Centre de santé communautairede Sudbury

Linking with the Francophone community

Who we are

• created in 1991• main site in Sudbury• 2 satellites – Chelmsford and Valley East• 1 nursing station – Gogama• Corner Clinic

Centre de santé communautaire de Sudbury

Our clients

• City of Greater Sudbury:– 50 000 francophones– 30% of the total population– concentration: Valley East, Chelmsford

Centre de santé communautaire de Sudbury

2 ‘givens’

• Franco-ontarians have a right to access services in French

• Values, beliefs and habits are more effectively addressed in a person’s mother tongue, the language in which these were first internalized

Centre de santé communautaire de Sudbury

Our target population

• youth• seniors• hard to reach (ie homeless)• women

Centre de santé communautaire de Sudbury

CHALLENGES• franco-ontarians are not a homogeneous

group• geography• exogamy, assimilation and ‘bilingualism’• literacy• ‘oral’ culture• immigration• bi-culturalism

Centre de santé communautaire de Sudbury

CHALLENGES• reliance on interpersonal relationships• practical by nature

Centre de santé communautaire de Sudbury

Strategies• discussion groups and humour• locals over outsiders• word-of-mouth• focus on social aspects to increase cultural identity• mindful of literacy levels• bilingual documentation• adapt, don’t translate• pro-active offer of service

Centre de santé communautaire de Sudbury

How to connect?• it takes longer to establish relationships• word-of-mouth (bring a friend)• French language and immersion schools

and their school boards• English media• social networks (no, not Facebook…well.

…maybe)

Centre de santé communautaire de Sudbury

How to connect?

• Establish partnerships with other groups and associations

• church bulletins• inventory of community resources to see

who is out there to connect with• municipal counsellors for support on

initiatives

Centre de santé communautaire de Sudbury

St-Jean-Baptiste

Centre de santé communautaire de Sudbury

Ste-Catherine

Centre de santé communautaire de Sudbury