Helping Syrian refugees full of rewards says veteran settlement mentor

Jim Tallman has volunteered as a settlement mentor for newcomers in the Lower Mainland for more than 20 years andsays spending even four hours a day with a refugee can make a real difference in their lives.

The Immigrant Services Society of B.C. has asked the public to volunteer in the effort to resettle the nearly3,000 refugees dueto arrive in the province by year's end.

• Browse all CBC's B.C. refugee stories

Tallman says the societymatched him with "one of the last boat people from Vietnam" almost 25 years ago, and asked him to commit to six months of mentoring. The Langley resident says it was an "extremely positive experience" and since then, he's mentored refugees from Vietnam, Guatemala, Bosnia, Columbia, and Kosovo.

He says the most rewarding part of volunteering as a settlement mentor is seeing thedifference it makes in people's lives.

"It's almost a clich, making a difference in people's lives, But this is a way you can impact them very, very quickly," he said."You can see how quickly they start to adapt and integrate within our community."

What it means to mentor a refugee

Tallman says mentoring any newcomer means helping them with everyday things Canadians take for granted.

"You're spending about four hoursa week with them, just showing them how things work and day-to-day activities in our society."

Once the basics are covered, it's important to provide non-material things as well, according to Tallman.

"Once they're housed, they're safe,they're warm,they're dryand they're eating on a regular basis, I think the most important thing is to give them that emotional support."

He says emotional support, especially for refugees, is key.

"Very often they've been through traumatic experiences. And not that you're expected to be a counsellor, but it's just so that they feel that there's somebody there they can talk to, or they can ask:Who should I talk to, where should I go?"

But Tallman warns volunteers not to be too eager in their enthusiasm. Refugees had a life before coming to Canada, and are capable to making a life for themselves again, he says.

"You need to have a balance between helping people but not smothering them. You need to give them room to start living."

For the full audio, click the link labelled:Mentoring refugee a rewarding experience, says Jim Tallman.