BC launches new hotline for racist incidents

British Columbia launched a new toll-free helpline on Thursday for residents who experience or witness a racist incident.

The helpline, a collaboration between the British Columbia government and the nonprofit United Way, is designed to connect callers with culturally appropriate support services and help them file police reports. It will also help the province collect data on where and when racist incidents occur.

“When people experience racism, they don’t know where to go or what to do,” said Niki Sharma, British Columbia’s attorney general. “This is a way for a person who has had a traumatic experience to know that there is a community in this province that supports them.”

The province first announced the hotline last November and also offered community groups financial support of up to $10,000 to combat hate-motivated violence.

The province has allocated $22.7 million for the helpline.

The number is open on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and voicemails are also accepted outside of these hours.

Culturally relevant support

Sharma said callers to the hotline can be referred to groups such as Resilience BC, a network of organizations working to combat and support racism.

One member of the network is MOSAIC, a nonprofit organization that helps newcomers to Canada. Hugo Velazquez, the organization’s director of family and integration services, said the helpline offers newcomers a new way to share their experiences.

“It’s a fact that racism is part of their life path,” Velazquez said. “Most of the time they are not able to talk about it, or if they do, they are not heard. If they want to do it, there are not many channels.”

Velazquez said language can be a barrier for newcomers seeking help. The new helpline, Sharma said, will offer service in about 240 languages ​​to help them get the support they need after a racist incident.

Sharma added that hotline operators could also potentially provide guidance on how to file a report with the police so that people who have experienced a racist incident do not have to relive a traumatic event multiple times.

“A great first step”

Ezra Shanken, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, said the helpline is a “great first step” in the fight against racist incidents in the province.

“Many hate crimes go unreported and we need to make people feel empowered to report them,” Shanken said. “This way we can give them a mechanism to do so.”

He expressed the hope that the helpline would also help address anti-Semitic incidents and support members of the Jewish community.

In a press release, United Way said local organizations can apply to be included in the helpline’s referral database and receive financial support to provide their services. United Way said it seeks partnerships with organizations that provide services such as counseling, peer support programs and anti-racist education.

Sharma said the helpline will also collect anonymous data on where racist incidents occur, which groups are affected and why they occur.

“If there is a spike in racist incidents in a particular city, we know there is a problem there that we need to address,” Sharma said. “That will help us as a government act in a way that we have never been able to before.”

Velazquez hopes the data will lead to policies that protect people.

“A racist action against a person is the first step in preventing that person from believing they belong,” he said.

You can reach the helpline at 1-833-457-5463.