Immigrants contribute to Canada’s economy in various areas such as the health sector, business, science and technology, food services, and others. Newcomers and refugees boost our economy and the labour market by filling the labour market gap or hiring Canadians.
Results from a crowdsourced survey suggest that 28% of recent immigrants who participated in the survey reported fair or poor self-rated mental health, compared to 20% of established immigrant participants and 24% of Canadian-born participants (Statistics Canada, 2020). Another study found that immigrants generally arrive in Canada with better self-perceived mental health than Canadians, but it declines after a while in Canada (Salami, 2017).
Improving newcomers’ mental health means our communities will be more resilient, and our economy will be more robust. Some funds and organizations help newcomers in their journey, but there has not been enough emphasis on mental health.
Hosam Abouali is one of the talented and self-motivated people in our community. His journey from Syria to Canada has not been easy, and in many ways, still is not. Knowing how this topic is vulnerable to many newcomers, yet most important, he decided to participate in the 4x4x48 challenge. It’s an international physical endurance challenge where participants, starting March 4th at 4 pm, will finish 4 miles every 4 hours within 48 hours, 48 miles total. Hosam chose to run in various locations in Nanaimo to raise awareness and funds for newcomers’ mental health.
I struggled personally with depression since I was a teenager, remembering the days when it got tough and dark in my mind- fighting through the misconception and stigma around mental health in my community; everyday was harder than the one before. The only times that I managed to escape my internal suffering were during physical exercise; basketball, and running were the only saviors that kept me pushing through life for a while! – Hosam Abouali
War in Syria and other areas made things worse for people, especially the youth like Hosam, with big dreams and the energy to achieve them.
Hosam’s running schedule will be as follows:
Round 1: 4 Miles – Friday, March 4th – 8 pm – Seawall (waterfront)
Round 2: 4 Miles – Saturday, March 5th – 12 am – TBD
Round 3: 4 Miles – Saturday, March 5th – 4 am – TBD
Round 4: 4 Miles – Saturday, March 5th – 8 am – Westwood Lake
Round 5: 4 Miles – Saturday, March 5th – 12 pm – Seawall (waterfront)
Round 6: 4 Miles – Saturday, March 5th – 4 pm – Seawall (waterfront)
Round 7: 4 Miles – Saturday, March 5th – 8 pm – Seawall (waterfront)
Round 8: 4 Miles – Sunday, March 6th – 12 am – TBD
Round 9: 4 Miles – Sunday, March 6th – 4 am – TBD
Round 10: 4 Miles – Sunday, March 6th – 8 am – Westwood Lake
Round 11: 4 Miles – Sunday, March 6th – 12 pm – Westwood Lake
Round 12: 4 Miles – Sunday, March 6th – 4 pm – Westwood Lake
How you can help
Supporting Hosam in his challenge will help newcomers and their mental health, eventually elevating our community’s health and economy in various sectors. Here are some ways you can help:
- Share his challenge and raise awareness.
- Share his fundraiser page and encourage friends and families to participate by donating or sharing with their circle.
- Donate to his cause on CanadaHelps on this link, and you will get a Canadian tax receipt.
- Walk or jog with Hosam in one of his runs or walk.
- Talk about mental health and vote for policies that support mental health for everyone.
Donations will go to Central Vancouver Island Multicultural Society (CVIMS) and Vancouver Island Counselling Centre for Immigrants and Refugees (VICCIR).
