Searching for solace: Edmonton’s South Sudanese community adapts to their new home in a most challenging time
Abstract
People from South Sudan arrived in Edmonton as landed immigrants in the early 1990s from countries that hosted them as refugees from the Second Sudanese Civil War. Today, Edmonton is home to more than 5,000 people from South Sudan. Alberta alone houses almost 30,000, the largest South Sudanese Canadian community in the country. Here, many South Sudanese work in nursing homes and meat-packaging plants. This, alongside high COVID death rates in the community, language barriers, financial strain, and mental health stigma, resulted in Edmonton’s South Sudanese community being disproportionately affected by COVID-19.
Notes
Community organizations: Edmonton Community Foundation
Future research / gaps identified: n/a
Integration timeline: not defined
Key findings:
COVID-19 has disproportionately affected the South Sudanese community in Edmonton by:
- Increased exposure to COVID-19, as a lot of community members are essential workers in meat packing plants, nursing homes, etc.
- Increased death rates directly and not directly related to COVID-19 in the community.
- Decreased school performance in youth due to language barriers, remote learning, and lack of additional supports online.
- Increased impacts of negative mental health as culturally, mental health is very stigmatized and not recognized as a real thing.
Key populations: South Sudanese people who now live in Edmonton, AB
Location: Edmonton, AB
Key recommendations:
- Increase understanding of the South Sudanese community and their dynamics, values and cultural contexts to provide more culturally competent supports.
- Develop more language and skills training programs to increase access to sustainable jobs and affordable housing.
- Address stigma and systemic barriers that prevent the South Sudanese community from accessing mental health supports.
- Combat systemic racism.
Open access: Yes
