Flags raised on transit for immigrant, refugee youth
Immigrant and refugee youth rely heavily on transit to get to work, school and social commitments, but find it doesn’t always meet their needs in terms of service and affordability, according to a new study.
The report, released Monday by the Vancouver Foundation, looks for the first time at the experiences of immigrant and refugee youth in Metro Vancouver.
“It was an exciting study,” said Alejandra Lopez Bravo, manager of youth engagement for the Vancouver Foundation. “Newcomer youth make up a significant population of Vancouver and the Lower Mainland, and there’s very little known about the experiences of immigrant and refugee youth in Metro Vancouver.”
The study involved 156 people aged 13 to 30, almost half of whom
were permanent residents. Some 35 per cent were citizens and the remainder were refugees.
Most respondents were students, and they lived primarily in Surrey, Burnaby and Vancouver with their parents and siblings.
Being able to move around the region — using transit in particular — is important for young immigrants because it allows them to earn money, get an education and participate in their communities.
“I think the findings really illustrate how public transportation isn’t just about physical mobility,” said researcher Andy Yan, who is also director of the Simon Fraser University City Program.
“When we think about investments in public transportation, we sometimes think about it along the lines of the physical connections, but the social and economic connections are highlighted in this piece.”
Immigrant youth use transit at a greater rate than the general population — 49 per cent of respondents use transit as their main form of transportation, compared to 29 per cent of Metro Vancouverites. About 60 per cent live less than a five-minute walk from a transit stop, use transit daily and are comfortable doing so.
The average commute time to work for respondents is 42 minutes — the average commute for other purposes (school, place of worship, community centre, visiting friends) is 28 minutes.
Respondents’ main issue with transit was cost. Most used a Compass Card, but found it expensive. They also thought the schedules and routes were not convenient and had a difficult time getting to recreational places, such as parks.
“I think the youth were really frustrated with the transportation system,” said Yans Ardon, a member of the Fresh Voices youth advisory team, which helped engage participants for the study.
“It’s hard to hear that it’s a frustration they have, and it’s something that needs to be worked on.”
The report recommends investing in more-frequent bus service during peak times, particularly in areas where new immigrants are settling outside of Vancouver.
It also suggests a subsidized transit pass for new immigrant and refugee youth to ease economic pressures and reduce social isolation, and having community settlement services develop a transit-system orientation process.
“More than 50 per cent of these young people use public transit and they find it creates a lot of stress. They use transit to go to work and go to school, but they find it really expensive because they have to pay for their families and they have to go to school,” said Lopez Bravo. “We need to find a way to make transportation accessible for young people — particularly for the more marginalized populations like immigrant and refugee youth.”
Financial security is also key to immigrant youth, but they face language and cultural barriers and have trouble getting work as a result.
Many of those who do find work do so through school, friends and family networks.
Of those surveyed, 43 per cent were financially independent and 45 per cent were employed in fulltime, part-time or informal work.
More than half of respondents (56 per cent) feel they are better off now than when they first arrived, but it took more than a year for them to feel that way.
“What is unique in the case of immigrant and refugee youth is that they face additional barriers when they arrive, they need to learn the language, their income is much lower,” said Lopez Bravo.
The report recommends that paid internships be created to target immigrant and refugee youths, providing mentoring opportunities and hastening economic security and integration.
“We found out that they very much like the opportunity to have a face-to-face meeting and then also to really also build community between themselves,” said Ardon.
“I think that’s a really healthy sign of the city where people do want that, they yearn for connection. I think it’s really up to the rest of us, the city and region, to really take advantage of that opportunity, that these are not folks that just want to stay within their circle.”
Lopez Bravo said the next step is to share the report far and wide.
“Many organizations, whether academia or other organizations that work with immigrant and refugee communities find it challenging to reach out to young people,” she said.
“We were excited to be able to provide some initial study that other organizations can deepen.”