Looking For Home – BCNPHA Round Table

Tuesday, June 15, 2021 at 1:00pm

Refugee claimants flee to Canada seeking protection from persecution, discrimination, and violence. Once here, they realize their journey has just started. One of their most significant challenges is just finding a place to live.

 It is a sad reality that many refugee claimants early experiences of Canada is on the street or in one of our shelters. Displaced and going through culture shock, they are ill-equipped to cope with what they see there, and this reinforces their previous trauma.

With no Canadian rental or credit history and without a steady income, renting in the market is close to impossible. Landlords are reluctant to rent to refugees and non-profit housing is often their only choice.

Multi-Agency Partnership (MAP) BC – a network of agencies supporting refugee claimants, and the BC Non-profit Housing Association (BCNPHA) is sponsoring a dialogue to address this problem.

On Tuesday June 15, as part of World Refugee Day 2021 Events, a roundtable discussion between housing providers, settlement workers and refugee claimants will be held. This discussion will highlight a typical journey for refugee claimants and what housing providers need to know to give them a chance for a real home. 

Registration is limited to allow for meaningful dialogue.

The conversation will be led by:
Jackson Freedman, BCNPHA Policy Analyst & Doug Peat, Journey Home Community: Housing & Donor Engagement and co-chair of MAP BC Housing Working Group

All housing providers and those supporting refugee claimants in their housing journey are welcome to register. We welcome refugee claimants’ past and present to join the conversation, your voices teach us of the reality of what you faced.