The Steinbach Chamber of Commerce has announced the expansion of its largest program, Eastman Immigrant Services (EIS), to the Interlake Region, effective April 2020.
EIS says that is now offering settlement services and all programming to newcomers in the Interlake area, including the territory from Grand Rapids in the north, to Ashern as the west boundary, south to Emerson at the USA border, and east along the Ontario border.
“On behalf of the Board of Directors at the Steinbach Chamber, we are honored to continue our partnership with Eastman Immigrant Services,” said Michelle Bezditny, Executive Director of Steinbach Chamber and EIS. “Together, our organizations enhance the quality of life for the entire community. We celebrate this expansion and continue to look forward to our future, leading growth and connecting people.”
“Servicing clients in the Eastman Region, we often had newcomers come to our office for support from the Interlake Area,” said Gwen Reimer, Program Director, EIS. “Seeing a need for services, we engaged with the Steinbach Chamber Board of Directors and IRCC. Leading growth and connecting people are two initiatives shared by the Chamber and EIS. As we expand our region and work to connect people in both regions, EIS will continue to provide services and programs that uphold these initiatives as relevant and beneficial for both newcomers in Canada and for Canada’s economic growth and stability.”
The primary focus of EIS is to optimize successful settlement and integration for newcomers, making the transition to a new community a positive experience, both for newcomers as well as the receiving community. EIS has welcomed an average of 200 families to our region each year for the past ten years. This helps to provide a solid labour force from which employers can hire, increases our local consumer base, and enhances diversity in our region.
This expansion of services is in line with the vision held by the Steinbach Chamber and EIS; a vision for growth as a community, economic development and stability, and relevance in its services. These services are being funded by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Lee Eun Kim has been hired to oversee the settlement office in the Interlake Region as Settlement Facilitator & Settlement Worker in Schools as part of the EIS team.
