A young Syrian woman tentatively gets on a bike for the first time; an Iraqi man discovers the joys of coasting along the seawall on a summer evening. Across the city, experienced Vancouver cyclists are taking newcomers under their wing to teach them how to bike, and perhaps even more importantly, to introduce them to a new culture by way of two wheels. They are part of the innovative Newcomer Bike Host Program, which ran for the first time this spring as a joint venture of HUB Cycling and Immigrant Services Society of BC.
Modelled after a similar program run in Toronto with CultureLink, the program “pairs new immigrants and refugees with local ‘host’ volunteers for weekly meet-ups, where they get oriented to Vancouver's cycling routes, rules, and culture while having fun exploring the city by bike and improving their conversational English," says Alyshia Burak, HUB Cycling's bike education program manager.
Funded in part by the City of Vancouver's Greenest City Fund and TransLink, the program aims to "introduce newcomers to the health, economic and environmental benefits of cycling, and to build their confidence and skills so that biking is a viable transportation option for them in the future," Burak notes.
Elmir Ismayilov, volunteer and community coordinator for the Immigrant Services Society of BC (ISSofBC), has been involved in the program from the start. "We have worked with HUB many times over the years, helping immigrants settle in culturally, feel welcome, and learn about community," he says. Through short courses on cycling skills for newcomers, HUB Cycling and ISSofBC have forged a strong relationship. After some discussion about how to best involve newcomers in Canadian culture, they came up with the idea to create the Newcomer Bike Host Program together.
Ismayilov points out that new immigrants and refugees are "always surprised how many people bike here, especially females." Many of them come from cultures where a woman biking is unheard of. These days, he says, ISSofBC is dealing with a large number of refugees from Syria, as well as from Iran and Iraq, and they have a lot of women riding bikes for the first time.
Ismayilov says he finds the whole process very rewarding. "Those who join the mentorship program, their English develops much better. This is about community."
After all the pressure to find a place to live and a job, he adds, "This is the fun part of settling in. It has a lot of positive side effects."
Burak concurs: "As well as all the great cycling skills and knowledge they are gaining, the hope is that by forming a relationship with a mentor and going on weekly outings, newcomers will also walk away feeling a sense of belonging and social connection in Vancouver."
The program is already growing, with 24 matches this summer session, including individuals, couples and families. In total, HUB anticipates that 51 newcomers will be reached in the first year and 37 volunteers will take part.
"We hope to secure funding to continue the program in 2018. It's been very popular among newcomers, immigrants and the local volunteers. With more and more newcomers settling in Vancouver each year, we see a growing demand for the program," Burak says.
Almost all 16 of the spring matches have met consistently every week since May, which, according to Burak, shows that newcomers and volunteers are engaged and enjoying the program.
There have been many success stories. Burak gives an example that, she feels, demonstrates the steep learning curve that some of the newcomers experience: As a beginner cyclist, newcomer Zoreh challenged herself to cycle all the way from her home in False Creek to the ISSofBC building on Victoria and Broadway in order to attend her weekly language class. "Every week she managed to make it a bit further, and finally after two months of supported cycling with her volunteer, they cycled all the way together."
• Amy Logan is a Vancouver writer, editor and English instructor with an ear for trends in the arts, community and environment. She is a regular contributor to Metro News, and joins the Westender for the summer to explore the artists, creatives, environmentalists and adventurers who make Vancouver tick.
