Kitchener-Waterloo and Area Refugee Resettlement Guide

Created by David HarderRefugee Resettlement Coordinator

Waterloo-Kitchener United Mennonite ChurchDecember 5, 2015

Introduction

I created this guide while employed as Waterloo-Kitchener United Mennonite Church (WK) refugee coordinator. This guide based on my experience helping an Iraqi family of five settle in Kitchener. The church made the decision in January of 2015 to sponsor a refugee family. By the beginning of August WK were matched with a family and were notified by MCC that the family would arrive in six weeks time. September 16 was the date of arrival. Since August I have kept log/journal/diary of sorts to track the steps I took, the people he talked to etc so that if WK decided to sponsor another refugee family, that there would be road map. Since that time, the refugee crisis has swelled and my experience is now valuable to numerous congregations and community groups who are ready to sponsor, but do not feel ready.

This guide is not a manual. It is not the kind of document you would use make an Ikea desk. Think of it more of looking at another desk and trying to building your based on what the other one looks like. You can change of few of the dimension, how many drawers there are, but you should probably make sure both your desk has at least four legs like the other desk. The guide It does not have all the answers. The phone numbers and addresses may have changed. It is however a way for congregations to save a vast amount of time and energy researching what needs to be done. The guide is meant to be crutch. I do not pretend to know everything, and there are plenty of people more qualified than me out there. But if I was able to figure it out, other congregations and groups should certainly be able to do it with the help of this guide, in addition to the other great resources and people out there. Do not this guide exclusively. This is just my experience working for a local church figuring it out along the way.

Do not be afraid of being imperfect sponsors as well. I sense that some groups are worried that they don’t have 100% of the resources that they think they need, so they don’t want to sponsor a family because it would be unfair to the refugees not to have the perfect situation when they arrive in Canada. This isn’t like a family deciding if they will buy a dog or not. “Well if we buy a dog, we won’t be around to walk it everyday, or play with him in the park, so…. Because we don’t have time that a dog deserves, we aren’t going to buy one”. This logic works for animals, but we are dealing with human beings who want nothing more than to come to a country that we all too often take for granted. Canadian sponsor groups just need to try their best. These refugees have been waiting for years in another country, after leaving their own country because it was too dangerous. Just being in Canada is going to be a huge relief for them. Every Canadian group just needs to do their best, have lots of love, earn the trust of the refugee family and everything else will fall into place. We would all want the same if the roles were reversed.

Prior to Notice of Arrival

Search for several apartments around the region. These locations should be central to essential services, shopping centres, transportation hubs etc. The Belmont and Highland area of Kitchener, for whatever reason, has turned into somewhat of a Muslim quarter. As much as its important for the refugee family to integrate themselves, especially from a language perspective, it is certainly comforting to them people who have similar experiences are living close by. This area has Food Basics, a Halal market, a bank, a pharmacy, a hospital and an elementary school all within walking distance.

It may be difficult to do, but try and start a working relationship with the settlement services community like MCC, YMCA, Welcome Centre etc. Introduce yourself, let them know what you have done so far, and ask questions. Do not be afraid to ask questions.

Find an interpreter who speaks the language of the refugee family. The Multicultural Centre and YMCA should be able to help you out. You won’t need an interpreter all the time, but you need them for the serious conversations.

Read BVOR profiles and try to make contact with the family prior to arrival

Make contact with the family prior to arrival. This a great sense of relief for the family to know someone is actually going to accept them when they arrive

Try to find as much about the family as you can (drivers license, work experience, health issues, dietary restrictions, interests)

Read MCC Refugee Manual and the Government of Canada’s BVOR manual

Establish a very basic email correspondence with the family if you can. Most will have a cell phone and probably have Viber or WhatsApp.

Read and understand Canada’s Child Tax Benefit

Have a conversation with the church council about what the church will and will not pay for. WK United Mennonite Church paid for the full years rent, wifi, cell phones and hydro.

Sort out if you are going to pay someone work as the family’s refugee coordinator or how you are going to divide up responsibilities. You will need to check in which each other every Sunday to make sure you are all the same page.

After Notice of Arrival

Get an apartment as soon as possible. Getting an address is really important. Especially for the airport pickup. The MCC manual suggests that you find temporary housing for them for two weeks or so, then collaboratively find an apartment they like. Do not do this. Get an apartment. Its only a year. The family will be happy with just being here. With everything else going on, finding an apartment and moving will be overwhelming for everybody. Get an apartment as soon as you get a notice of arrival.

Once apartment has been secured meet with the landlord and establish a working relationship with them and explain issues that may come up with refugees living there. Its always better to set expectations before hand.

Once an address has been established email MCC to find a way to get this address to the family ahead of time. They will need this information at the airport. CBSA will ask them where they are going to stay. Or if you were able to make contact yourself beforehand that works too. MCC will probably want to know anyways though.

Get Tenant Insurance from Max Canada. Its about $266.76 for a year. You will need names and birthdays of the parents for this application. Tenant insurance is very important to have and will greatly reduce the risk for everybody involved.

Organize a group of 10 or so people to clean the apartment. Freshen the place up. Look for things that need to be fixed. Let the landlord know what needs to be changed.

Put together a list for the congregation to donate items. Try to avoid doubles if you can. If it does happen donate the extras to the Thrift Store or Salvation Army. Encourage your congregation to not buy new things. Gently used is fine. WK United Mennonite’s list is attached.

Get in contact with St Louis Adult Leaning Centre to arrange an intake meeting at 800 King Street West (519-579-9622). Its actually run through the YMCA though.

Get in contact with the Welcome Centre at the WRDSB to set up how children will be enrolled in school. Elementary kids just go right to the school. Set a meeting up with the ESL teacher there.

They will likely need the following things to be enrolled (immunization records, proof of address (lease), proof of age, and Permanent Residency Documentation. If there are any problems contact the Education Centre.

Teenagers that are of Secondary School age will be placed in ESL programs at WCI, ECI or FHSS.

Get in contact with school administration and get a dialogue going.

Call around to multiple internet service providers. The family will likely stream shows from back home and will use WIFI on their phones to call all their family members back home.

Line up an interpreter for as many of these events as possible

Expect an email from CIC confirming flight information.

Find the bank that is reasonably close to their residence. And then a bank somewhere in town which has a banker that speaks the same language. They can do the paperwork and administration at any bank in town with this language asset and then just use their local bank for banking.

It is not completely necessary to have an interpreter for setting up the bank accounts. It takes around an hour to do all the paper work. They will need a proof of lease, proof of permanent residency, passports and if possible their previous address.

Open up a chequing account, with a debit card for mom and dad. Also get a credit card so they can start accumulating a good credit rating.

Call the bank well ahead of time to set up an appointment. Go over with the family prior what initials are, signatures and writing their names in English. They will need to use this to sign all sorts of documents.

Go to Wind Mobile and get an idea of what some good plans are. Usually go with two cell phones. One for their home and one cell phone for the person who leaves home.

Grocery shop for the family a day or two before the arrival. Try to get food their will be familiar with. Ask you interpreter to make a list of things to get. You will probably have to shop at an international foods store and food basics

Call Malton Neighbourhood Services (905-672-3660) . They are very helpful to the airport procedures.

Day of Arrival

Pick up your interpreter.

Make a welcome sign with the family name on it.

Bring a few bottles of water and a few snacks for them on the way home. It is likely the family did not eat the airplane food.

You may need to arrange two cars to pick everyone up and luggage. (Be aware of male, female sensitivities with drivers and passengers.)

Be cautious of pictures and videos during the airport and what is posted online given security concerns.

Be prepared for the family to be in processing for two hours after the flight lands.

There is Wifi at the airport. If a problem arises on the other side of customs the family should be able to contact you through email, Viber or Whatsapp etc?

Ask church treasurer to cut a cheque for the family for a $1000. This will keep the family going until their federal assistance cheque comes in.

When they finally arrive at home, quickly give them a tour (especially what to do about the fire alarm) and then get out. The family is probably tired and want to go bed.

Offer to bring them to a local McDonalds or Tim Hortons etc. There is free wifi there and likely the family will want to send word back home that they have arrived safely.

Make several photo copies of all important documents.

Day after arrival

Confirm the arrival of the family with CIC so that they can email the IFH certificate. The Federal assistance cheque will then be mailed. Once the cheque arrives you will have a meeting at CIC with the whole family, the sponsor and an interpreter that you must provide.

Once the confirmation of arrival has been made their Federal assistance cheque will then be processed. Expect it to take about 3 weeks to arrive. The federal financial assistance only lasts six months.

Make photocopies of al the important documents. Especially the permanent residence papers. Scan all documents as well.

Bring one of the family members to Wind Mobile to get them a cell phone. Make sure you get them a cell phone that can have a keyboard of their language downloaded onto the phone if its not on their already.

If it has not already been set up with the church, pay the first month of the plan and have the church reimburse you. The family probably will not have money with them. Once the Federal money comes in you can switch the payment over to the family.

Give the family $200 in spending money.

You and the family will surely have plenty of questions for each other over the next few weeks and months, but won’t always have an interpreter around. If you the language barrier cannot be broken, simply save the questions for when you have an interpreter present.

Pick a day for the family, church council, an interpreter to meet and a serious meeting about expectations of support and expectations of gradual independence. This meeting is to clear the air.

Within the first six weeks or so.

CIC - Email a scanned copy or hand deliver copies of Confirmation of Permanent Residence (COPR) forms and a copy of their single journey travel document (separate document) or visa (in passport). Email this to their CIC worker.

Elementary School – Within the first week of arrival, bring all of the elementary school age children to their school. They will most likely meet with their ESL teacher and go through school paper work and procedures. The school board will likely book an interpreter for this meeting. Make sure you go over how to get to school, (walking routes, bus procedures etc) with the family prior to their first day at school. As well, make sure the school knows who you are and what organization you belong too.

Signatures - Before doing any important documentation. Be sure to the family knows the difference between printing their name in English, their initials in English and their signature. They probably have a signature they used back home. They can use that for ‘signature’ on government documents. Getting them to practice printing their name and initials in English is helpful for the onslaught of documentation they will have over the next month.

WRDSB Welcome Centre - Bring secondary school aged kids to WRDSB’s Welcome Centre for be registered and have an ESL assessment completed. (325 Louisa St, Kitchener, ON N2H 5K9) (519.576.3018)

(http://www.wrdsb.ca/learning/how-to-register/international-student-registration/welcome-centre-for-newcomers-2/)

Bring adults to St. Louis Adult Learning Centre (800 King Street West, 3rd Floor) to have their ESL assessment done. (519.745.1201). You should try to get them into the LINC program. It is a smaller class size. The (http://stlouis.wcdsb.ca/programs/linc.html)

Banking. Bring adults to the bank to open their accounts. Just to be safe, bring all the documentation they do have to this appointment. Be prepared for this appointment to take a long time.

SIN Numbers. Go into the downtown Kitchener mall. Its at Benton and King. The one with the big green glass windows. Inside on the main floor is Service Canada. This is where you apply for the SIN. Make sure sure you bring any and all papers along for this; especially make sure they have the original PR document and passports for photo ID. It is not completely necessary to have an interpreter for this. They can call their government office in Ottawa and get a translator on the line. They will need to be able to spell words in English (their own name and that of their parents.) Expect a decent wait while you are there. It is important to have the SIN number in place for the meeting with Immigration Canada. You should also let the bank know what the SIN number is as well.

The lease: Set up the lease so that the family is the occupant and the tenant. It is much easier for insurance purposes that way.

Canada’s Child Tax Benefit. Not at huge rush on this. Families usually have to wait around three or four months before they are issued their first cheque anyways. (http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pub/tg/t4114/README.html)

Touch base with YMCA immigration services to set up a meeting. They usually will be available during the meetings with ESL teachers at the elementary and high schools. (http://www.ymcacambridgekw.ca/en/immigrant-services/Immigrant-Services.asp).

Healthcare – Go with Sanctuary (226-336-1321) (sanctuaryrefugee@gmail.com) . It is a family practice that specializes with Refugees. It is run by Dr. Michael C. Stephenson. They will want you to call Healthcare Connect (1-800-445-1822). They will ask more specific questions about past medical history and other administrative things. You will need to have their health cards available for this.

Healthcare Connect - will not ask the questions until the family are signed up for OHIP

St Louis Adult Learning Centre – St. Francis Campus has classes from 8:45am – 11:45am and then again from 12:30pm – 3:00pm. The office hours are from 8:30am – 12:30pm. 519 -745-1201

St Louis Adult Learning. There are two programs they offer. The first is LINQ and second is ESL. LINQ is preferable because they are very small class. Thye like for people to start their classes on Mondays. They will need to bring their language aptitude assessments from the YMCA and will need to bring their PR papers with them.

High School – Depending on the English skills, new students will likely go to Eastwood Collegiate Institute. It is the Uber ESL progam. Make sure you Welcome Centre books a time for you and the students to meet at Eastwood. Likely they will just meet their guidance counselor, get a locker and meet some of their teachers.

School Buses and GRT – They will likely given a student GRT passes. They will have to bring their student timetables to the Charles Street Terminal. Their picture is taken there and they are issued passes right away.

CIC Meeting at Duke Street – CIC will want a copy of the PR document as soon as possible. Do not bother filling out any information forms to apply for PR cards. They automatically begin processing their PR once they get the document. The PR cards arrive in the mail about 2 months after their arrival. Once the income assistance cheque arrives their Federal worker will want to set up a meeting at Duke Street. At this meeting you will need to arrange an interpreter. You will also need SIN numbers, direct deposit forms, and proof of address. The PR document and passports would probably be a good idea as well. The meeting lasts about 45 minutes. At the end of this meeting the family will receive their first cheque. If there is a child that is 18 or older they will receive their own funding. Its probably a good idea to deposit those cheques right away as getting another copy from the Federal Government takes forever.

OHIP – Go to the Service Ontario on Duke Street. It is on the second of the RBC building. There are forms you can print off ahead of time to fill out. You will also need to bring passports for photo ID, the original of the PR document and something that their names are on that they can sign that proves where they are from. For the parents that will probably be the lease. If there are older students that are adults, like Riyadh than the school can print off a form called, proof of enrollment letter. Other younger students like Salah or Nada do not need come along to Service Ontario. Their parents can sign for them. They will also need their IFM documents. You can probably

Sanctuary Refugee Health Centre – (687 King Street West, 226-336-1321) (http://www.sanctuaryrefugee.ca/)

This is a good clinic to go to for the simple fact that they know about IFH coverage. A lot of other places do not understand it and will only accept OHIP. Dr. Mike Stevenson is the main doctor. There is another doctor Paul Jones. The Nurse practioner is Wendy Lebold. The clinic does recommend that patients still work towards get OHIP right away. Especially if any tests need to done, a lot of labs will not recognize IFH.

IFH v. OHIP – The problem with IFH is a lot clinics and other healthcare establishments do not trust it. The IFM has many inconsistencies and are notorious for declining claims and not paying things. Or if sometime was covered by IFH one week, it wouldn’t be the next. Healthcare providers do not trust IFH because they are not confident they will be reimbursed by the Feds. They trust OHIP far more.

IFH and Dental – although IFH says it covers dental, it is only emergency dental. Check-ups, cleanings and such are not covered. Only emergency dental, or things where there is significant pain is covered. Until the family is able to get private health insurance for dental they are going to have to pay out of pocket for basic dental health.

Service Ontario for OHIP – You need proof of residency (lease and proof of enrollment forms for school) – PR documentation – and passports. It helps if you fill out the forms ahead of time. If you can do not show up over lunch time. Make sure the family knows the difference between signatures and printing their names. They health card needs the signature written within the designated box. It would be helpful to go to the service Ontario building ahead of time to make collect the most up to date documents, then fill out the documents, then bring the whole family over.

Urgent Care Clinic – After their appointment at Sanctuary it is very likely one of more of the family members will have to go for tests, x-rays and/or ultrasounds. The recommended place for this is the Urgent Care Clinic on Westmount and Victoria (751 Victoria Street South). 519.742.2636 - The walk-in clinic is on the main floor, but the True North Imaging is in the basement. X-ray usually don’t take that long to book, but Ultrasounds take longer to book. You need to bring the recommendation from the doctor to book the appointment. You should arrive 15 minutes prior to the appointment with the original IFH documentation.

The Pharma Shoppe – After the appointment at Sanctuary you are more than likely to have to visit a pharmacy. A good one to go to is the Pharma Shoppe at David and Joseph in Kitchener, across from the Charles Street Terminal (25 Joseph Street, 519.342.3315) It is located inside the Centre for Family Medicine which is the old Victoria Public School. You actually enter the building from David Street. The workers there at used to working with refugees and are well aware of how IFH works. Make sure you bring your prescriptions and IFH

documentation. Some things are not covered. For instance heart medication is, but Voltaren is not. Bring money with. There is a parking lot across the street and is gated. Make sure you ask the pharmacist for a parking token to leave the parking lot free of charge.

Salvation Army Share the Warmth Program – (300 Gage Street in Kitchener - 519-745-4215) Bring the family here to pick out winter stuff. Each person can pick one winter jacket, one spring jacket, one pair of boots, one pair mits etc. Adults cannot pick for adults, but parents can pick for their kids. The workers at the Salvation army make note of who came to pick items and what they took. The family will need to bring some sort of photo ID with them. Double check, but I am pretty sure the hours are 10:00am to 3:00pm. Before you go in, make sure the family understands that it can get really really cold, and they should get coats that are warm as oppose to what is stylish. They should get snow pants as too!!

Grand River Transit – In order to get a bus pass for high school students, they will need to get a letter from their school saying that need require busing. They will also need to bring a copy of their time table and a piece of photo ID if they have one. They will then need to be brought to the Charles Street terminal. On the second floor of the building is the information kiosk. There the students will have their information processed and their picture taken. Their bus pass should be ready within 10 minutes. It costs around $10 or so.

‘The Talk” – It is very important to have a serious talk with family that lays out the expectations for what they can anticipate receiving for support. Book a translator for this meeting as it is very important this content be crystal clear. Be sure you and your refugee committee and church executive are on the same page as to what you are willing to give to the family. What ever you tell them in this meeting, you better be prepared to deliver on that promise. (ie. One year of financial support, covering the costs of their rent, cell phone bill, etc.)

This is a preliminary list of items that should be in the apartment prior to the family’s arrival. The list was based on what was already left in the apartment. You may need to add or subtracts items.

Kitchen Hardware

Item Name Email or Phone Number

Microwave

Knife Set

Cutting Board

Cutlery

Mixing bowl

Measuring cup

Measuring spoons

Mixing spoon

Whisk

Vegetable peeler

4 litre stove top pot

2 litre stove top pot

Large frying pan (12 inch)

Small frying pan (6 inch)

10 mugs

Kitchen garbage container (step on to open kind and garbage bags to fit)Mixed variety of plastic containers (Ziploc, Rubbermaid etc)

Food

Item Name Email or Phone Number

Flour

Brown sugar

White sugar

Olive Oil

Case of Coca Cola

Variety of Spices

School Supplies

Item Name Email or Phone Number

1 Backpack for six year-old girl

1 Backpack for fourteen year-old boys

Pencils

Erasers

Pens

2 pencil cases

Notebooks

Binders (with dividers)

Lined Paper

Scientific Calculator

Ruler

Pencil Crayons

Bedrooms

Item Name Email or Phone Number

2 double beds 1.

2.

1 single bed

Linens for beds 1. Double Bed

2. Double Bed

3. Single

Four comforters

Dressers 1.

Five pillows (include pillow cases)

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Washroom

Item Name Email or Phone Number

Five tooth brushes

Multiple tubes of toothpaste

Dental floss

Bars of soap

Big container of shampoo

Big container of conditioner

10 bathing towels

10 facecloths

Garbage container

Living room

Item Name Email or Phone Number

TV

DVD player

Coffee Table

Cleaning Supplies

Item Name Email or Phone Number

Dish soap

Dish towels

Dish cloths

Dish Rack

Laundry detergent

Fabric softener

Laundry drying rack

Odds and Ends

Item Name Email or Phone Number

Small tool kit (screw drivers, hammer, measuring tape, pliers etc)

Computer, Laptops, iPads.

Wireless Router

Cell Phone (s)

Bicycles – 2 for teen aged boys. 1 for 6 year-old girl. (included bike locks and helmets if you can.