SYRIAN SANCTUARY St James Town

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1 SYRIAN SANCTUARY St James Town We work as Community Matters Toronto supports refugees and newcomers living in St James Town. For general information, look us up at communitymatterstoronto.org and on Facebook at CMTNeighbours THE SYRIAN SANCTUARY PROGRAM FOCUSSES ON: Family Reunification: helping Syrians living in St James Town, Toronto who would like to reunite with their refugee family members living in precarious conditions: Family members who live outside Syria who are at risk given their lack of housing, education, finances, health issues, and immigration status Family members who are stateless whose visas have expired in their country of residence and would be at risk if they were to return to Syria UNDER OUR SYRIAN SANCTUARY PROGRAM, WE ACT AS A COMMUNITY SPONSOR: 1. Supporting Groups of Five who assume financial and primary responsibility for Syrian family members who will settle in St James Town 2. Working with other community partners and church groups who are locating their Syrian family in St James Town 3. Sponsoring up to 5 families over the next 3 years with family co sponsors living in St James Town. We will sponsor nuclear and extended families as a unit, who have come to us on a first come first served basis. For the Syrian Sanctuary program, look us up on Facebook at Syrian Sanctuary and at communitymatterstoronto.org/syriansanctuary.html 1. WHO WE ARE and WHAT WE ARE DOING Community Matters Toronto has worked with newcomers in St James Town for the past 15 years. Local residents from many cultures are trained to deliver programs such Job Club, an After School program, Healthy Living, English Café, training, citizenship and immigration support. Our motto is Neighbours Helping Neighbours. So it was not a stretch to work with our Syrian neighbours many who are refugees themselves. They asked us to help them to reunite with their families living in settlement camps and other precarious conditions. So, we have set up:

2 1. RECEPTION We received training from the Federal Refugee Sponsorship Training Program. It was recommended that we set up regular Forms Clinics to help families complete their applications. However, we renamed this RECEPTION to signify that the scope of the work is much broader than that. We work with those neighbours who want support to complete their immigration applications for their family members. Many of the neighbours who ask for help are themselves recent immigrants or struggling to understand and adapt to the new culture they find themselves in. We respond by: a. Helping with visa, permanent resident applications and other immigration questions b. We run Citizenship coaching and classes to learn about Canadian culture and prepare for the citizenship test and ceremony. c. Interpreting the federal requirements for private and shared sponsorships for Syrian refugees, d. Completing the forms and related paperwork e. Supporting refugees and newcomers through this emotionally challenging process. We support newcomers through the psychological transition, to help build new networks to replace those of their family and friends back home. We work with them in self help groups to address those issues, if not recognized, can lead t isolation and depression. Many recent refugees have experienced traumatic events that Canadians cannot begin to grasp and need individual and group counselling. 2. INTEGRATION TEAMS Beyond Settlement Over the years, CMT has used the term INTEGRATION to describe the process that newcomers experience. Settlement, for us refers to the first wave of adaptation, of settling in. We have learned that the process of fully integrating into Canadian society takes years and many have said that it really when their children mature into Canadians that their hopes are realized. Dr Kwame MacKenzie when working at the Centre for Addictions and Mental Health spoke about What makes a good Immigrant He said that in order for their children to become Canadians, newcomers need to keep one foot back in their culture, language, memories and traditions, AND one foot forward into Canadian society, adapting themselves so they identify the commonalities of our multicultural society. In designing our Syrian Sanctuary project, we realize that newcomers in our community need to land on their feet when they arrive.

3 We have established and trained networks of neighbours who are newcomers themselves, who speak the languages, understand the cultures, are linked into those networks here and know what else is needed to integrate into Canadian society. So the newcomer often works with a Community Assistant from their culture, who orients them to the neighbourhood, helps them understand the health system, transit, schools, language and how to apply for survival jobs, then a career path. There are Best Practices; research and studies that guide us what are the most important practices we should use when dealing with newcomers. The Canadian Medial Association Journal published guidelines, an extensive review of recommended health practices with newcomers: Evidence-based Clinical Guidelines for Immigrants and Refugees. Kevin Pottie et al. at on July 25, The Cultural Orientation Resource Centre has published a guide: Refugees from SYRIA ( to ensure that the volunteers we train have a solid background about the political, economic issues and upheaval Syrian refugees are facing. We have an extensive network of newcomers who speak Arabic, and are willing to give back based on their experiences and resources. We think it is essential that when the refugees are welcomed here, that they are met with someone from their culture, speaks their language who can help bridge their transition to Canada. To complete the integration process however, we maintain that at the same time, we have to build bridges so they come into contact with other Canadians: different networks, and ways of behaving and thinking. Many Canadians live in their own enclaves, whether professional, cultural or economic. There are 67+ cultures in St James Town with an astonishing amount of crossover between the cultures, especially in the local schools and between parents. It is truly a multicultural experience with one culture conspicuous by its absence. Many residents have very little contact with settled Canadians except in superficial ways. The challenge is to organize neighbourhoods to encourage regular and sustained contact between newcomers and established Canadians to challenge and overcome our too human tendency to stay in our comfort zones. Therefore, we try to establish this balance of volunteers on our Integration Teams: those who are matched with the culture of the new immigrant for their transitions to Canada, mixed with Canadians who support their further integration into the mainstream of Canadian society. In addition, we realize that a succession of volunteers may be bewildering for a newcomer. We will identify a mentor individual and/or family who agree to provide the ongoing support and mentoring over the 3- to 5 year process of integration

4 WHAT WE NEED FROM YOU We have secured space and commitments for donations of food, clothing, and furniture, not to mention emotional and networking support. Your donations of your time and skills will promote the full integration of these families into our neighbourhoods and into full participation into Canadian society Please donate to support our direct sponsorship of Syrian refugee families we will welcome into St James Town. We will issue a tax receipt for your donation Donate directly to CMT's bank: Institution Number 842, Bank Branch Deposit to Account: Donate online through CanadaHelps.org Type in registered charity number: RR0001 ( registered as St James Town Family Literacy Services) The Benefits 1. We have done much of the up front work and have streamlined the process 2. We have direct contact with Syrian and other similar cultures who are newcomers and citizens willing to help 3. We have a strong track record of settling newcomers into St James Town 4. You can contribute to a local project when you may not have had the time or the contacts to act on your wish to be part of this important work. United Nations High Commission for Refugees Government of Canada The Refugee system in Canada You may wish to consult these other sites Immigration and citizenship Apply to visit, study, work or immigrate to Canada, apply for citizenship, a permanent resident card or refugee protection, check the status of your application or find a form How do you immigrate to Canada? Lifeline Syria Welcoming Refugees to Toronto Plan of Action for Refugees from Syria efugees/welcome/index.asp mmigrate/index.asp N-of-ACTION-for-REFUGEESfrom-SYRIA.pdf

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