Members of the East End Refugee Committee stand outside Kingston Road United Church on July 23. Left to right: Phyllis Somers, Rosemary Anderson, Sue Stuart, Sheila Dunn, Joanne Hincks, Elaine Hick and Edward Hayes. Photo by Abby Russchen.

By ABBY RUSSCHEN

What started as a response to the Yugoslav civil war in the 1990s has grown into three decades of helping refugees resettle their lives in Canada.

The East End Refugee Committee is a coalition of faith communities in Toronto’s East End that work together to sponsor a family, or sometimes a single refugee, at a time each year to help them rebuild their lives. Spearheaded by Kingston Road United Church, they were joined by four other faith communities to unite in support.

Other faith communities include the Calvary Baptist Church, Fallingbrook Presbyterian Church, St. Aidan Anglican Church, and St. John the Baptist Norway Anglican Church

Refugees sponsored by the committee are already approved by the United Nations and the Canadian government to seek refuge, often after years of waiting.

Once selected for sponsorship, the committee provides refugees with comprehensive assistance in every aspect of resettlement, including financial support, housing, education and healthcare.

Sponsorship is costly and time-consuming, which is why the committee sponsors one family/individual per year.

“It works out to about $10,000 per person,” explained Elaine Hick, one of the committee’s longtime members. “We have to have it up front in order to go into an agreement with the federal government to be the sponsors for this family.”

Due to these constraints, the committee chooses to sponsor refugees who are in the greatest need of assistance, typically those with health concerns.

“That’s our mantra,” said Hick. “We sponsor anyone and everyone with the greatest need.”

Last year, the committee sponsored a family from Myanmar whose young son had been diagnosed with cancer while on the waiting list to come to Canada. When the family arrived in Toronto, the committee picked them up from the airport and took them directly to SickKids, where the boy started treatment within 48 hours and is now cancer-free.

This kind of comprehensive assistance is the foundation of the committee’s work, but they can’t continue without steady support from the community. Hick hopes to maintain interest and donations so that the committee can continue to support those who need it.

She also hopes that more individuals will take an interest in the committee and become volunteers, specifically young people who are familiar with modern technologies, as there is a lot of technology involved in sponsorship, explained Hick.

As the committee reaches 30 years of helping newcomers from all over the world, Hick hopes for more robust awareness.

“I’d like to see greater awareness on the part of the public, in terms of understanding the refugee system,” said Hick. “Understanding what it takes for an individual to get here, all that they’ve been through, and appreciate that.”

At a time when global conflicts persist, the East End Refugee Committee continues to provide help to those who need it most.

For more information on the East End Refugee Committee, and how you can support the group’s efforts, please go to https://eerc.ca/