Episode Description
In this episode, I'm speaking with Daria Lysenko, who's passionate about helping newcomers settle and find their footing in Canada.
Daria spent most of our conversation taking apart a bias I had carried for a bit now. Which is that newcomers/immigrants should mostly be the individuals who work in the immigration sector.
I have many justifiable reasons (don't we all for anything we believe strongly in) for why I thought that should be the case. But not anymore.
Daria and I also chat about:
What the settlement sector feels like right now
The one thing she would change about the sector
The kind of folks who enjoy working in the sector
Dozie's Notes
A few things that stuck with me as I listened through this week's conversation:
You need to take care of yourself too. If you're in any kind of helping role, immigrant support or otherwise, you can't keep giving until you're empty. Powering through doesn't help you or those you are looking to support. Set boundaries. Know when to stop and go recharge.
We did bring in more students than our housing and all the other public infrastructure could handle. And that means we'll need to make some hard decisions while we sort out a rather prickly situation. But I don't think it's fair to pretend that these individuals misunderstood the terms by which they were admitted to Canada. So it's kinda disheartening to see all the hit pieces on what "temporary" means roll out these days.
Official Links
✅ Connect with Daria Lysenko on LinkedIn
One Ask
If you found this story helpful, please consider sharing it with one Canadian immigrant you know.
Timestamps
0:00 You are not new to this life
1:16 Intro
2:19 Should newcomers run settlement services?
6:30 Empathy for the client versus empathy for yourself
8:33 Setting boundaries before burnout hits
16:21 What the settlement sector feels like right now
20:31 A newcomer's journey to the boardroom
23:52 Why workforce integration depends on your community
30:44 The soft skills newcomers leave off their resume
35:04 The funding gap facing temporary workers and students
38:24 Temporary was always a lie
45:07 Outro