About four months after Syrian refugees starting arriving in Waterloo Region in big numbers, resettlement workers say they’ve found permanent homes for all 1,200 of them.
While waiting for permanent homes, refugee families had been staying in temporary accommodations around the region – including many at the Howard Johnson hotel in Kitchener.
“Tomorrow, the last family in the hotel will be moving to their home,” Carl Cadogan, the executive director of Reception House, said Tuesday.
Cadogan was speaking to CTV Kitchener at the Manulife headquarters in Waterloo, following an announcement of $175,000 in funding to ensure better access to affordable housing in the future.
The money came from a partnership between Manulife, CN, General Motors and the Community Foundations of Canada.
“The funds will be primarily directed at ensuring that our refugees from Syria have access to decent, affordable, suitable housing,” said Community Foundations of Canada chief operating officer Andrew Chunilall.
While housing is a major step in the resettlement process, officials will continue to work with refugees once they have homes, helping them enter the workforce and the education system.
Also on hand was Arif Virani, a Toronto MP and the parliamentary secretary to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister John McCallum.
Virani, who arrived in Canada as a refugee in 1972, credited Waterloo Region for taking in 1,200 Syrian refugees in just a few months.
“That’s a testament to this region and its capacity and its willingness to participate in this project and welcome newcomers,” he said.
Of the 1,200 Syrian refugees in Waterloo Region, approximately 1,050 arrived through the government-sponsored refugee program.
The remaining 150 were sponsored by private citizens and organizations.
Another 500 Syrian refugees are expected to arrive locally by the end of the year, Cadogan said.
