Black community leaders and Black-led organizations came together to assist Black refugees and asylum seekers

BY PAUL JUNOR

There has been local and ethnic media attention with regards to the refugee crisis in Toronto. During this heat wave in Southern Ontario, many people were inclined to spend minimal time outside, but this was not an option for about 200 asylum seekers in Toronto. They had no place to go and were sleeping on the sidewalk outside a Toronto shelter assessment and referral centre located at 129 Peter Street near Peter St and Richmond Street.

Olivia Chow, Mayor of Toronto, raised the alarm regarding the sad state of affairs in Toronto. She states, “We know that our shelters are full. We also know that a third of the residents are refugees. We also know that refugees are a federal responsibility. We need at least $160 million from the federal government to help us in sheltering these refugees.”

The question is, what can we do as a community to help them out of this dire and unacceptable circumstance?  Brandon Gonez interviewed refugees on The Brandon Gonez Show. He posted on TikTok (@brandongonez), ”Desperate refugees who came to Canada looking for a safe haven are now living on the streets.” He asked one asylum seeker, “How hard has it been on you,” who responded, ”So hard. It is unspeakable. It is so hard.”

Brandon states, “The problem is that the City of Toronto states that there is no more space in its shelter system and the federal government needs to pony up some cash to help create that space.”  In spite of the bickering between the provincial and federal governments regarding funding, Brandon notes, “While that bickering goes on back on forth, left in the middle are those folks.”

On Monday, July 17^th, 2023 prominent members of the Black community, under the leadership of Gwenyth Chapman gave a press conference in front of the shelter. It was intended to address the discouraging and concerning treatment of over 100 Black African refugees in Toronto, Canada living and camping on the sidewalk outside the shelter at 129 Peter Street. They were motivated to act immediately to put pressure on governments to act. Torontonians are in shock about the continuous poor treatment and consideration for the refugees. They are demanding that the governments take some immediate action to provide temporary indoor accommodations while all levels of government work on a long-term solution to this issue.

In response to this desperate situation, Chapman announced that it was only on July 17^th, that they were able to get tents after weeks of being on the streets.

Justice Macleod reached out to Pastor Judith James of Revival Tabernacle and with the help of Ainsworth Morgan of 100 STRONG obtained transportation to house the refugees there. The CEO of Paramount Food gave 20K to assist the Black leaders with helping the refugees,

On July 18^th, the federal government announced $212 million in funding to boost housing for asylum seekers in which $97 million will be allocated to Toronto. City officials confirmed that there has been a 50% increase in the number of asylum seekers and refugee claimants within the last 20 months. Mayor Chow was hoping for an extra $157 million from the federal government, but this did not materialize.