Saskatoon Open Door Society

Saskatoon Open Door Society was established in 1981 primarily to assist refugees from Vietnam who were settling in Saskatoon. The Open Door has since assisted refugees and immigrants from all over the world including Laos, Poland, El Salvador, Guatamala, Bosnia, Kossovo, Sudan, Congo, Zaire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Burma and Colombia. The Open Door has also provided services to immigrants from countries such as India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, England, France, China, USA and Ukraine. The Mission of the Open Door Society is to welcome and assist refugees and immigrants to become informed and effective participants in Canadian society and to involve the Saskatoon community in their hospitable reception and just acceptance. The Open Door takes a holistic approach to service delivery and provides services and programming in the areas of settlement and integration, language training, and employment services. A large volunteer component compliments the work of Open Door staff by providing assistance in translation and interpretation, serving on the board of directors and programming such as Homework Help and Host. The Host program offers friendship and support, conversational English and other programming including driving practice and citizenship preparation.