I am going into my fourth year at 捆绑SM社区 and I am studying International Development with a focus on Culture and Society, with a minor in Modern Standard Arabic and Sociology. I am particularly interested in migration and patterns of human displacement internationally. I became interested in this topic during high school when I began tutoring middle school students who were in an English as a Second Language program at a local public school in Richmond, Virginia. This program was created to support refugees and asylum seekers as they transition into their life in America. Getting to know these students made me interested in learning more about the refugee process in America. Since, I have had multiple internships and volunteer positions in the United States with refugee support non-profit and government organizations, including International Rescue Committee. This summer, I aimed to learn more about the refugee process in Canada. I contacted many organizations who support refugees or refugee claimants in Toronto and Montreal, and was offered a position as an intern at Matthew House Toronto. This was a not-for-credit internship, rather one to enhance my knowledge of the refugee system in Canada and how non-profit organizations can contribute to the resettlement services.
Matthew House Toronto is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting refugee claimants in the Toronto area through support and wellbeing programs, which help refugee claimants settle into their new life in Canada and assist them in their legal proceedings to get refugee status. Matthew House has multiple shelters around the Toronto area, which provide low cost housing for refugee claimants and promote a sense of community for many who are far away from their loved ones. Their mission is to help refugee claimants get the tools they need to become self-sufficient and ultimately successful in their new lives in Canada.
Given the Canadian border closures due to the ongoing pandemic, I was unable to complete my proposed assignment, to support new refugee claimant intake. Instead, I spent my time at Matthew House assisting in fundraising planning, assisting with virtual events, and managing social media accounts. My main task has been creating a fundraising project called Matthew House Makers, which is a craft sale and auction based fundraiser which not only raises funds for Matthew House, but provides supplemental income for residents, many of whom found themselves unemployed or underemployed due to the pandemic. My tasks included creating a project proposal, creating a contract for makers, creating a project budget, coordinating with partner organizations to get donations, managing communication with makers, assisting makers to insure they had the tools and supplies they required, and creating marketing materials.
This summer I enjoyed coordinating the Matthew House Makers project because it allowed me to get to know the Matthew House shelter residents and learn more about their experiences with the refugee process in Canada. The highlight of my week was going into the shelter for those who had just arrived to Canada and spending time with them every Thursday. We scheduled this time for an orientation class to Canada and to updates on residents on refugee hearings, which had been delayed due to the pandemic. Because the pandemic halted all refugee hearings, we often used this time to do puzzles together or do craft workshops. Each week, I would bring new crafting supplies and my coworker, the residents, and I would all sit around a table and talk while we made art. This time was very special to me because it personalized my mostly virtual internship, and allowed me to create a more personal relationship with the residents.
This internship has taught me a great deal about the refugee process in Canada, what services are available to refugees, and how Matthew House and related organizations are advocating for refugee claimant rights in Canada. I learned how to work independently and coordinate group work online, as we could not have in-person meetings for much of the work we did. I became very invested in the advocacy work Matthew House was doing, including proposing program which would expedite the refugee hearing process for refugee claimants due to the system backlog the pandemic created. I am looking forward to exploring refugee advocacy in Canada advocacy more in the future, and now have created connections which will allow me to do so.
I would like to thank Mr. David Tarr and Ms. Gisele Chevrefils. With their generous support of my internship, I was able to rent an apartment in Toronto for the summer to complete my internship, and to purchase a bike for commuting to Matthew House for in-shelter meetings.
