Joensuu’s Immigrant Services launched a new WhatsApp service for all foreigners living in Joensuu for the duration of the corona pandemic. The service is intended for those who suspect coronavirus infection in themselves or their loved ones and are unable to contact health care themselves due to lack of language skills.
The customer can send a WhatsApp message to 050 310 1043 during the opening hours of the immigrant services, i.e. on weekdays from 8.30 am to 3.30 pm. The message must contain the following information: your name, the word “Corona” and the language that you want to communicate in.
– Upon receiving the message, we will book the interpretation in the customer's language and contact the customer by telephone. We will map the situation and, if necessary, contact the health services of Siun Sote for instructions, says Taru Väisänen, the integration planner for the immigrant services in the city of Joensuu.
The Immigrant Services serve during normal business hours during the corona pandemic. The main service is still individual guidance in the office. It is difficult to organize the service online, because customer meetings deal with customer papers, which the employee must be able to read. In addition, arranging translation sets its own requirements. To prevent the spread of the coronavirus, protective plexiglasses have been installed in the customer premises and hand disinfectant is available.
– We still deal with dozens of customers every week, i.e. there is a need for face-to-face service even during the exceptional time, says Väisänen.
Immigrant services are located at Kauppakatu 29, 80100 Joensuu, 3rd floor (elevator button 7). The website is at: www.joensuu.fi/maahanmuuttajapalvelut (in Finnish) and www.joensuu.fi/en/web/english/immigration-services (in English).
Our email address is: maahanmuuttajapalvelut@joensuu.fi.
A multilingual video of the new WhatsApp service has been published on the city of Joensuu's Youtube channel: https://youtu.be/Md66lGeOnmQ
You can change the video subtitle language from the Settings icon at the bottom of the screen.
