LUSO Community Services: 40+ Years of Empowering Immigrants in London
Elisabete Rodrigues, LUSO's executive director.
From its inception in 1980, LUSO Community Services has been all about helping the immigrant community in London.
Back then, the centre now located at 1193 Oxford St. E. was called Portuguese Community Services, an ethnic-specific organization offering support to London residents coming from Portugal.
But in 1996, the agency decided to expand its scope, and it started operating as a neighbourhood resource centre supporting all residents in London's northeast end and the Argyle area.
"In terms of settlement services, we've been offering them right back from 1980. It was just that from 1980 to 1996, the settlement services were very specific for the Portuguese community," said Elisabete Rodrigues, LUSO's executive director.
"Then when we became LUSO, our services expanded but offering settlement services for LUSO has been something that's been right at the core of what we started back in 1980."
Today, the centre is not only funded through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. It also receives provincial funding, meaning the agency offers support to not only permanent residents but also international students, migrant workers or refugee claimants.
Besides three settlement counsellors at its office, who offer one-on-one support to clients on settlement issues such as housing, health care, employment, immigration etc., LUSO has nine Settlement Workers in Schools (SWIS) supporting immigrant youth and families in the 30 schools in the northeast London and Argyle area
Luso also offers support at three library branches - Masonville Branch on Centre Road; Stoney Creek on Sunningdale Road; and Beacock on Huron Street - where individuals can meet personally with the Library Settlement Workers
"It allows newcomers and immigrants to just go to a library and seek information and referrals or support," Rodrigues said.
"Having staff in the libraries can help bridge that connection to services."
LUSO also offers Community Connections programming, which provides opportunities for newcomers to participate in activities that help build skills and social networks.
“Providing opportunities for youth and families to be part of social activities within their community is an important part for successful integration”, said Rodrigues.
Though other settlement agencies in the city offer similar support, one program LUSO has led in the community is offering cultural sensitivity and awareness training to landlords and others in the housing sector. Additionally, tools have been developed to help support property managers and the housing sector.
The program began several years ago as part of the humanitarian response to the Syrian civil war that saw thousands of refugees from the Middle Eastern country resettle in London.
"We're working with housing companies and property managers to help them to just be more culturally aware and sensitive to some of the needs of their residents and how they can better support newcomers," Rodrigues said.
Rodrigues said the program has become even more important considering the tightening of the housing market at a time in which the immigrant population in LUSO's service area has also been growing.
"Even though we are not working with newcomers directly but with landlords, immigrants benefit indirectly because if they are having some issues with their landlords in terms of maybe not even being able to effectively communicate, there's this program that can help support landlords to understand more about the tenants in their building," she said.