Latest news with #UnitedWayGreaterToronto
Yahoo
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
They came to Toronto for safety. Instead African asylum seekers faced racism, homelessness, says new report
The halls of Pilgrim Feast Tabernacles Church sit empty now, a stark contrast to 2023 when they were brimming with African asylum seekers who had nowhere else to go. Several cultural and faith-based community organizations "banded together" to house and support the influx of refugee asylum seekers coming into the city at the time — many of whom had been forced to sleep on the streets without adequate municipal support, unable to access the city's overflowing shelter system — says Nadine Miller, the church's executive director. "We became a house. We became mother, father, medical doctor, the whole nine yards until we could get [the government] to step in," said Miller. "[Asylum seekers] couldn't get in. They were stuck outside of the system." Two years later, a new study by United Way Greater Toronto has detailed systemic anti-Black racism faced by newcomers in the Greater Toronto Area in 2023 — most of whom were Black and from African countries — as well as failures within the government system. The report also offers solutions needed to ensure asylum seekers don't end up on the streets and in churches again. Toronto's ombudsman had previously found that the city's decision to limit refugees' access to shelter beds for several months in 2023 was anti-Black racism. The city manager disagreed with that finding last year. At the time, Black-led groups were able to move more than 200 asylum seekers from the streets of downtown Toronto to shelters in indoor shelters, many of them churches. Refugees denied jobs, faced foreign credential bias: report The United Way study was done in partnership with the City of Toronto, and with the support of the Region of Peel and the Regional Municipality of York — areas that reported the most significant challenges. While a lack of housing and employment were the biggest issues, asylum seekers also struggled with language barriers and limited access to responsive legal support, the report found. Participants in the report shared their experiences of being unable to secure housing as refugees and getting denied jobs due to racism and foreign credential bias. "Until this topic comes to the table, and society itself comes to discuss it, nothing is going to be changed," a service provider said in the report. For the report's lead researcher, Jean de Dieu Basabose, the investigation resonated with his own experience of arriving in Canada from Rwanda in 2018. Basabose says he too struggled to find a stable job as a newcomer, but he luckily found housing through friends. For asylum seekers, he says "racism came as an extra layer of challenge." "This form of discrimination is deeply embedded in everyday life and institutions and it undermines the entire settlement process. And that makes it harder for African asylum seekers to find belonging and stability," he said. While many study participants called for government intervention going forward, Basabose says social services need to do more to address cultural sensitivity and provide trauma-informed services for includes 29 recommendations The report included 29 recommendations organized into three categories: programs and services, investments, and policy. Among them, a call for a centralized hub in the Greater Toronto Area to support African asylum seekers access reliable information and culturally-informed services. It also recommended anti-racism training and increased government funding to community organizations. Miller says Pilgrim Feast Tabernacles luckily had extra money to take people in in 2023, but the federal government should have taken more responsibility to support newcomers. "If you're going to bring people in, you also need to take the responsibility of making sure that you put something in place just in case they are going to say that they need asylum," she said. Some change already underway Debbie Douglas, the executive director of the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants, says Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has started a Canada-wide pilot project to support grassroots Black and racialized organizations through funding. "We have lots of work to do on the ground," said Douglas, "[The funding] shows that there is a recognition that over the decades … Black communities have basically been sidelined and have been left out of that funding stream." But Douglas says the eligibility criteria for IRCC funding is limited and doesn't include services for refugee claimants. IRCC spokesperson Julia Lafortune said in an emailed statement Tuesday that the federal government contributes to social services costs, but that managing and delivering those services comes down to provincial and municipal governments. "We recognize that when asylum seekers quickly get the services they need, they are better able to support themselves and ultimately, contribute to Canadian communities," she said, adding asylum claimants are eligible for federally-funded health-care coverage. Lafortune said the federal government has invested $1.5 billion since 2017 to support lower levels of government with housing needs for asylum claimants, of which $670 million went to the City of Toronto and $98 million went to the Region of Peel. The City of Toronto, meanwhile, says work is underway on a dedicated refugee shelter system that includes settlement support and culturally responsive services. In an emailed statement, the city said the initiative will include Toronto's first Black-led and Black-mandated shelter. "But the City cannot meet this challenge alone," the statement read. "The City continues to advocate for sustainable, long-term funding and a coordinated regional response from all orders of government to manage the growing demand for emergency shelter and ensure new arrivals are welcomed with dignity."
Hamilton Spectator
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
United Way report lays bare anti-Black barriers facing African asylum seekers in Peel and other Greater Toronto communities
In fallout from systemic anti-Black racism, African asylum seekers across the Greater Toronto Area are being shut out of rental housing, denied employment, and forced into overburdened shelters, according to a damning United Way report. The study reveals Black refugees in the GTA, including Peel Region, are disproportionately affected by discriminatory rental practices and a lack of culturally sensitive services. The qualitative study, led by United Way Greater Toronto and the Centre for Community-Based Research, interviewed 29 African asylum seekers and nine front-line service providers between June and December 2024. Participants were drawn from Peel, York Region and the city of Toronto. Across all locations, anti-Black racism emerged as the 'consistent thread' shaping every stage of settlement, from securing shelter beds to job interviews, the report says. Lack of affordable housing and employment access were identified as the two urgent barriers, regularly forcing claimants into overcrowded basements or extended stays in municipal shelters. 'So when it comes to the issues of accessing safe and stable housing — yes, this is a problem other asylum seekers face, but for (African asylum claimants) there is an extra layer of complication when it comes to the issue of racism,' said lead researcher Jean de Dieu Basabose. 'They have openly told us that some landlords are not willing to give them access to housing because of the colour of their skin.' Basabose, a Black Rwandan who came to Canada as an asylum seeker in 2018, said he was moved by the experience of speaking to the asylum claimants for the research study. It reawakened memories of his own journey — one he describes as marked by 'fear, uncertainty, hope and resilience.' As someone who experienced similar challenges to the asylum seekers they interviewed for the research, he said little has changed since he arrived in Canada. 'The same problems are still persisting. So that is something that really surprised me,' he said. Participants mentioned the racism often manifested overtly — one Peel asylum seeker reported being denied housing explicitly due to her refugee status — a rejection she attributed to racial bias. In another case — of unspecified location — a participant reported the feeling they were being exploited by landlords. One example was a renter who sublet a basement apartment to 16 African refugees at an exorbitant cost. 'So even what was accessible was not safe; many times people were taken advantage of,' said Adaoma Patterson, United Way Greater Toronto's director of community investment. The study notes these types of experiences are supported by reports from the Homeless Hub, which points out immigrants and refugees in Canada often face isolation, fear and anxiety — feelings amplified for racialized people who experience discrimination. This anti-Blackness was also noted by the service providers interviewed for the report. 'There are a wide range of challenges that (African asylum seekers) experience, but … most of it would be grounded in anti-Black racism,' said one provider quoted in the report. 'It's subtle. It's microscopic. But it's there … Outside of a Black service provider, (there's nobody) who has that insight … So, the major oppression that they face is because of their skin.' Though many asylum seekers arrive with significant qualifications, they often struggle to find employment due to a lack of Canadian experience and difficulties transferring their credentials, the report notes. Several interviewees also described overt discrimination while attempting to access employment. One participant, quoted in the study, recalled an interviewer who came right out and said 'that he cannot give any job to a Black (person) or to an African.' Research participants expressed a similar concern with front-line service providers who regularly interact with asylum seekers. 'I feel they should implement a mandatory anti-discrimination training for staff in shelters, health-care services, employment agencies,' said one asylum seeker. Beyond training, researchers found participants advocating for deeper structural changes. 'There is also a need for making the services more culturally appropriate … to the extent that some participants were recommending to establish a shelter that is led by Black people so that they may feel like they are well-supported throughout,' said Basabose. This sentiment was echoed by participants quoted in the report, who mentioned the waning effects of prolonged shelter usage. 'I think housing insecurity is a major gap in the asylum support system. Emergency shelters are overcrowded and affordable housing options are extremely limited. As a result, we sometimes spend long periods in temporary shelters that are not conducive to healing or developing a stable life,' noted one Peel-based asylum seeker in the study. 'We are also victims of discrimination in the housing market, which makes it difficult to obtain safe, stable housing, even if we are sometimes entitled to it,' they added. Peel Region has borne some of the starkest fallout from the crisis. A 2024 point-in-time count showed asylum seekers made up 37 per cent of everyone experiencing homelessness in the region , and 81 per cent of those claimants identified as Black African. Overall homelessness has climbed 223 per cent since 2021. Regional staff have since opened a 680-bed reception centre in Mississauga and hired outreach teams to deliver wraparound supports. Basabose noted some participants expressed appreciation to Peel Region. 'Because when we asked about what is working well, they indicated that in Peel, they recently increased the funding that goes into supporting the shelter system,' said Basabose. He added that service providers in Peel said they appreciated the system was generally easy to navigate. However, he said 'there is still room for improvement.' The United Way report outlines urgent reforms to address systemic barriers facing African asylum seekers, including increased funding for grassroots and larger community service organizations providing services to asylum seekers. It highlights the need for greater investment in Black-led and Black-serving organizations. It also urges Ottawa to expedite the asylum process. There are also demands for housing stabilization programs and a centralized information hub to prevent conflicting guidance across the GTA. Additionally, it advocates for mandatory anti-Black racism training for property owners and managers, prohibiting discrimination in housing access and ensuring strong prevention and enforcement mechanisms. Other measures include advocating for policy changes and legislative reforms to dismantle anti-Black racism, while promoting the effective implementation of Canada's Anti-Racism Strategy 2024-2028 . It calls for formal discrimination complaint systems and service evaluations — backed by federal and provincial governments — to ensure African asylum seekers can report mistreatment and shape service improvements. In the meantime, Patterson said United Way Greater Toronto is investing in a collaborative, Black-led initiative in Peel Region to address persistent gaps in services for African asylum seekers. The project, spearheaded by African Community Services alongside Roots Community Services and My Neighbourhood Services, will provide wraparound support, including housing assistance, legal aid, and trauma-informed counselling for up to 200 claimants. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
15-07-2025
- Politics
They came to Toronto for safety. Instead African asylum seekers faced racism, homelessness, says new report
The halls of Pilgrim Feast Tabernacles Church sit empty now, a stark contrast to 2023 when they were brimming with African asylum seekers who had nowhere else to go. Several cultural and faith-based community organizations banded together to house and support the influx of refugee asylum seekers coming into the city at the time — many of whom had been forced to sleep on the streets without adequate municipal support, unable to access the city's overflowing shelter system — says Nadine Miller, the church's executive director. We became a house. We became mother, father, medical doctor, the whole nine yards until we could get [the government] to step in, said Miller. [Asylum seekers] couldn't get in. They were stuck outside of the system. Two years later, a new study by United Way Greater Toronto has detailed systemic anti-Black racism faced by newcomers in the Greater Toronto Area in 2023 — most of whom were Black and from African countries — as well as failures within the government system. The report also offers solutions needed to ensure asylum seekers don't end up on the streets and in churches again. Nadine Miller, executive director of Pilgrim Feast Tabernacles Church, says they were one of the many cultural and faith-based organizations that stepped up to address the rise in African asylum seekers who were struggling to find adequate support in the GTA. Photo: CBC / Talia Ricci Toronto's ombudsman had previously found (new window) that the city's decision to limit refugees' access to shelter beds for several months in 2023 was anti-Black racism. The city manager disagreed with that finding last year. At the time, Black-led groups were able to move more than 200 asylum seekers (new window) from the streets of downtown Toronto to shelters in indoor shelters, many of them churches. Refugees denied jobs, faced foreign credential bias: report The United Way study was done in partnership with the City of Toronto, and with the support of the Region of Peel and the Regional Municipality of York — areas that reported the most significant challenges. While a lack of housing and employment were the biggest issues, asylum seekers also struggled with language barriers and limited access to responsive legal support, the report found. Participants in the report shared their experiences of being unable to secure housing as refugees and getting denied jobs due to racism and foreign credential bias. Until this topic comes to the table, and society itself comes to discuss it, nothing is going to be changed, a service provider said in the report. For the report's lead researcher, Jean de Dieu Basabose, the investigation resonated with his own experience of arriving in Canada from Rwanda in 2018. Basabose says he too struggled to find a stable job as a newcomer, but he luckily found housing through friends. For asylum seekers, he says racism came as an extra layer of challenge. This form of discrimination is deeply embedded in everyday life and institutions and it undermines the entire settlement process. And that makes it harder for African asylum seekers to find belonging and stability, he said. While many study participants called for government intervention going forward, Basabose says social services need to do more to address cultural sensitivity and provide trauma-informed services for refugees. WATCH | Toronto volunteers help asylum seekers find shelter in 2023: Début du widget Widget. Passer le widget ? Fin du widget Widget. Retourner au début du widget ? Report includes 29 recommendations The report included 29 recommendations organized into three categories: programs and services, investments, and policy. Among them, a call for a centralized hub in the Greater Toronto Area to support African asylum seekers access reliable information and culturally-informed services. It also recommended anti-racism training and increased government funding to community organizations. Miller says Pilgrim Feast Tabernacles luckily had extra money to take people in in 2023, but the federal government should have taken more responsibility to support newcomers. If you're going to bring people in, you also need to take the responsibility of making sure that you put something in place just in case they are going to say that they need asylum, she said. Some change already underway Debbie Douglas, the executive director of the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants, says Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has started a Canada-wide pilot project to support grassroots Black and racialized organizations through funding. We have lots of work to do on the ground, said Douglas, [The funding] shows that there is a recognition that over the decades … Black communities have basically been sidelined and have been left out of that funding stream. But Douglas says the eligibility criteria for IRCC funding is limited and doesn't include services for refugee claimants. Enlarge image (new window) Asylum seekers from Africa and other locales are photographed outside of a shelter intake office in Toronto in 2023, after a lack of shelter space forced some asylum seekers to sleep outside. Photo: Radio-Canada / Alex Lupul CBC News reached out to the IRCC for comment, but did not receive a response before deadline. The City of Toronto, meanwhile, says work is underway on a dedicated refugee shelter system that includes settlement support and culturally responsive services. In an emailed statement, the city said the initiative will include Toronto's first Black-led and Black-mandated shelter. But the City cannot meet this challenge alone, the statement read. The City continues to advocate for sustainable, long-term funding and a coordinated regional response from all orders of government to manage the growing demand for emergency shelter and ensure new arrivals are welcomed with dignity. Arrthy Thayaparan (new window) · CBC News Arrthy Thayaparan is a Toronto-based multimedia journalist. She's interested in health, climate and community stories. She has previously worked at Reuters and CBC Vancouver. You can contact her at With files from Kirthana Sasitharan and Talia Ricci
Cision Canada
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Cision Canada
United Way Report Urges Action as African Asylum Seekers Face Systemic Barriers Across GTA Français
TORONTO, July 15, 2025 /CNW/ - A new report from United Way Greater Toronto reveals that African asylum seekers continue to face profound barriers in their resettlement journey — from unaffordable housing and employment discrimination to systemic anti-Black racism and uneven access to basic supports. Understanding the Experiences of African Asylum Seekers was initiated in response to the 2023 refugee crisis, when hundreds of newly arrived asylum seekers — many from African countries — were forced to sleep on the streets as the shelter system buckled under pressure. Developed in partnership with the City of Toronto, and with support from the Region of Peel, York Region, and an advisory committee of community leaders, the report draws on interviews with 29 African asylum seekers and nine service providers, offering an unfiltered look at the challenges people face — and the steps we need to take to fix them. "Collaboration is key to tackling the challenges this crisis has exposed. From the frontline to all levels of government, hand in hand with those affected, we need to be working together," said Nation Cheong, Vice President of Community Impact and Mobilization at United Way Greater Toronto. "This research — shaped by the lived experiences of asylum seekers — is helping us build a coordinated strategy to improve support systems and prevent future crises." The findings are impossible to ignore: Housing is out of reach. Many asylum seekers struggle to find safe, stable shelter, often facing discrimination or overcrowded conditions. Employment pathways are blocked. Foreign credential bias, racism, and restrictions on training access make it difficult to secure work. One participant recounted being told directly by an interviewer that they would not hire a Black person or an African. The system is fragmented. People encounter inconsistent information, limited legal aid, and a lack of culturally appropriate services — especially for Black asylum seekers. Relocation doesn't solve the problem. One participant, a 2SLGBTQ+ asylum seeker and mother of three, described moving from Toronto to Cornwall in search of affordable housing, only to face an abrupt shelter closure, a lack of support from the government, and isolation from cultural communities. She eventually returned to Peel. Similar stories emerged from others who relocated to regions like Niagara, only to face racism, legal hurdles, and limited employment, forcing many to return to the GTA. Racism is a throughline. Anti-Black racism shows up at every turn: in housing, health care, employment, and service delivery. However, the report also highlights what is working and where change is possible. It highlights promising practices like wraparound support from Black-led and faith-based organizations, trauma-informed programming, hiring staff with lived experience, and better digital access. To help guide next steps, the report outlines three key areas for action: Strengthen programs and services through centralized resource hubs, peer mentorship, and culturally responsive care. Invest in frontline organizations — especially Black-led agencies — to meet urgent needs and build long-term stability. Advance policy change to fast-track asylum claims, address systemic racism, and remove barriers to employment — including systemic bias against foreign credentials. The report also calls for the creation of accountability mechanisms such as formal complaint procedures and evaluations, giving asylum seekers a way to report discrimination or service failure and drive improvement. The report further emphasizes the need for increased advocacy to confront anti-Black racism and push for durable policy reform — ensuring that what happened in 2023 is not repeated. United Way Greater Toronto is acting on these recommendations with an initial $400,000+ investment in two community-led initiatives: one by CAFCAN Social Services and one by African Community Services of Peel. Together, these projects will support 200 African asylum seekers — helping at least 50 secure stable housing — while improving access to employment and culturally relevant care. Read the full report here. About United Way Greater Toronto: As the largest non-government funder of community services in the GTA, United Way Greater Toronto reinforces a crucial community safety net to support people living in poverty. United Way's network of agencies and initiatives in neighbourhoods across Peel, Toronto and York Region works to ensure that everyone has access to the programs and services they need to thrive. Mobilizing community support, United Way's work is rooted in ground-breaking research, strategic leadership, local advocacy and cross-sectoral partnerships committed to building a more equitable region and lasting solutions to the GTA's greatest challenges.
CBC
15-07-2025
- Politics
- CBC
They came to Toronto for safety. Instead African asylum seekers faced racism, homelessness, says new report
The halls of Pilgrim Feast Tabernacles Church sit empty now, a stark contrast to 2023 when they were brimming with African asylum seekers who had nowhere else to go. Several cultural and faith-based community organizations "banded together" to house and support the influx of refugee asylum seekers coming into the city at the time — many of whom had been forced to sleep on the streets without adequate municipal support, unable to access the city's overflowing shelter system — says Nadine Miller, the church's executive director. "We became a house. We became mother, father, medical doctor, the whole nine yards until we could get [the government] to step in," said Miller. "[Asylum seekers] couldn't get in. They were stuck outside of the system." Two years later, a new study by United Way Greater Toronto has detailed systemic anti-Black racism faced by newcomers in the Greater Toronto Area in 2023 — most of whom were Black and from African countries — as well as failures within the government system. The report also offers solutions needed to ensure asylum seekers don't end up on the streets and in churches again. Toronto's ombudsman had previously found that the city's decision to limit refugees' access to shelter beds for several months in 2023 was anti-Black racism. The city manager disagreed with that finding last year. At the time, Black-led groups were able to move more than 200 asylum seekers from the streets of downtown Toronto to shelters in indoor shelters, many of them churches. Refugees denied jobs, faced foreign credential bias: report The United Way study was done in partnership with the City of Toronto, Region of Peel and the Regional Municipality of York — areas that reported the most significant challenges. While a lack of housing and employment were the biggest issues, asylum seekers also struggled with language barriers and limited access to responsive legal support, the report found. Participants in the report shared their experiences of being unable to secure housing as refugees and getting denied jobs due to racism and foreign credential bias. "Until this topic comes to the table, and society itself comes to discuss it, nothing is going to be changed," a service provider said in the report. For the report's lead researcher, Jean de Dieu Basabose, the investigation resonated with his own experience of arriving in Canada from Rwanda in 2018. Basabose says he too struggled to find a stable job as a newcomer, but he luckily found housing through friends. For asylum seekers, he says "racism came as an extra layer of challenge." "This form of discrimination is deeply embedded in everyday life and institutions and it undermines the entire settlement process. And that makes it harder for African asylum seekers to find belonging and stability," he said. While many study participants called for government intervention going forward, Basabose says social services need to do more to address cultural sensitivity and provide trauma-informed services for refugees. WATCH | Toronto volunteers help asylum seekers find shelter in 2023 Toronto volunteers find shelter for asylum seekers forced to camp on sidewalk 2 years ago Duration 3:34 Volunteer groups in Toronto stepped in to find shelters for dozens of asylum seekers who were forced to camp on a sidewalk because of a dispute between the city, the province of Ontario and the federal government over who would pay to house them. The city said it could no longer cope with the high number of claimants hoping to access a bed. Report includes 29 recommendations The report included 29 recommendations organized into three categories: programs and services, investments, and policy. Among them, a call for a centralized hub in the Greater Toronto Area to support African asylum seekers access reliable information and culturally-informed services. It also recommended anti-racism training and increased government funding to community organizations. Miller says Pilgrim Feast Tabernacles luckily had extra money to take people in in 2023, but the federal government should have taken more responsibility to support newcomers. "If you're going to bring people in, you also need to take the responsibility of making sure that you put something in place just in case they are going to say that they need asylum," she said. Some change already underway Debbie Douglas, the executive director of the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants, says Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has started a Canada-wide pilot project to support grassroots Black and racialized organizations through funding. "We have lots of work to do on the ground," said Douglas, "[The funding] shows that there is a recognition that over the decades … Black communities have basically been sidelined and have been left out of that funding stream." But Douglas says the eligibility criteria for IRCC funding is limited and doesn't include services for refugee claimants. CBC News reached out to the IRCC for comment, but did not receive a response before deadline. The City of Toronto, meanwhile, says work is underway on a dedicated refugee shelter system that includes settlement support and culturally responsive services. In an emailed statement, the city said the initiative will include Toronto's first Black-led and Black-mandated shelter. "But the City cannot meet this challenge alone," the statement read. "The City continues to advocate for sustainable, long-term funding and a coordinated regional response from all orders of government to manage the growing demand for emergency shelter and ensure new arrivals are welcomed with dignity."
