Newcomers to Grand Falls-Windsor will have plenty of help getting to know the community, thanks to an information package prepared by Welcome NL.
The new information package was unveiled at a news conference at the College of the North Atlantic in Grand Falls-Windsor on Wednesday, Oct. 15.
The project, completed in coordination with the town and other community organizations, is designed to provide new residents, namely immigrants, with a tool to help them find everything they need to adjust to a new world.
“When we started meeting and trying to decide how we were going to help newcomers get settled in our town, it became very obvious the missing piece was something they could put their hands on or click on a webpage,” said Welcome NL Grand Falls-Windsor project coordinator Randy Edison. “People going to a new town want to be engaged in the community. We feel that engaging them and giving them this information about how they settle in and become residents would help keep them around.”
The package of information includes 17 characteristics about the town, including safety, public transit, affordable housing and newcomer support programs.
“This program is as much about retaining newcomers as it has been about attracting them,” Edison told The Central Voice.
The Town of Grand Falls-Windsor has the package available on its website under the ‘living’ tab.
“Our town prides itself on being a welcoming and inclusive community,” said mayor Barry Manuel. “This helpful new resource is a valuable support for new citizens as they get acclimated to our beautiful community.”
Gurinderpal Singh is an example of what Edison and Welcome NL are hoping to accomplish.
The student at the College of the North Atlantic has been in the area of about eight months.
He hasn’t had a chance to go through the new information package yet but looks forward to doing so.
A native of India, Singh said the biggest challenge he’s faced in integrating into the community is finding affordable housing that includes utilities and other amenities.
With housing listed as a pillar the booklet is built on, he is confident the package will help many people adjust to their new surroundings.
He has already found employment in Grand Falls-Windsor, has started interacting with people his age and enjoys the life he has built so far in the
community.
“I think I would live here,” he said. “I really like this place.”
