Manitoba Interfaith Immigration Council and Manitoba Research Alliance

Government Assisted Refugees: The Manitoba Interfaith Immigration Council , the organization with whom we have partnered for our ongoing Manitoba Research Alliance funded-research into refugee housing outcomes, has been actively calling for innovative housing solutions for their clientele, according to Rabble. This year, their sentiments were echoed by refugee-serving community-based organizations at the Canadian Council for Refugees Spring Consultation 2015, held in Winnipeg May 21-23. Stagnant shelter allowances for the Government Assisted Refugees eligible to receive them, a federal retreat from social housing provision, and skyrocketing housing costs in numerous Canadian cities since the early 1990s, have all contributed to this. As a result, refugee housing experiences are now part of an important national discussion about what it takes to build a home for refugees in supportive communities. To borrow a term from the larger CCPA-MB initiative of which our research is a part, home is a matter "beyond bricks and mortar." For recently resettled refugees in Winnipeg and other Canadian cities, achieving a "home" necessitates not only dignified and affordable housing, but supportive community-based organizations, public sentiments of inclusiveness, social supports, and de-stigmatization. The consultation theme, Home, Dignity: Human Rights, demonstrates the particular challenges refugees face when attempting to resettle in Canada. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.