Refugee crisis in Windsor causes agency to expand

Matthew House Windsor is opening a second location at 1771 Chappell Avenue to help refugees.

“In this facility we’ll have an additional 11 bedrooms for refugee claimants,” said executive director, Mike Morency at a news conference Wednesday.

The building used to be the House of Sophrosyne, a residential treatment agency for women and children.

The charity sold the building to a private owner and now Matthew House is leasing is from them.

“We're not just a shelter. We really try to provide (a) home where vulnerable men, women and children can arrive and heal. And as they heal, then they can very quickly become self sufficient contributing members of our community,” said Morency.

The second location will allow them to help between 30 and 35 refugees at any give time and the average length of stay is around 45 days, according to Morency.

Matthew House Windsor in Windsor, Ont., on Wednesday, April 12, 2023. (Michelle Maluske/CTV News Windsor)

In the last four years, Matthew House has helped 732 people settle in Windsor at their flagship location in Forest Glade.

“There are thousands of people coming into Canada all the time and they're looking for some place safe. They're coming from torn places and broken down families and all kinds of things,” said, Larry Graham, chair of the Matthew House Board of Directors. “What a beautiful opportunity for us to increase what we're doing.”

Morency said they hope to open the new location on June 1, 2023, but will need the help of donors to come up with the $150,000 needed to make it a reality.

“So we have actually launched where we are calling our ‘100 Welcomes Campaign,’” said Morency. “With the support of community donors and businesses and community organizations, we are going to be able to welcome and support at least 100 refugee claimants per year through this facility.”

Morency said they already have a corporate donor lined up to match donations “dollar for dollar up to $50,000” for any contributions made between now and June.

The new location is in response to the “unprecedented” increase in the number of refugee claimants coming into Canada, although Morency said the people they help do not currently receive any government support.

“They're (refugee claimants) walking in with nothing,” said Susan Jackson, financial treasury for Matthew House, who lived there when she left Zimbabwe in 2009.

“We've got so many misconceptions out there about refugee claimants and I am here as one of them and I will say that they are one of the most hard-working people that you could ever come across,” said Jackson. “Because they have lost everything and they are looking to start building something.”