Waterloo Region is already seeing its highest level of Syrian refugees in a long, long time – and the federal government’s plan to bring tens of thousands more to Canada has local organizations stepping up their actions.

Mennonite Central Committee executive director Rick Cober Bauman says the region is already seeing its biggest influx of refugees since the Vietnam War.

He’s also quick to credit the community for offering up goods, services and cash to help the new arrivals settle in.

“People are willing to say ‘We want to be part of this,’” he said in an interview.

Apparently it isn’t just people who want to be part of the effort.

Organizations like Wilfrid Laurier University are getting into the game too.

The school has partnered with MCC to bring two families to Waterloo Region, and one more to Brantford.

“People felt that this was the right thing to do,” said Rob Donelson, the school’s vice-president of development and alumni relations.

More than 75 people have already offered to help the Laurier-sponsored families. Many of those people, Donelson said, were once refugees themselves.

“They want to give back, because they benefitted from people doing similar things when they first arrived in Canada,” he said.

It’s expected that all three families will be in Canada by the end of December.

Money to support them has been coming in at a steady pace.

Donelson said the biggest challenge will be finding housing for the families that meets their needs.

“It has to be the type of housing that’s close to shopping and schools and transportation,” he said.

In Kitchener, Reception House is often the first stop for refugees.

While that organization typically houses refugees for up to two weeks, program manager Lynne Griffiths-Fulton says the expected increase in volumes is well beyond what they’re able to handle.

“We don’t know specifically the number that will be targeted to come to KW, but we know that it will be a lot more than we’ve ever had arrive at any one time,” she said in an interview.

“That is going to push us all in the community to become more responsive to refugee needs.”

The cost of settling a family of four refugees in Canada for one year is estimated at $27,000.