About Us
Meet our amazing team of passionate health care professionals and students in medicine, nursing, public health, social work and law.
Meet the Founders
Lotus, Amalka and Penelope met in their first year of medical school and instantly connected over their passion working with marginalized communities. With their similar experiences of growing up as the children of refugees and immigrants, they found themselves well-equipped to advocate against disparities they had witnessed all their lives. They noticed gaps in medical education and wanted to create a sustainable and interprofessional space for healthcare trainees across Canada to collaborate on newcomer health initiatives. They decided to launch the NHH to raise awareness, provide free evidence based resources and tailored community initiatives.
Our Story
Our Goals
ADVOCATE
To advocate for reducing healthcare disparities and inequities for newcomer populations
INFORM
To inform healthcare workers about the resettlement process and how to improve care, and newcomers about resources available to them
EMPOWER
To empower healthcare workers to provide cultural competent, evidence-based care, and newcomers to take control of their health
Expert Advisors
Dr. Allison Henderson is a local family physician with a passion for refugee healthcare and treating London’s most marginalized populations. After completing her medical training at Western University and the University of British Columbia, she pursued additional studies at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine after which she spent over four years working as a physician in rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa. Since returning to London in 2016, she has been working at the London Intercommunity Health Center and is the physician lead for the Newcomer Clinic which partners with Cross Cultural Learner’s Centre to provide multi-disciplinary health services for refugees in their first year of arrival to Canada. She also has a family practice of mostly Syrian and Yazidi refugees. She appreciates working with a multi-cultural team as well as learning more about resilience and coping from the patients she encounters. While not working she loves gardening and spending time outdoors with her partner and two children.
