationally-trained professionals with people working in their chosen fields to help them break into the Canadian workforce.

• Immigrant Settlement and Adaptation Program (ISAP) provides initial settlement assistance in various languages to immigrants and refugees upon their arrival and during their first few years in Canada.
• Language Assessment Centre helps newcomers become aware of their English language skills and needs and helps them access language and other training programs.
• Settlement and Educational Partnerships in Waterloo Region (SEPWR) assists newcomer students and their families to adjust to Canadian society and Ontario schools.
• Newcomer Youth Program helps facilitate a smooth transition of youth between cultures and helps address unique challenges that newcomer youth face upon their arrival to Canada.
• Newcomer Employment Centre helps newcomers as they begin their search for employment in Canada.

Immigrant Settlement programs serve over 10,000 newcomers each year and are jointly funded by the federal government (Citizenship and Immigration Canada + Service Canada), United Way and the KW YMCA.

Immigrant Services are also offered through the YMCA of Cambridge.

The main Kitchener-Waterloo location for assisting newcomers to Canada is 800 King Street West in Kitchener.