First Haarlem Welcome Groups trained
In the four Samen Hier cities of The Hague, Rotterdam, Almere and Haarlem, we are looking for residents who want to be matched as a Welcome Group with a status holder so that they can share their social network and company. In Haarlem the first groups have been trained and we are still looking for one Welcome Group to get started with Samen Hier!
During the training in Haarlem, the Samen Hier team and an initiator of the similar Canadian Together Project were present to train members of the first Haarlem Welcome Groups and to answer all their questions. Afterwards, they were aware of what they have to offer as a Welcome Group and what they can expect from the Samen Hier trajectory.
For a long time they talked about the privilege and advantage of having connections. Everyone could cite an example of this “power of your wider community”. Then the Welcome Groups brainstormed how to share this “power” with a local status holder.
In addition to various practicalities, the training was also about cultural differences and how to build a relationship with your match as a group. “How long does that take?” And “how can you as a group break the ice in the beginning?” “As long as you treat each other equally, without positioning yourself as a counselor, more confidence will naturally arise,” said Tariq (project leader Samen Hier at Justice and Peace). Ultimately it is about mutual integration, that you learn something from each other. It is a mutual process whereby the status holder can enrich your experience and you can support him or her with integrating and feeling at home.
The Canadian experience shows that the individual Welcome Group members naturally take a certain role, so that different tasks are automatically divided.
As a Welcome Group you learn gradually. And that is also the message of the evening.
Do you live in Haarlem and are you interested in starting a Welcome Group with friends or acquaintances? Then contact us quickly via info@samenhier.nl or call 070-763 14 99.
More information about Samen Hier: www.samenhier.nl