‘Our primary service is a roof over people’s heads. But so much is about the wraparound supports. There are so many things that people need to do.’
When the City of Ottawa announced a plan to open reception centres for newcomers and asylum seekers, there was one element that evoked particular skepticism.
It was the 90-day figure.
Under the plan announced by the city in November, a tent-like structure is to offer housing to newcomers for 90 days. If necessary, the newcomers will have another 90 days in transitional housing to find a permanent home.
The 90-day number sets a very ambitious goal. At the centre of it is the Matthew House model, a way of ensuring that all the pieces are in place so newcomers can get jobs and housing as quickly as possible.
“The reason we chose three months was actually based on the Matthew House model,” said Kale Brown, the city’s acting director of housing and homelessness services.
“They have an immense amount of success bringing people into the transition housing program before the city worked with them and they were able to do the outflows in three months.”
The first Matthew House was in Toronto, followed by Ottawa in 2010, where the non-profit provides shelter to refugees and helps them transition to working and getting permanent housing.
Matthew House Ottawa started with one house and has since expanded to 26 locations providing 238 beds across the city. There are nine reception houses, where refugees go first, and 17 “transition” houses that act as a stepping stone to independent housing.
The model works on a leasing system — it’s too expensive to buy housing. One of the recent acquisitions is a former Catholic orphanage, leased from the diocese.
“Our primary service is a roof over people’s heads,” said Matthew House executive director Kailee Brennan. “But so much is about the wraparound supports. There are so many things that people need to do.”
Those supports range from accessing legal aid to helping find work and housing. Out of the 388 Matthew House clients in 2024, 182 have found permanent housing, said Brennan.
One of the limiting factors in the city’s temporary shelters for newcomers is the lack of a settlement component, which results in stays of six months instead of three months, said Brown.
“We want the reception centre, where you can bring all of those services and supports on-site to support them there, because right now, it’s very ad hoc,” he said. “We’re trying to expedite, shorten the whole process.”
Oumar, who asked that his full name and country of origin not be named, was able to get a work permit in 40 days.
He and his family were doing very well at home in Africa. They had their own house. Oumar, an engineer, has two master’s degrees. He had studied in Europe and visited about 20 countries. His wife is a nurse.
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In October 2023, they left everything behind, bringing their five-year-old twins with them and leaving two other children with their grandparents, arriving at the airport in Montreal.
“We lived through bullets and bombs. It was terrifying, but we stayed there. We did not go out. It was a decision beyond our control that made us leave. For me to leave two of my kids back home was not an easy decision,” he said.
The family spent over eight hours at the airport.
“I felt bad about that day, what I put my kids through,” said Oumar. “I saw them lying on the benches. The place was very cold. There was not even a blanket to cover them. It was a moment I never wanted for my children.”
An official at the airport gave Oumar a list of organizations he could call. Using the Wifi from the airport, Oumar started his online research. One of the first things that popped up was Ontario Works, Ontario’s social assistance program.
“I told my wife, ‘We have to go to Ontario.’ I just took my family directly to Ontario Works’ head office because we didn’t know where to go. Even the staffers were surprised.”
The family spent the next three months bouncing from one crammed city-run motel used for temporary shelter to another. Oumar was determined to get out of the system as soon as possible.
“This was not something we had experienced before. But then safety is better than any other circumstances,” he said. “It was better than being on the streets, and we appreciated it.”
Exactly 52 days after he arrived in Canada, Oumar got his first job as an assistant program manager for Matthew House, helping other refugees. He found a basement apartment for the family, which swallowed 60 per cent of his income. His wife’s first job was with a crew that patrolled downtown neighbourhoods, hunting for discarded needles.
“Most of us didn’t come to live on the system. That is why, as soon as I got myself a job, I notified the city to give someone else the benefit. I can now contribute to the system,” said Oumar.
But moving from A to B can be hard to navigate without help.
Sometimes asylum seekers claim refugee status at a point of entry to Canada, such as an airport. At this point, the claimant may receive a Refugee Refugee Protection Claim Document, also known as a “brown paper,” said Liam Reynolds, a social worker and the manager of Matthew House’s reception homes.
This can act as a formal piece of ID, allowing the claimant to apply for Ontario Works while they await their work permit. For those that claim at the point of entry, they can normally expect their work permit by mail, within one or two months, said Reynolds.
The claim can also be filed “inland” after an asylum seeker has arrived. This is filed online, often with the assistance of a lawyer.
After filing online, the claimant receives an Acknowledgment of Claim, also known as a “white paper,” which allows him or her to apply for Ontario Works benefits while they await their work permit.
This way of claiming refugee status is the first step in a long process that involves a short initial interview and biometrics such as fingerprinting at the IRCC, said Reynolds. The interview takes place one to three months after filing their claim, and claimants typically receive their work permit and Refugee Protection Claim Document the day of the interview.
The real challenge in finding an employer, he said. Typically these are part-time jobs like cleaning or stocking shelves. Most people are highly motivated to work.
Matthew House is not meant to be a long-term shelter support system, said reception house manager David Botha. The goal is to get the newcomers independent as quickly as possible.
“It’s not easy for anyone. But we have been pretty successful in having them move along.”
Ontario Works pays $733 a month, with $390 of that earmarked for rent and $433 for basic needs. Because they earn so little money, newcomers qualify for the OC Transpo EquiPass, which is available for those who live under the low-income threshold. It costs $58.25 a month, about half the cost of an adult pass. The City of Ottawa provides some rental supplements because the system relieves the shelter system.
Accommodations at Matthew House are not free. Newcomers pay $400 a month for rent. There is a roster of chores, from cleaning up to clearing the snow, said Botha.
Matthew House provides one meal a day and encourages residents to become familiar with food banks. Newcomers who are not fluent in French or English will start language classes.
Angela Success, a Nigerian journalist, arrived in Canada in December 2018 via Montreal. She couldn’t stay in Montreal because she needed to see a doctor to get medication for high blood pressure. She arrived in Ottawa in January 2019 with a suitcase, a computer and a recorder — her tools as a journalist.
“You have to have a lot of courage,” she said. “You have to have a lot of hope, you have to be very brave to do that. I’m a person of faith. I believe God would help me.”
She could not find a place to stay until someone made a call to Matthew House. She got a meal, a warm bed, winter boots and clothing, and an appointment to see a family doctor.
Success moved from Matthew House in July 2019 and was in her own apartment with a roommate in November 2019.
Her first job was as a “sitter” with seniors, going with them to their appointments. Now she works in child care.
Has she considered going back to journalism? Success laughs.
“With this beautiful accent? No, I’m not going to do that. I’m going to work with children. This is Canada; it’s not Nigeria. I’m not going to an area where I’ll be struggling. I will go to an area where I’m adding more value, be efficient and reliable,” she said.
“I am no longer a journalist. That life has come to an end. But this is the beginning.”
It might take Success 10 years to become a Canadian citizen. But she is happy she can contribute.
“I am an example of what an asylum seeker is. I am not taking anything. I am not breaking the rules. I add to the workforce. I pay taxes. I look out for other people,” she said. “I am not here to take other people’s jobs. I’m just trying to see if I could have a better life.”
Oumar’s family will be moving to another apartment in March. The twins have settled well into school. Oumar and his wife have started the process of making inquiries about what upgrading or education they will need to practice their professions in Canada.
“I don’t know what might happen tomorrow, but the fact that Canada opened its border to me and my family when we needed it, when we were desperate, when we did not know where to turn. That means a lot to us. All we are asking for is an opportunity to give back to society.”
