For many immigrants, mental health is neglected while they navigate their new life

Halfway to Home: Immigration Stories, a five-part series, began April 24 on Windsor Morning. Tune in on our CBC Listen app or live at 97.5 FM. We'll also be at the Budimir branch of the Windsor Public Library on Saturday for the event Creating Space. 

When he moved to Windsor from the U.K. with his family in December 2019, Salman Gul was looking forward to starting fresh with a new job and new home. 

The father of five was waiting for his work permit when COVID-19 hit three months later. Pandemic lockdowns forced him to wait 15 more months.

"You can imagine I was worried about the bills and my future in Canada," said Gul, a truck driver who owned his own transportation logistics company back in England.

"It started to trigger elements of mental health issues," he said. "Things like mild depression and anxiety that would hit the peak as a result of a panic attack."

In episode five of CBC Windsor's Halfway to Home, we spoke with Gul and Riham Al-Saadi, a social worker and University of Windsor instructor who was a teen in 2001 when she and her family immigrated from Saudi Arabia.

Halfway to Home highlights the experiences of immigrants in Windsor-Essex. About one in five people living in the region arrived as newcomers, which means Windsor-Essex has the 11th largest immigrant population in the country, according to Statistics Canada.

During the conversation at Windsor Public Library's John Muir Branch, Al-Saadi and Gul talked about their personal struggles and the effect immigration had on their mental health.

Al-Saadi, who is Palestinian, immigrated to Canada months before the twin tower attacks in New York. At 14, she felt like she and her family were under suspicion and scrutiny as Arabs living in a post-9/11 Canada.

"I had to combat multiple stereotypes and images," she recalled. "It was scary and fearful for me."

But there was little time to dwell on mental health, recalled Al-Saadi. Her entire family worked hard to find stability here, especially after her father's gas station business suffered during the 2008 recession. 

"As a newcomer, there's always that survivalist mindset approach … that you need to fulfil a basic duty, of supporting not only yourself but your family as well," said Al-Saadi.

Some immigrants avoid talking about their early days here — memories are too painful, Al-Saadi said. 

Some feel there's a stigma around seeking mental health support. They worry: "Is my community going to know?"