Latest News

Hi everyone --

We have great news -- and not so great news.

The great news is that we have exceeded our funding goal, with just over $28,000 right now. Of course, we will be continuing to fundraise as the need for refugee assistance isn't about to go away any time soom -- so stayed tuned for news about various events we are planning.

The not so great news is that, with the funds raised, volunteers standing by, and housing on tap, we have not been able to locate a refugee or refugees. The Sponsorship Agreement Holders (SAHs) rely on something called the Blended Visa Office-Referred list, which is issued weekly. For reasons that are unclear, very few LGBT refugees are being identified on this list. This is unfortunate as it means many government-sponsored LGBT refugees are arriving in Toronto with no support in place at all (see the article in our last post), even though there are groups looking to sponsor them. Our SAH, MCC Toronto, has two other groups, besides us, with money and the will to help, yet no opportunity to do so.

The other great news, however, is that we have also been working with the Capital Rainbow Refuge in Ottawa and with the North Star Triangle Project and they have identified two potential couples, one of which we are in touch with by email. That couple is part-way through the application process to come to Canada, so hopefully our next update will contain more positive news about an actual sponsorship underway.

Queer Syrian Refugees Lost in System

This is infuriating, especially given the number of groups and organizations wanting to sponsor Syrian and Iraqi LGBT refugees.

http://www.dailyxtra.com/canada/news-and-ideas/news/queer-syrian-refugees-lost-in-system-in-canada-184977