For decades, we as a community have gathered around our own kitchen table. To share coffee in the morning, to share lunch, have meetings, celebrations, birthdays, conversations and build connections. We’ve worked to support people as they build new homes around kitchen tables in their new lives here. But that process has been incredibly difficult in recent months, and this crisis has magnified those challenges for so many.

For too many people, the kitchen table where families want to gather to break bread and share a meal has become a reminder of the food security they don’t have access to.

With the initiative “From Our Kitchen Table to Yours” we have provided food security measures to 30 homes already just in the last week. In the coming days, due to the recent increase in your generous donations, we now have the capacity to reach another 40 families.

Your donation is making an immeasurable difference in the lives of precarious migrants (families, youth, adults and seniors) – all of the people who make up our enriched community. So this is a brief message of thanks to you.

Thank you for grace and solidarity.

Thank you for acknowledging a population so often isolated, marginalized and forgotten.

Thank you for walking with us…and for walking together with uprooted people.

Thank you for building a borderless humanity by supporting one refugee or migrant at a time.

Thanks, just thanks.

As part of our COVID-19 response we are looking for support for women at our shelter, youth and other precarious migrants that do not have access to the emergency benefits and measures during the present health crisis. Residents of our houses, youth and clients have been laid off and need a lot of help.

You are welcome to support with grocery gift cards, baskets with personal care kits, or by visiting our website and making your donation through Canada Help.

Look for the category “Fund” and select “From our kitchen’s table… to yours: In solidarity with precarious migrants.”

You can also read about the situation they are facing in the following article:

» As coronavirus wreaks havoc, these precarious workers have ‘no one to turn to’ (Toronto Star)

Also you can find other initiatives we are implementing in this Open Letter signed by community organizations and groups in Ontario in solidarity with precarious migrants and their families.

In unique times like this, Canadians must come together and not leave anyone behind.

Thank you in advance for your support, walking together with uprooted people and in solidarity.

FCJ Refugee Centre Community

We care about your health and wellbeing and want to make sure you are informed. Please find useful information in our resource booklet How To… Find Help

This is a toolkit with information about how to find support during the crisis of the COVID-19.

The document provides helpful resources. Keep in mind that most of the information is focused in Toronto and it might change depending on the situation of the health emergency.

Content:
(Immigration and settlement support)

• How COVID-19 is impacting immigration and refugee procedures
• Exemptions & travel restrictions
• How to make a refugee claim inland under COVID 19 instructions
• Processing times and extensions
• Health support
• Access to foodbanks
• Shelter in Toronto
• What to do in domestic violence situations
• Access to Ontario Works
• Etc.

More than 30 community organizations and groups in Ontario endorsed an Open Letter in Solidarity with Migrant Workers, Non-Status individuals and their families as community workers, organizers, volunteers, teachers, students and residents of Ontario, Canada.

The letter is in Solidarity with Migrant Workers, Non-Status individuals and their families as community workers, organizers, volunteers, teachers, students and residents of Ontario, Canada.

In unique times like this, Canadians must come together and not leave anyone behind.
Walking together with uprooted people and in solidarity:

To read the letter click here.

The FCJ Refugee Centre continues to work in solidarity with precarious migrants. We recognize that these populations are severely affected by every single precarity already as racialized and marginalized persons, and with the health and safety of our entire community in mind, we will be making some adjustments to our daily work environment. We will continue to remotely offer as many services as possible by phone, e-mail, or any other electronic means available to us.

We are encouraging our staff and volunteers to continue working from home and come to the office only when necessary. Working from the office is only recommended if they do not need to take public transportation or if they feel comfortable doing so and the ride is not long. We are also committed to practicing cleanliness and social distancing at the office as per the recommendations by the public health.

Due to all the information listed above, and with the encouragement of staff, as of today until further notice, we will switch our way of delivering services to:

Limiting in-person services to the most urgent, moving towards phone, email and any other electronic ways available to us. Particularly related to applications and procedures where the relevant Federal and Provincial institutions have relaxed deadlines, and increased flexibility of their appointments and intake.

For any inquiries on any issue or situation related to immigration and refugee process, as well as about all our services please either contact us at the emails below or call 416-469-9754 and dial the extension below:

Loly Rico, co-director: Ext. 224 lolyrico@fcjrefugeecentre.org

Francisco Rico-Martinez, co-director: Ext. 227 franciscorico@fcjrefugeecentre.org

Diana Gallego, Associate Director: Ext. 225 dianagallego@fcjrefugeecentre.org

We will still be serving clients who are in urgent need due to deadlines that are still in effect, or fundamental needs, while limiting their presence in the office to the most minimum (e.g. one family member). Such clients will only come after they confirm that they haven’t had any recent travel outside of Canada, haven’t been in contact with anyone who has travelled recently, don’t have any presenting Covid-19 symptoms, and haven’t been in contact with anyone with Covid-19 symptoms (cough, fever etc.)

Until further notice, the Primary Care Clinic, which is managed by the Inner City Health Associates, will provide appointments on a virtual care mode or via phone as need. If clients need to renew medication we encourage them to call our Centre and we will explain the procedures.

We have cancelled all our group sessions & workshops until further notice.

We thank you for your patience in this time and look forward to continuing to work together with all uprooted people and our entire community.

In Solidarity,

The FCJ Refugee Centre Team

You are welcome to come and learn about different immigration issues on Mondays from 9:30 am to 3:00 pm.

We are very pleased to announce a new pilot program that FCJ has began in this new year along with the support of the city of Toronto. Our program Finding Home in Inclusive Neighbourhood’s (FHIN), offers a new opportunity to refugee claimant families in order to address the housing issues and lack of space in shelters that newcomers face in Toronto.

We aim to work with refugee houses and shelters inside the city of Toronto, so we are able to conduct regular orientation sessions that provide information on the refugee determination process, and on the option of the finding home outside of Toronto.

The goal of the program is to support refugee claimant families and individuals who want to voluntarily re-settle outside of Toronto by connecting refugee claimants with service providers outside of the city, ensuring the access of services in the resettled location, and providing free transportation to support the move.

If you are a refugee organization in or out of the city of Toronto, or a refugee claimant who is interested in this program, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Natalie Gardiner & Sebastián Garcia Arango
Finding Home in Inclusive Neighbourhoods Project Coordinators
fhin@fcjrefugeecentre.org

 

 

Our Winter Newsletter is out now! You can find a lot of information on our new programs and upcoming events:

• Filmmaking Youth Project
• Finding Home outside of Toronto
• Forum on International Migrant Trafficking
• Family Dinner: last Wednesday of every month
• Memories and Recipes from all around the world
• Guide for refugee claimants entering for USA
• Breaking Barriers: Responding to Community Needs Tool Kit
• Mondays is a drop-in at FCJ Refugee Centre
• Placement student experiences at FCJ Refugee Centre

The FCJ Refugee Centre recognizes that all uprooted people have strengths and capacities to contribute to the host country where their migration status is irregular. We understand and empathize with the experiences of precarious migrants who are viewed as disposable/temporary labour in Canada.

The Centre strives to offer holistic support and find ways and means to help people formalize their status where possible.

Thus the intention of this tool kit is to share information with people with precarious status about access to services, what are the possibilities to regularize their immigration status, and what are their rights.

Funding for this publicly available toolkit was provided by the City of Toronto 2017 Project and Events Grant

Take a look at the Tool Kit click here.

At FCJ Refugee Centre, we are celebrating the positive decisions on some refugee claims and Humanitarian and Compassionate cases. What a great way to start the year!!!

We want to share with you some of the special moments and programs offered at FCJ Refugee Centre.