assist her
Not a new facebook group, not a new messenger, not a new instagram, not your typical social media interaction
A new tool to create meaningful connections while sharing immigration experiences
Community is a place where the connections
felt in our hearts make themselves known
in the bonds between people, and where the
tuggings and pullings of those bonds keep
opening our hearts
- Parker J. Palmer
Project Overview
This project was an outcome of a whole-year assignment created for my Major Design Project in which I explored on of the topics that I am most passionate about the so called journey of immigration. Being an immigrant myself I've had to lear how to navigate a new language as well as a whole new country completely different to mine. Despite the large population of Immigrants in Canada there is still a gap in the Mental and Emotional Health resources provided towards the needs of those new to the country for that reason it is important to understand Mental Health issues which may be associated with migration. Migration can look completely different between one immigrant and another as to why it is essential to develop an accessible and culturally responsive approach to help immigrants benefit from the Mental Health Care here in Canada.
Female Immigrants are normally portrayed as a vulnerable percentage of the population. They must adjust to a different cultural system as an Immigrant. Fighting and understand the system, find their way around and make their new home a home.
As a female immigrant myself, moving and leaving all behind in my home country to pursue my design degree in Canada
has been a complete rollercoaster from feeling free and secure in a country such as Canada to not wanting to go out
because of the freezing cold weather.Before even starting to think about what I wanted my thesis to be about I wrote in a piece of paper who I wanted to be as a designer and what I was truly passionate about. What type of problem solver do I want to be? Coming up with different key words leading to a very similar direction, social good. Making people’s life easier, helping the minority. Whenever people ask me “What is your Thesis about?” I always like to respond “About me” but why?
Growing up in El Salvador I always took many things in my life for granted, such as the sun, my family, food in the table, the beach and many more things, after moving to Canada I realized how all of these and more are things that as an immigrant you miss more than anything. As I’ve said before my resettlement process was an experience full of ups and downs, meeting new people made it easier for me to cope with feelings of loneliness and homesickness.
So what is currently out there?
I did some initial research and found a couple of what was out there that didn’t have any relationship with the Government of Canada. Some independent Immgration Services are directed towards female immigrants but it was mostly the basis group workshops, contacts etc.
I felt there was a gap in the provided “community inclusion”
As well I felt services provided where not personalized or culturally driven, they where a bit outdated. And though very much about the future of immigration. Immigration is not going to stop, not even because of a Global Pandemic. I wasn’t able to find any application or online tool that would be accesible to almost everyone, to get to them you had to do an extensive online research.
The Problem Space
Not having this type of resources makes the resetteling
of an immigrant into a new country extremely difficult.Full of feelings of loneliness and anxiety, the “not knowing” is what leads you to different mental and emotional issues that should be taken in to account.
Immigrants are just like me, just like you, just like any other human being. Smart, Unique and Strong. My focus intent is to understand what the first years after Immigrants arrive to the country look and how they face a couple of different challenges when arriving while causing effects on their mental health.
Through out the Journey of Migration during the first two years I would like to direct my attention towards the finding of ones community and fighting feelings of loneliness, homesickness and anxiety while implementing it in a world where we can’t meet face to face. By enforcing community and culture I would like to create a reliable source to help Immigrants thrive abroad while being aware of their own Mental and Emotional Wellbeing.
So what will my research look like ?
It takes an immigrant 2 years to properly settle and feel comfortable with their mental and emotional wellbeing
This lead up to a couple GENERATIVE QUESTIONS
How can stress for immigrants be reduced when setteling in Canada?
How might immigrants cope with feelings of loneliness, homesickness
and anxiety?
How might finding a new community as an immigrant be facilitated
prior to their arrival?
There is a design opportunity presented around reducing the stress inducing process an Immigrant goes through when settling in a new country while learning how to cope with feelings like loneliness, homesickness and anxiety. Another very important point of my Design Opportunity is around the need of finding a community when arriving to Canada, a community which acts as a strong support system throughout their settlement process.
Based on my research I started creating a list of notable pain points that ended up transforming into more gaps of opportunity
User and Scenario Development
Before starting my scenario and journey development of what a female immigrant goes through on their resettlement process it is key to describe a well through out user.
THE WHO’S
LatinX female immigrants based in the interviews I had the chance to conduct I was able to talk to a great amount of latino immigrants who arrived in Canada through the last couple of years
What do I mean by LATINX FEMALE IMMIGRANTS
Female immigrants coming from all over Latin America meaning Central to
South America, for this purpose I will be analyzing two different personas
Through this process I was able to pin point specifically what my user was and what their pain points where, these user examples are not the only type of user I would be addressing there would be many many more there are so many different types of female immigrants that arrive in Canada and each experience is completely different from one another. Some are harder than others are.
Que es assist her?
[ But really, what is assist her? ]
The design of a reliable tool to help LatinX female immigrants thrive abroad by tackling the challenges they encounter when resettling in Canada. Specially the challenges which trigger mental and emotional instability.
IMPACT
Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing - Female Immigrants matter now more than ever assist her will raise awareness to the mental and emotional wellbeing of LatinX female immigrants while offering as may tools and resources as possible I will be focusing my attention in TORONTO but ideally in the future the tool would be accessible anywhere in Canada
not a new facebook group
not a new messenger
not a new instagram
not your typical social media interaction
a new tool to create meaningful connections while sharing immigration experiences
