The number of asylum seekers in Manitoba is increasing, which has increased the demand for services to help them and has given Winnipeg an already strainedThe asylum system brings pressure
According to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, in January of this year alone, Manitoba had it185 asylum seekersProcessed compared to just 35 in January 2023.
Emily Halldorson, a humanitarian response specialist at the Manitoba Association of Newcomer Services, said because these people didn'tEligible for Employment and Income Assistance, many have been relying on homeless shelters.
She said they needed it while they waited for their claims to be processedLegal support and accommodation
"They do need to live in some form of temporary accommodation, which is dealt with by the shelter system," she said. ”
Halldorson said Manso recently submitted a report to the province outlining some possible ideas for managing the influx of asylum seekers, including:Establish shelters or some type of temporary shelter specifically for these people
Last fall, the Winnipeg Salvation Army said it would be in the Hope Centre facility due to increased demand60 additional bedstoAccommodating refugee claimants
Executive Director Mark Stewart said they have been working with the Manitoba Association of Newcomer Services Organizations to support these refugee claimants, but said they must also meet the needs of other clients.
The challenge we faced was that now we have more than 400 people a day in our building, so right nowEverything is quite tense," he said.
We didn't stop our regular services just to work with refugees, so we still serve people who live in our communities who also experience emergency shelter needs. ”
Stewart said the shelter wants to add another 80 beds to meet demand.
Provincial Minister of Housing, Addiction and Homelessness Bernadette Smith said in a statement to CBC News Monday evening that the province is "committed to finding housing solutions for all Manitobans, including those who have just arrived."
Smith said the province became a Salvation Army Hope Center in OctoberFunding was provided for the addition of 60 beds
We will continue to work with resettlement agencies to provide safe transitional and permanent housing. ”
Paul Kambaja, a teacher from Congo and an advocate for newcomers and refugees in the city, said he recently met with some asylum seekers who have been living in The Salvation Army.
He said they told him that they were mostly only able to wait for their claims to be processedFend for yourself
Kambaja said he feared that the shelter in the city centre might not be the best place for these refugees who were not familiar with the city, but unfortunately, they wereThere is nowhere to go
For these newcomers, they don't even speak the language, tooDon't understand the culture of the city, I think thisNot the right place for them, because we're preparing them to do something bad to happen. ”
Elodie Furaha, the resettlement coordinator at the Ministry of Hospitality and Refugees, said these people are usually offered placements through non-profit organizations that specialize in newcomers, but more recentlyIt's full everywhere。The Ministry is responsible for sponsoring refugees to come to Canada.
Furaha says that makes themIt's hard to start a new life in Canada
You can't even go to (English) class when you don't have a place to sleep or sleep," she said.
Furaha said,She hopes that the province and the federal** will find new ways to support these asylum seekers
We really don't know the solution, but we have to come up with it. ”