New project in Sarnia-Lambton helps migrant workers navigate health and recreation

A new program based in Sarnia-Lambton is hoping to connect migrant workers to the communities they work in, and help them acquire access to everything from primary health care to groceries.

The Migrant Worker Project was launched in Forest, Ont. Friday by North Lambton Community Health Care.

Funded by a $293,000 grant from Employment and Social Development Canada, the program will assist the 700 migrant workers in the region in providing them with accurate information and access to available services and supports.

“I can see we’re a community coming together to just wrap our arms around the migrant workers,” said Project Coordinator Andrea Jones-Peter. “We know that the COVID era actually proved to us how important they were to us.”

Junior Aparicio Mestra is the community navigator for the project. From Colombia himself, he knows what it’s like to be a newcomer and trying to find his way in a new system, and new lifestyle.

The Migrant Worker Project was launched in Forest, Ont. by North Lambton Community Health Care on June 23, 2023. (Bryan Bicknell/CTV News London)

“For example they find access to banking, financial service different. Even sometimes the way they go shopping. So, it’s all different,” he said.

North Lambton Community Health Care is also helping participants stage a soccer tournament later this summer.

Teams of migrant workers will gather on Aug. 20 at Taxandria Soccer Club in Arkona, Ont. All are invited.

Aparicio Mestra explained that it’s all about helping build bridges in the community.

“Not just for migrant workers, but for the community as well,” he said.