From Loss to Landing

From Loss to Landing

The Mothers Matter Centre launches a May 2022 campaign to support refugee mothers and children.

Globally, by the end of 2020, 82.4 million people were forced to flee their homes. With the current crises in Afghanistan, Sudan, Ethiopia, and—now—in Ukraine, this number will rise, breaking new records of people forcibly displaced. The Mothers Matter Centre (MMC) and its partners have an essential role to play in meeting the complex and urgent resettlement needs of arriving refugees.

WHAT DOES THE MOTHERS MATTER CENTRE DO?

The MMC works to assure mothers they are not invisible, that they are valued, and that help is now at hand.

The MMC does this through their flagship program, Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY), an evidence-based program where Home Visitors come into a family’s home to support vulnerable and isolated mothers in their critical role as their child’s first and most important teacher. HIPPY strengthens families and communities by empowering mothers to be active in Canadian society while preparing their children for success in school and life.

THE MMC’S RESPONSE TO THE REFUGEE CRISIS

In 2018, in response to Operation Syria, the MMC partnered with the Immigrant Services Society of BC to deliver Reviving Hope and Home, a program for newly arrived, high-risk refugee mothers and their children. It was a responsive, personalized collection of settlement services assembled to meet the complex and evolving needs of vulnerable refugee mothers. The successful implementation of Reviving Hope and Home yielded many sustainable outcomes for participants, including supportive social networks, bridges to essential social services, relief of food insecurity, child care assistance, and the successful transition of pre-school children to school.

The Canadian government announced a doubling of refugees to 45,000 in Canada over the next two years, a number likely to increase in response to the crisis in Ukraine. Much effort is required to welcome refugee mothers and their families, who arrive after arduous journeys filled with violence, loss, and extreme uncertainty. The MMC will ease this complex transition into Canadian society by building on the success of Reviving Hope and Home. But, we need your help!

To support the MMC’s work with refugees, please consider donating to our From Loss to Landing campaign launching in May. There is no better time to show Mothers how much they matter. Visit mothersmattercentre.ca/ from-loss-to-landing

YOUR IMPACT BRINGS HOPE TO MOTHERS IN CRISIS.

VISIT MOTHERSMATTERCENTRE.CA TO LEARN MORE.

© COURTESY OF MOTHERS MATTER