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This article draws on PeaceGeeks’ tech expertise and 6+ years developing and scaling Arrival Advisor (AA), an award-winning, multilingual mobile app that provides newcomers to Canada with recommended information and services tailored specifically to their needs, circumstances, and immigration status, to offer lessons learned, recommendations and potential risks for the sector and its main funder to consider at this time of rapid digital transformation.

In the fall of 2020, ACCES Employment (ACCES) launched a virtual assistant powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI). VERA (Virtual Employment and Resource Attendant), responds to inquiries about our programs and services, helps users self-register for upcoming events, and offers resources that are relevant to users’ queries. VERA is a chatbot interface on our website and operates behind the scenes within our Facebook Messenger app. She runs on IBM Watson Assistant and Discovery technology.

This article makes a case for understanding the experience and needs of immigrants and refugees with using virtual care in relation to its ability to deliver compassionate care—that is, characterized by trust, dignity, positive patient-provider relationship, empathy, and respect. Authors propose using intersectionality as a framework for this inquiry. By understanding if and how immigrants and refugees experience virtual care through a compassionate lens, we can ensure that their perspectives and needs influence how we design systems of care.

I’m always inspired when I chat with folks in the sector, but this Metropolis Conference session reminded me of the incredible wisdom, knowledge, and passion that exists if we just ask! I'm sharing what we did and what we learned here to try to keep the conversation going.

I recently received this question and managed to find some useful resources to share. So I thought I'd share them here as well.

What works well in a digital/hybrid model? What works better in person? In this Feb 7th, 2023 session I brought a group of folks together to talk about resources, experiences, and insights in the Immigrant and Refugee-serving sector.

Being ready for hybrid services ultimately means being ready for digital service delivery. You should be already actively assessing the impact and outcome of your services. How can you assess how ready you are to deliver services digitally?

In this December 2022 webinar the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) looks back at the biggest changes we've seen this year and look to the future. What have been our biggest tech wins? How has digital, data and design benefited the sector? And what might happen in 2023? We'll be encouraging call participants to share their digital wins, big and small.

In June 2000, I was part of a discussion looking at what our community might look like in 20 years. I think what I said still fits for today and how we should approach technology in our work in social and human services.