Community advocates say essential safety resources, including first aid and CPR training, are often out of reach for many of Winnipeg’s newcomer communities. Although such courses are widely available, many immigrants don’t participate due to financial, linguistic, and cultural barriers.
Winnipeg-based community organization Healthy Muslim Families (HMF) has worked to address this gap by providing safety information and resources at their location. However, for HMF Executive Director Humaira Jaleel, first aid training is often job-dependent and not widely pursued otherwise.
Programs like the Canadian Red Cross’s SmartStart could make a meaningful difference, offering free or low-cost, community-centred training sessions directly to neighbourhoods through partnerships with community groups. The Canadian Red Cross developed SmartStart to address these barriers. This initiative partners with community organizations to provide first aid and CPR training tailored to the needs of immigrant communities.
