Opening more doors of opportunity
Imagine how it feels to walk through the door of your home: that sense of safety, comfort, and belonging.
That’s the feeling you help Matthew House Ottawa bring to the people we serve.
We have two metaphorical doors here: one for refugee claimants creating a new beginning in Ottawa, and one for newcomers and other families who need furnishings to settle into long-term, secure housing. Thanks to our incredible supporters, we’ve been able to open so many of these doors!
Everyone who comes through the doors of Matthew House has a story… A story like Femi’s.
Femi had no choice but to leave his home in Nigeria and coming to Canada in search of safety and community. Upon arrival, he found himself stuck in Ottawa’s emergency shelter system. He had a bed in an eight-man dorm room, but nothing to help him begin the refugee process or make him feel the safety he desperately needed.
“I couldn’t sleep there anymore,” Femi explains. “I needed somewhere to go, and thankfully a case worker connected me to Matthew House Ottawa.”
“I needed somewhere to go, and thankfully a case worker connected me to Matthew House Ottawa.”
After a month of no sleep and being retraumatized in the shelter, Femi was welcomed by one of our house managers with open arms.
“The staff are so welcoming and compassionate,” he shares gratefully. “It was amazing. My first night of sleep there was the best I’d had in ages. I didn’t wake up until almost noon the next day – I was so exhausted from what I’d been through.”
You can help more people like Femi begin a new chapter this holiday season. Your special gift of $350, $100, or $50 can help equip newcomers and other low-income Ottawa residents with the resources they need to start anew – from help navigating the refugee process to furniture to turn empty rooms into a home. Please give generously to support more of your neighbours today!
While in our homes, residents live with dignity, build relationships, and access practical help for everything from government paperwork and work permits to learning the ropes of living in Ottawa. Thanks to caring people like our donors, our residents have a safe and happy place to call home where they can relax in the garden, make a healthy meal, and enjoy time together... Just like any other family.
“I felt so rejected when I first came to Ottawa,” Femi recalls. “I didn’t know where to go. Matthew House saved my life.” After settling into his new home, Femi was eager to start working and take the next step towards independence. While he awaited his work permit, he opened another Matthew House Ottawa door: our Furniture Bank.
With a warehouse stocked with generous and gently-used donations from our community, the Furniture Bank helps individuals and families transitioning to permanent housing make their new space feel like home. It is heartbreaking, but not uncommon, to hear that families were sleeping and eating on the floor before their Furniture Bank appointment.
As soon as his work permit arrived, Femi was accepted into our Newcomer Training and Employment Program, which provides a 10-week paid part-time job at the Furniture Bank, along with workforce skills development training, resumé support, and job search help. He then became a full-time warehouse manager, and now plays a key role in furnishing up to 150 homes each month for families in need.
“I love to care for people,” Femi says, “so working in the social services is the perfect fit for me. It’s amazing to have found an organization that shares my values and ideals. What I enjoy most is serving people. I derive strength from it.”
Femi eventually took on the role of house manager at one of Matthew House Ottawa’s transition homes while living there and has recently moved to his own longer-term housing.
Though we have traditionally housed refugee claimants for three to four months, housing and credit challenges were making it difficult for residents to move out and onto their next chapter. Last year, we expanded our services to include transition homes – giving residents another stable place to live while they continue adjusting to life in Canada and seek longer-term housing. Staff are available on an as-needed basis, and transition home residents (like all former residents) have continued access to support from the Matthew House team on their journey to independent living.
“If I wasn’t fortunate enough to live in Matthew House, I would have died here in Canada,” says Femi somberly. “Their contributions to my life will never be forgotten and I will tell this story to my children and their children one day.”
It is because of the care and compassion of donors and supporters, that Matthew House has been able to expand our services so rapidly in recent years. In 2020, we had one house with eight beds. Now, we have four reception homes and 10 transition homes with more than 120 beds.
But we need your continued support this holiday season to keep this momentum going. Every refugee arriving in Canada deserves the opportunities that come with walking through our doors.
Will you help support some of our most vulnerable neighbours by making a donation to Matthew House Ottawa today? Together, we can increase our capacity to welcome more people like Femi.
Thank you in advance for your powerful gift. I wish you and your family a happy and warm Christmas and holiday season!
Allan
Allan Reesor-McDowell
Executive Director
Matthew House Ottawa
Your support reminds people that while they are rebuilding their lives—whether from homelessness, abuse, poverty, or as a refugee - they are not forgotten. Thank you for being such a critical influence on their journeys through your generosity and commitment to give back. Please make a donation today.