Religious Institutions Support Needed: Ukrainians in Ontario Are Going Homeless

Ontario and Canada are welcoming an unprecedented number of Ukrainians fleeing the war. Canada’s CUAET Visa, the pathway they have to enter Canada, is set to end on March 31 and no one, including Ontario settlement agencies really know what this means and because of this Ukrainians are scrambling to enter Canada before that deadline and overwhelming not only our immigration and settlement services but the community groups also trying to help.

Ukrainians coming into Canada, are eligible to receive 14 days at a hotel, but these spaces are limited.  This provides a safe place to sleep; however, does not provide essentials such as food, hygiene items, clothing, or other needs that many Ukrainians are in need of. Can you imagine going to a new Country with your family but nothing else and not having enough to eat, not knowing where to get food or not being able to get around easily, and even if you can find a grocery store within walking distance trying to feed and care for your children in a hotel room?

After the 14 days runs out there are no other options for housing and other than the $3,000 per adult and $1,500 per child one can receive once after opening up a bank account, there is no other financial support provided.

Many Ukrainians have phoned relatives back in Europe to raise money in order to fly back to Ukraine because it is return or be homeless.

Kitchener Waterloo Multicultural Center and WRGR know people are being turned away from the government hotels with nowhere else to go. We are trying to keep up by finding shelter for these people and their families, but we are struggling. People find us by word of mouth or by social media. We know there are many more that don’t know about us and are facing homelessness.

We need your help. Each day additional people have nowhere to go. We can do more, we should do more, and we have the ability to do more.

How can you help in Waterloo Region?

We need people willing to be temporary hosts. We need to determine if we can set up warming centers. We need additional support gathering essential items such as food, clothing, and hygiene items for the families we are welcoming.

We also are in need of financial donations to WR Grassroots to help fund the shelters we have already established.

If people come to your place of worship, please make sure they are aware of WR Grassroots and the Kitchener-Waterloo Multicultural Centre. We need your help.

We are looking for community partners. WRGR is a 100% volunteer-led group and we are struggling to keep up with the number of families in need.

• 649 families have requested help with finding a rental, host, or support when coming into our Region
• 840 times families have requested overall support for various resources (this is the number for all of our requests)
• over 200 hosts have said they are interested
• 140 have hosted with us
• We have connected 155 Ukrainian families with hosts. 261 adults + 134 children = 395 people

This event is in partnership with Kitchener-Waterloo Multicultural Center & Ukrainian Canadian Congress Waterloo Wellington Chapter