An organization that helps refugee claimants is looking for volunteers to help fix up a Moody Centre home for an incoming family.
Inland Refugee Society of BC (IRS) assists about 1,000 refugee claimants each year, providing them with housing, food, transportation and English language instruction.
"Our clients just cross the border or stop in the airport or jump in a boat," said Mario Ayala, executive director of IRS. Once they arrive in Canada, they ask for protection but until the government processes their claim, they receive no welfare or other support.
IRS has been bridging the gap for more than 30 years on a modest $150,000 annual budget.
That means the organization depends heavily on a network of volunteers and securing housing at a steep discount in an already challenging rental market.
One solution is to negotiate with a landlord on a fixer-upper, in which the owner agrees to rent the home at a low price in exchange for some renovations.
Ayala said IRS has found a good option in Port Moody that fits the bill, budget-wise, but it needs work.
"It has to have a new washroom, a new kitchen," he said, adding additional work in the basement would mean IRS could fit two families in the home. "It's not a full renovation but we'd get the house for low rent."
Ayala said his group is still negotiating with the PoMo house owner but needs to secure volunteers to do the work to know for sure it can move ahead with the project.
"What we need is volunteers and people, maybe donations in materials, because we don't have the money to do renovations," Ayala said, noting the owner is offering to do some repairs as well. "We'd like to try to involve the community because the need is always there."
IRS takes in new refugee claimants daily so it doesn't have specific families in mind for the Moody Centre home, but when it's ready, it will mean a newcomer can be accommodated the same day.
"Can you imagine these people trying to find an apartment with no language, no references, nothing?" Ayala asked. "That's when we step in and help them to get a roof and food."
Refugee claimants come from around 65 different countries but lately, Ayala said, most are from Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Pakistan, Nigeria and Yemen.
Chris Friesen, director of settlement services for the Immigrant Services Society of BC, said IRS is part of the centralized hub that was created when ISS opened its welcome centre in east Vancouver about six months ago.
"In addition to IRS' involvement in locating and providing housing support for refugee claimants, they lease one of the six beds in our facility specifically for refugee claimants, so they have refugee claimants living in the building where we provide support on the ground floor," Friesen said.
The "refugee service mall" also includes a banking kiosk where refugees can open bank accounts and learn some financial literacy, and a medical clinic.
• Anyone interested in assisting with the Port Moody project can contact IRS by email at [email protected] or via its website, www.inlandrefugeesociety.ca.
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