Settling In, Supported: Rachel’s Story
“If it was not for them, I do not know where I would be today…”
– Rachel
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We love sharing the stories of the amazing people connected to Matthew House Ottawa. Enjoy!
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Rachel arrived in Canada alone and afraid.
“The person who helped me make my refugee claim didn’t tell me anything about actual life here,” she remembers. “I checked into a hotel for a couple of days, but then it was time to check out and I had nowhere to go.”
Overwhelmed and panicking, Rachel called her sister back in Uganda. When a couple standing nearby heard her speaking her local dialect, they realised they came from the same community. They let Rachel sleep at their house for the weekend, bringing her to a shelter on a Monday.
“It was… A lot,” Rachel recalls sadly. “I had nothing to do all day. The food was unfamiliar. I spent three months there before someone gave me the number for Matthew House.”
The day Rachel called Matthew House Ottawa, her life in Canada began to change for the better.
“It was like a home!” Rachel says of her time at MHO. “They gave me a room with a bed of my own. It was quiet and clean, so unlike the shelter I’d been at. I had soap, toothpaste, everything I needed.”
Rachel settled in well, happy to be eating food that reminded her of her former home and grateful for the community of fellow Matthew House residents as well as volunteers and staff.
“They’re very good people. I love them,” Rachel shares.
Due to the trauma she’d faced, Rachel was struggling with memory loss. She recalls the gentleness and patience of everyone at Matthew House during this time. Rachel was able to receive counselling on a weekly basis to support her as she began her new chapter.
As she learned her way around the city, MHO connected Rachel to a lawyer who helped with her visa and work permit. Soon, she was able to secure a job of her own.
“I work as a caretaker now,” explains Rachel. “It’s hard work, but it allows me to send something back home for my son and daughter. I pray they’ll be able to join me eventually.”
Rachel moved out of Matthew House earlier this year, and into an apartment she shares with a fellow former MHO resident. She stays in touch with many others who lived at the house while she did.
“Matthew House is a home for people who have nowhere else to go. If it was not for them, I do not know where I would be today… I wouldn’t be here. I wouldn’t be alive.”
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Matthew House Ottawa supporters open doors to opportunity for people like Rachel. Here’s how you can open more doors for our community:
• Donate: you can make a donation online or cheques can be mailed to 380 Centrepointe Drive, Ottawa ON K2G 6A1.
• Volunteer: We currently need volunteers to support our furniture bank and refugee services programs. Click here for more info and to apply.
• Donate Furniture: If you have gently-used furniture to share give us a call at 613-591-6681. And please spread the word among your networks as well.
• Pray: for past, present and future residents and furniture bank clients
Since 2010, Matthew House Ottawa has welcomed hundreds of refugee claimants, and provided quality used furniture to 7000 families in need. Thank you for helping to make this important work possible!