Photo credit: New Lines Magazine
Canada welcomes refugees fleeing war, violence, and persecution in their home countries.
Global News reports, however, that their hopes for a smooth transition are often dashed as soon as they get to Canada. Many of them find themselves sleeping on a mattress on the floor of a homeless shelter.
Spending months at a shelter is a struggle many people who show up and declare themselves refugees at the port of entry are facing.
Kelly Ernst, chief program officer with the Centre for Newcomers, said, “It’s not uncommon for people to come with their luggage straight to our centre from the airport because the shelters are full.
“It’s my understanding refugee claimants are becoming the largest population in shelters in Calgary. We do our best to set them up to be sustainable.”
Ernst said the number of refugees in the LGBTQ2 community has drastically increased. “Last year, Centre for Newcomers served more than 600 LGBTQ people. That number has increased tenfold when the program started five years ago.
“The majority of people are coming from countries that have criminalized this population
