Volunteer opportunities during Covid-19
Volunteering is a great way to support your community including families, children, seniors, and there are many different ways you can volunteer without doing so in-person. Explore some volunteer opportunities to show support for your community.
Community helping each other
Simple acts of kindness can improve social connectivity, social mental health and community wellness. Our volunteers and help/ resources are available to help support our community.
Horn Youth Services Foundation (KULAN) has programs and services to help minority community through the pandemic spread of COVID-19 / Coronavirus. We also partner with many community organizations who offer support and services.
Need Someone to talk to? Trained volunteers and professional staff are available to talk. Your call will be confidential your community elders are available for you, they will help you and your family. If you need to speak to someone about any stress, fear and anxiety you may be feeling, you can reach out KULAN.
Family Services
Due to schools and daycare services being shut down, many families with working parents are now forced to stay home because they have no other alternatives for childcare. This causes many of them to lose the income necessary for the survival of their families. Many of our community members have low levels of English language, and as such, are facing difficulties with regards to understanding all of the Covid-19 related information that is being shared by the government and the media. we are currently serving seniors for cleaning, shopping and housekeeping, and assisted low income families by providing free computers, grocery and shopping, giving advice and mentoring for families particularly spouses to prevent domestic violence, advice newcomers families to give time to their children to educate them understand about the current situation of Covid 19, to be aware how you talk about the Covid, Explain social distancing, Demonstrate deep breathing, Focus on the positive, Establish and maintain a daily routine and MODEL BASIC HYGIENE AND HEALTHY LIFESTYLE PRACTICES and may other activities is our routine every day
Children Services
The COVID-19 pandemic has led schools in Edmonton to make the necessary move to online schooling. Many of the children in our community face many barriers that make online schooling difficult for them. Access to computers and/or the internet is very limited in many of our homes. In addition to that, many parents are not versed in how to properly navigate these technologies, making it difficult for them to support their wards. Families in our community who face language barriers also now need much more support to equip them with the knowledge on how to properly support their children during this period. Kulan has already donated 39 computers to some of our low-income and newcomer community members.
KULAN is here to help our vulnerable people, come and join us and let us help our community!
Community grant supports immigrant families with school supplies and more during COVID-19
Since the onset of COVID-19, climbing rates of domestic violence have been reported around the world, in part because of orders to isolate and limit external interactions. In Canada, federal consultations last spring revealed a 20 to 30 per cent increase in gender-based violence and domestic violence rates in certain regions.
Knowing this, the Horn Youth Services Foundation (Kulan Somaliland Society (KULAN)) in Edmonton, Alberta knew it had to find a way to support its community. “Like the rest of Canada, domestic violence is increasing in our community due to COVID-19,” said Khadar Jama, KULAN’s executive director.
With funding from the Government of Canada’s Emergency Community Support Fund, the Canadian Red Cross distributed grants to community organizations across the country. KULAN successfully applied and is now able to continue its programming for high-risk and low-income families.
As part of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Horn Youth Services Foundation – an Alberta-based non-profit – distributed food, activity kits and school supplies to Somali-Canadian families in need in the Edmonton area. The items were provided from a grant distributed by the Red Cross through the Government of Canada’s Emergency Community Support Fund. The main focus of its project is to provide community support counselling to 160 individuals, with a focus on those who are experiencing domestic violence. “Because of the support from the Red Cross, we are able to address this issue before it expands outside of our capacity,” said Jama.
A unique component of the program is that KULAN has developed culturally appropriate ways to provide that support. Families who have been identified will first meet with a trained counsellor, and then with an Elder from the Somali-Canadian community in Edmonton for on-going support.
“Families will be more open to listening to the Elders and hearing from them,” explained Jama. “We are grateful to the Elders, as they are the main volunteers of this program and will use traditional ways to assist families in need.”
A second focus of the project is supporting community members from low-income homes, particularly children, with food and educational activities. At least 23 families have already been identified as needing food and supplies because of lost income or employment.
“We initially projected 70 families would be delivered food as a result of this program funding,” said Jama, “but with the added support of community members and businesses, we now expect to be able to help over 150 families.”
Children also benefitted from a virtual activity program that KULAN set up for those in elementary school and junior high. Each of the 40 families identified to date received activity kits filled with age-appropriate items designed to help alleviate the burden caused by increased isolation.
The Canadian Red Cross is funding this project thanks to the generous support of the Government of Canada’s Emergency Community Support Fund granting program.
If you or someone you know is in crisis or are in immediate danger and needs help, call 9-1-1 or the emergency phone number in your area. If you are experiencing domestic violence and abuse, most provinces and territories have a domestic violence phone line and crisis lines available to provide support. ShelterSafe.ca provides information to help connect women and their children across Canada with the nearest shelter for safety and support.