While NGO settlement agencies face
increasing challenges to deliver bath
ethnospecific and larger broad-based
programs for immigrants and refugees,
Community Health Centres (CHCs) in
large urban areas of Ontario have developed
innovative means to meet the
health and settlement needs of newcomers.
Positive mental and physical health
through access to medical and social
resources, recognition of health determinants
and enhanced participation in
decision making are integral elements of
CHC settlement and integration programs
and services, all within the context
of medical care. Through extensive
outreach programs to newcomer communities,
CHCs enhance the efectiveness
of ethnospecific groups to define
culturally appropriate services. CHCs
provide an example of desired social
change through a mainstream institutional
basis.