Journey Home Community, Immigrant Services Society of BC and Concert partner on the new ‘Meanwhile Spaces’ refugee housing program
Real estate developer Concert and local non-profits Journey Home Community (JHC) and Immigrant Services Society of BC (ISS of BC) have joined forces in a ground-breaking initiative called Meanwhile Spaces, launched by JHC, to create safe and stable short-term housing for refugee claimants rebuilding their lives in British Columbia.
An innovative new approach to refugee housing, Meanwhile Spaces utilizes residential buildings that are awaiting development to house resettled refugees and refugee claimants who arrive here after danger or persecution in other countries. Concert is the first local developer and an early adopter to lend its support for this type of partnership by repurposing existing in-development housing. Currently, four families and eleven men from Yemen, Egypt, Syria, Afghanistan, Colombia, Ethiopia and Eritrea have been provided with temporary homes at below-market rent in vacant residential apartments owned by Concert.
“The Meanwhile Spaces initiative also allows JHC to provide housing to refugees from ISS of BC, the Referring Settlement Agency who is responsible for the settlement needs of Government Sponsored Refugees.
Leading the support and guidance of these refugee families is the team at JHC who ensure claimants receive basic necessities, claim preparation, community orientation and much more during their first critical months in Canada while claimants wait for their claims to be processed by the Canadian government.
“Safe and affordable housing is the number one need for arriving refugee families,” says JHC Executive Director Brad Kinnie. “Once here, many claimants are at grave risk of homelessness and often end up on the streets, in shelters, or in unsafe housing. The initial months of settlement are a crucial time when refugees acclimate to a new culture and start their journey toward a successful new life in Canada. We encourage other real estate developers and municipalities to review their portfolios and examine projects in urban centres for potential properties that could be used in the short term to help provide a home for refugees.”
These Meanwhile Spaces help refugee claimants (who often arrive both skilled and educated), secure a home and a sense of security while they navigate the other details that are part of the claim process, such as waiting for work permits — a process that can take between three to six months. They can also obtain a residency reference from Concert, which is critical to finding future residency elsewhere.
One refugee claimant recently shared with a JHC Settlement Worker what it felt like to move into a Meanwhile Spaces home that Concert provided. “I spent several years moving from one country to another, living in temporary shelters where I never felt safe or secure, while constantly trying to reunite with my family. After finally arriving in Canada, ISS of BC and JHC helped me find this home. For the first time in so long I finally feel safe. Secure. I haven’t seen my family in nine years, and I will be meeting them soon. I am so happy to be here, to be able to start over with them in a safe place here.”
“Giving back to the communities in which we live and work has been a key principle for us since day one,” says Andrew Tong, Concert’s Chief Investment Officer, responsible for the homes leased to Meanwhile Spaces. “Through our previous work with ISS of BC housing Syrian refugees, we know just how important this initiative is in providing a safe home for those escaping persecution. Given the housing crisis we are facing, we don’t want any homes sitting empty, and given the short-term nature of this program, we felt this was a great way to utilize these homes. We’re proud to be partnering again with ISS of BC and now with JHC to support the Meanwhile Spaces program and help fill this need”
“The Meanwhile Spaces program, funded by a grant from the Vancouver Foundation, is aptly named,” continues Kinnie. “We’re using buildings in development as short-term homes that provide refugees and claimants a safe transitional space and an opportunity for permanent housing. Our partnership with Concert is a win for everyone – the homes help fill a critical gap to ensure a positive transition and ensure the buildings don’t sit empty.”
This latest effort underscores Concert’s ongoing commitment to house those in need. For the past six years, the developer has provided short and medium-term housing for more than 25 refugee families and 40 individuals in Metro Vancouver. In 2016, Concert previously used this kind of partnership model to team up with ISS of BC to provide temporary first homes for 21 Syrian refugees in Greater Vancouver.
About Journey Home Community
For more than 16 years, Journey Home Community has been welcoming refugee claimants to Metro Vancouver with housing, settlement support and community. To date, we have housed more than 800 individuals from 55+ nations. More importantly, we offer inclusion, dignity and belonging. We know this creates the foundation that allows newly arriving refugee claimants to contribute back to our cities and province. See more about Journey Home Community at journeyhomecommunity.ca
About ISSofBC
For over 50 years ISSofBC has been at the forefront of welcoming and supporting refugees and immigrants to build a future in BC. As conflict emerges in different regions of the world, when the Government of Canada acts to resettle displaced peoples or refugee claimants flee their home for reasons of persecution to seek asylum in Canada, ISSofBC is one of the first agencies to offer a helping hand. As one of the largest multicultural immigrants serving agencies in Canada, we offer a range of programs and services including English language classes, first language supports, employment and entrepreneurial services and skills training programs. Key to successful settlement and integration is securing a home, a place to rebuild one's life. This is our greatest challenge and securing permanent housing for refugee newcomers is one of our most impactful works. See more about ISSofBC at issbc.org.
About Concert
Since 1989, Concert has proudly developed, acquired and managed Canadian real estate in pursuit of building a people-first future. With over $8 billion in assets, Concert is backed and owned by more than 200,000 Canadian, represented by union and management pension plans. Concert delivers rental apartments, condominiums, seniors’ active aging communities, industrial and commercial properties and public infrastructure projects, and in each business, its vision remains the same: building resilient, inclusive, sustainable communities. Concert has delivered over 12,000 rental, condominium and seniors' homes across Canada, and manages over 5,000 rental homes across the country through its award-winning Property Management team providing 24/7 on-call service. See more about Concert at concertproperties.com.
Further information
Krystal Carter