07/18/2023
So much here to unpack and deal with. It is exhausting the ways in which certain groups have to constantly fight to breathe and be.
Hello Members and Friends,
A Call for Action to Support Black Refugees
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
We Need Action Now - A Call from African, Refugee and Civil Society Groups
TORONTO, July 14, 2023 โ African groups, groups working with refugees, people experiencing homelessness and providing healthcare, and other civil society groups are calling on all levels of government to urgently provide emergency shelter and housing supports to address the crisis refugee claimants are facing in Toronto.
A significant proportion of refugee claimants in Toronto who are unhoused and without any shelter or community services or support are of African origin. African groups and civil society organizations are deeply concerned that there appears to be a lack of action to address the shelter and housing crisis faced by African and racialized refugee claimants. There are approximately 30 or more African people at any given time sleeping on cardboard outside 129 Peter Street, the City of Toronto Referral and Assessment Center in downtown Toronto.
Refugee claimants are typically expected to contact Central Intake at the City of Toronto to access emergency shelter and services. However, current claimants are turned away without any shelter, referrals to other appropriate options or services leaving them virtually stranded on the streets.
Unhoused people on the street face sexual exploitation and high levels of violence, as well as inadequate food and healthcare. As new arrivals in Canada, refugee claimantsโ unfamiliarity with Toronto has left them more vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.
In response to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, all orders of government acted quickly to support displaced people. This included providing shelter, housing, and services. Civil society organizations call on governments to show the same compassion to refugees from other parts
of the world.
โWeekly virtual meetings are held to encourage community members to open their homes to displaced refugees, in a commendable display of the spirit of Ubuntu
