NOV 10 2021
The Canopy team is deeply honored to welcome our new neighbors and offer assistance as they overcome various barriers and build new lives for themselves and their families in our community.
Our incredible Canopy Case Aide, Malath, shared with us about the ways she and her team come alongside those who are resettled in our community and a few of the key supports she provides to newly arriving families to help them thrive in NWA. Her passion for helping our new neighbors and skill in navigating often difficult experiences and systems alongside them with patience provides key guidance to help them to thrive in Northwest Arkansas.
Cultural Orientation
Starting a new life in a brand new culture is an overwhelming task – Malath is passionate about providing a wide-ranging Cultural Orientation for each family she works with to help them navigate a vast amount of new experiences. She loves discussing her knowledge of American – and Northwest Arkansan – culture, both at large and into the small details. With empathy and understanding, she described a variety of things like new foods, new holidays, and learning a new language as a few of the many topics of discussion.
As our neighbors pursue self-sufficiency in our community, she walks alongside them in their English language acquisition and educational pursuits. She knows English language skills are an important step to autonomy in our community and loves to assist where she can in the difficult task of learning a new language and becoming more comfortable and independent. As children start school in a brand new environment, she provides both parents and students with awareness of common practices in the public schools. While confusion around lunch schedules, the bus system, and school holidays can be difficult even for those who have been attending local schools their entire lives, Malath finds helpful ways to provide information to help all involved feel more comfortable in these new situations.
A recent call she received from a bus driver expressed just how well her orientations had prepared one set of siblings to ride the bus. She received a call one day which turned out to be from a local bus driver expressing his gratitude for the kindness and respect of the children for always thanking him saying, “I love these kids!”.
Similar gratitude for our amazing community was brimming from her words as she continued to share about the ways NWA has shown support for our new neighbors. She highlighted how the community has intentionally provided space for new culture, language, and all that our new neighbors bring to our community. NWA has supported and celebrated our neighbors as they continue to practice their own culture and religion here in our community while also learning and adapting to a brand new way of life. She spoke with gratitude about the openness in our community for a “balance of cultures”; the ability for new people and families to embrace living in a new place without pressure to leave behind vital pieces of who they are is something she deeply appreciates about living and working here in NWA. For our new neighbors, having space to retain culture and identity while embracing life in this new community is at the core of welcome.
Our Co-Sponsors have been a key group that has led the way in this area by helping our new neighbors have access to practicing their own religion. One team provides transportation for a family to attend the mosque in addition to the grocery store and all of the other necessities they may need. Malath mentioned that this alone has been an incredibly impactful act of welcome to our new neighbors as they build a new life while being able to hold onto core aspects of their identity.
Food Security
Another key piece of Malath’s work has been addressing food insecurity alongside the larger NWA community. Currently, a project Canopy is working on in collaboration with UAMS is working to provide access to food security for families in our community. Malath advocates for equitable access to food specifically for Canopy families who may not find what they need or foods that are familiar to them at the food pantry. For example, she mentioned that many cultures don’t use canned food. The goal of the project is to work towards improving access to food options that fit the needs of all families, with religious and cultural considerations in mind.
Public schools are another key place where food security and availability are vital for our community. Many newly arriving children start school unaware of what they are being served for lunch – many times, kids go without eating because they have never seen the food before or don’t know if what their peers are eating fits within their religious guidelines. A vital part of our Case Aide’s role for children is to be the bridge between Canopy families and the schools and advocate for inclusive meals. This includes providing food options without pork as well as meatless options, both for cultural and/or religious reasons. Malath has also taken children to taste test the food options available at their school to help them become more comfortable as they get used a wide array of new experiences.
Additional Supports
Along with these vital supports our Case Aide and Case Management team provide for Canopy families, other vital steps include routine home visits, providing access to and help with public benefits such as SNAP and Medicaid, help obtaining Social Security, help scheduling appointments like doctor’s visits and driver’s license tests, and much more. Malath highlighted that her role is largely to do what she can to make life easier for our new neighbors as they are building new lives.
As we look forward, she is excited to see the numbers of neighbors we are able to welcome increase and larger communities of support begin to form here in NWA. She is looking forward to seeing families from similar cultural and language backgrounds able to participate in English education together and support each other in all of the details of integration and building new lives. As we grow, she looks forward to seeing families who have come before step into mentorship roles, helping new families to thrive in their new environment with built-in friends and a safe support system.
Soon after we chatted with Malath about her position, she was promoted from Case Aide to Case Manager! We couldn’t be more grateful to have her skill, experience, and compassion in this role and know she is one of the best to serve our newest neighbors. Keep an eye out for more blogs about Canopy programs, departments, and our incredible staff in the near future!
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