Land Acknowledgement
We acknowledge that Roots Community Health Centre welcomes newcomers onto the traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of the Katzie, Kwantlen, Kwikwetlem Semiahmoo, and Tsawwassen First Nations.
This past year, we have achieved significant milestones, forged essential partnerships, and charted new directions.
These have fortified our mission to provide accessible, person-centred healthcare to newcomers, refugees, and vulnerable populations.
Roots Community Health Centre Society was founded with a vision to address underserved communities’ unique health and social needs. Over the past year, we have stayed true to this vision, focusing on holistic care and working to improve health outcomes for those we serve.
Our dedicated staff, clinicians, and partners have continued to provide compassionate, high-quality care despite the challenges of limited space and the growing demand for our services.
One of our current key priorities, and a matter of utmost importance, is the securing of a dedicated clinic location that meets both our current needs and future goals. Our current shared space, while valuable, limits our ability to provide expanded programs and services.
We continue to work tirelessly to secure a facility that allows us to create a welcoming, fully equipped space, enhancing our accessibility and the quality of care we offer. Securing a location is not just a goal, but a necessity for our long-term growth, and we are working closely with partners and funders to make this vision a reality.
Our commitment to addressing social determinants of health — such as housing, employment, and social support — remains central to our work. We recognize that many factors influence health, and we are focused on helping our clients navigate these complex challenges. Through our programs and partnerships we aim to provide medical care, and the resources and support needed to build healthy, resilient lives.
As I reflect on the past year, I am filled with gratitude for the unwavering dedication of our team, the steadfast support of our partners, and the trust of our community.
To our board members, staff, volunteers, and funders, your commitment to our mission is truly commendable.
It is your hard work and passion that make Roots Community Health Centre Society a beacon of hope and healing for many.
Reflecting on Roots Community Health Centre Society’s achievements, I am incredibly proud of our progress.
I am deeply grateful for the unwavering dedication of our staff, board, community supporters, and our valued partner, the Surrey and North Delta Division of Family Practice. Your steadfast support throughout the years has helped us expand our reach, develop our services, and build resilience within our community.
This year, a key milestone was our successful move to our current shared facility to better meet the needs of our clients and staff. This move, a testament to our resilience and adaptability, has significantly enhanced our ability to serve our community. Despite operating from a shared facility with limited space and resources, our team’s unwavering commitment to our mission has driven them to deliver essential services with dedication and compassion. As a result, we have served more people in need this year, addressed their medical and social determinants of health, and fostered their trust, while we provided support to tackle their often-complex challenges.
We are immensely grateful to the Fraser Health Authority and the Ministry of Health for their ongoing funding, which enables us to sustain our mission, respond to emerging community needs, and reinforce our position as a vital resource for vulnerable populations. Their partnership continues to strengthen our foundation and ensure that we can continue to develop in impactful ways.
This growth significantly enhanced our capacity to deliver a wide range of person-centred services, from primary care to social and mental health support. Our larger multidisciplinary team is better equipped to offer holistic and targeted care tailored to the unique needs of newcomers, refugees, and other vulnerable groups. This expansion is a testament to our goal of continuous improvement as we meet the evolving needs of our community.
As we look to the future, we are excited to further build on these advancements and ensure Roots Community Health Centre Society remains a trusted, supportive, and adaptive resource for vulnerable newcomers.
Thank you for your continued support and belief in our mission. Together, we are building a stronger, healthier community.
A Holistic Approach to Supporting
Newcomers & Refugees
Dr. Hala Ahmed, Physician Lead
Roots CHC started in 2017, through conversations and research conducted by a group of physicians in the Surrey North Delta Division of Family Practice. This group became the founders of this clinic; our purpose was to address newcomers’ health needs, specifically refugees.
We realized that new refugees did not only have medical needs, but they also had social, financial, and other aspects of their life that required immediate attention.
They had multiple barriers that made them more vulnerable: language barriers, appropriate housing, accessing a family physician or specialists, and accessing the workforce in Canada. I have had several cases where these barriers resulted in patients heightened medical risk.
For example, I had a pregnant diabetic patient, seen for the very first time one month prior to her due date. As a diabetic she was at much higher risk of complications. This is one example of how the dire the need was. There were a few entities starting to give medical attention to refugees, but their capacity was very limited.
When I started as the medical lead, my first task was to assemble a medical team. We began with an all-volunteer team. My role became to find resources to attract funding. We contacted local organizations, and our support network grew through these collaborations.
Now that we have health funding for our services and a multi-disciplinary team, I see volunteering operating at a different level.
One pressing need is to attract volunteers for transportation. Many of our patients have major problems with transportation. They are either unable to afford a car or they find using public transportation challenging. This is especially true for moms with multiple children trying to make it to medical appointments in the winter time.
As a Community Health Centre we have a holistic view of health. As we further grow our staff, volunteers and resources, we will be able to better address the many health and social needs of Surrey’s newcomers and refugees.
Setting Directions for
Future Growth and Impact
This year, Roots CHC undertook valuable research, thanks to a $32,000 grant from the Canadian Association of Community Health Centres. This study focused on further developing systems to strengthen practice, policy, and partnerships.
Surveys conducted with patients and staff were compared to numerous research articles to develop specific recommendations and best practices for Roots CHC.
What we found was troubling but not unexpected:
“As a result of language and cultural barriers, as well as a lack of information about and experience with their new health care system, the health of newcomers declines over time. This is because of relative under-use of preventive health screening and under diagnosis and treatment of health problems.” 1
The role of Roots Community Health Care is critical, for with the shortage of available primary care, newcomers with complex needs are not being accepted as patients.
“The diversity and differences in health determinants, migration experiences, language and culture among migrant patients can be demanding for providers”2
1. Gushulak, Brian D. et al. “Migration and health in Canada: health in the global village.” Canadian Medical Association Journal 183 (2011): E952 - E958.
2.. Pottie K, Topp P, Kilbertus F. Case report: profound anemia: chronic disease detection and global health disparities. Can Fam Physician 2006; 52:335-6.8
5 - Foci flowing from the Research
1 Focus on Newcomers’ Health & Social Determinants of Health:
Deepen our understanding of newcomers’ health needs and their unique social determinants of health.
Develop recommendations by prioritizing newcomers’ perspectives on what they state they need and what has worked elsewhere.
2 Strengthen Health and Community Navigation:
Deepen external relationships with community newcomer agencies.
Provide health navigation to Roots CHC patients and vulnerable newcomers being served by partner agencies.
Develop further services and deepen our external network to support patients in addressing their social determinants of health.
3 Be Client-Focused and Sustainable:
Remain client-focused by continuously seeking newcomers’ perspectives for structuring, staffing, and service provision.
Implement programs and services step-by-step to avoid overburdening the staff.
4 Be flexible, adopt a benchmarking approach:
Determine the priority for implementing services, ensuring a balance between cost and impact on the staff and Roots CHC.
Be flexible, adapting to changing circumstances while steadily progressing towards our goals.
5 Seek Additional Funding:
Diversify income streams through securing additional funds by attracting donors, writing grant proposals, inviting corporate involvement, and seeking out additional government sources.
Seek further partnerships, support and guidance from within the healthcare system and from community resource partners.
The following conversation reflects the extraordinary efforts of the Roots Community Health Centre team as they support families with complex needs.
With plans to expand, Roots CHC is strengthening our impact to provide more comprehensive support to newcomers and refugees in the community.
In May 2023, Nasser and Seyyal arrived in Canada with their four children: a refugee family fleeing from a war-torn middle eastern country. The next seven months were beyond difficult as they struggled to find support for their family’s complex health needs.
It’s hard for us to even comprehend the trauma this family endured. Yet they persevered. During the war, a rocket exploded inside their house, burying them under the rubble of their home.
While struggling with debilitating physical injuries, Nasser continued to care for his young family who were suffering as well. Their pre-teen daughter Amina had become mute. Prior to the missile attack, her development had been normal.
The Roots Community Health Centre Society team has gone above and beyond to support the complex needs of this family — a level of care and dedication rarely available in primary care settings.
An interview with Hana Hamdoun, Cross-Cultural Health Broker, and Katherine Hughes, Nurse Practitioner. Names and details of the family were modified to respect their privacy. They reviewed and approved this article.
We’ve been working very closely with this resilient family. We’ve spent hours working with Amina’s school around the development of an individual education plan that addresses her complex needs. This included her transportation to and from her school. Because of Nasser’s injuries, he can’t walk the kids to school without significant harm to himself.
We’ve connected Amina with pediatricians and specialists so she could receive urgent surgery. Now she’s doing better at school and is really settling in, which is so nice to hear.
As a Cultural Health Worker, I support through interpretation, communication and connections with community resources. I went with Jessica Dailly, our social worker, for a home visit to meet all the family and see how they live and interact.
We’ve filled out BC housing and supplimental housing applications, multiple medical notes and letters advocating on behalf of the family. Jessica has been working very hard to try to secure accessible housing. Their son, Zayid has congenital blindness and requires an easy-to-navigate house so that he can memorize the housing layout.
We’ve been seeking appropriate housing for them since last December and it’s been a big challenge.
Jessica has been educating Nasser and Seyyal on their tenant rights and responsibilities. It’s still a work in progress.
As a nurse practitioner, being able to refer to our cross-cultural health broker team makes a big difference in our providing care. Patients understand what’s been going on with their health; this has increased their ability to manage their conditions better. Their capacity to navigate the health system has increased and has become much smoother. It’s incredible.
Like many of our patients, Nasser, Seyyal and their children daily live with significant trauma. However, their immediate needs around food, housing, and income have had to take priority. There were months where they didn’t get any income.
We assisted them to access income assistance and provincial disability benefits. Now they have a basic income. Participating in trauma healing has just not been possible yet.
We’re a trauma-informed clinic, always learning. Having patient families with such complex needs we ask ourselves: how can we improve on functioning as a trauma-informed clinic? How can we lessen the trauma of our patients and ourselves while providing care? This is so important.
A Legacy of Health
When newcomers arrive, their health often deteriorates. Your Legacy Gift can help prevent this harsh reality. In Surrey, 43% of our neighbors are newcomers. The provision of medical care for vulnerable newcomers and refugees is essential.
Roots Community Health Centre exists for vulnerable newcomers and refugees who often arrive with complex needs.
We provide them with primary care and supports, and link them to community resources. This helps them overcome their challenges and begin their new lives in Canada.
You can create a legacy of hope for arriving refugee claimants with a legacy gift, through your will, or through a gift of publicly-traded securities such as stocks, bonds or mutual funds. Such gifts are also an effective way for you to give, as they are not subject to costly capital gains taxes, and you can receive a tax credit.
Please contact us for more information. or