These are the most frequently asked questions (FAQs) about refugee claimants and the Kinbrace community amid the ongoing pandemic.  

The Canada-USA border is closed.  How is this affecting the number of people making claims for refugee protection in Canada?

The federal government closed the Canada-US border on 18 March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This created a significant barrier for those questing  through the USA toward Canada for protection.  Each year the majority of people who make refugee claims in Canada arrive overland via the Canada-US border.  With the border closed, fewer people are making refugee claims.

Source:  canada.ca

Are lower numbers of refugee claimants affecting Kinbrace’s work?

No. The pandemic hyper-exposes those who are already vulnerable, meaning there’s more risk for refugee claimants.  Government processing systems have been upended and are re-ordering, resulting in refugee claimants seeking information and support.

How has my support helped refugee claimants so far through the pandemic?

Within the Kinbrace community in East Vancouver, there’s a profound “family” feel, a closeness and intimacy.  This may stem from the shared pandemic experience, staying put together, and receiving your critical and timely support.  This expressed experience of belonging and connectedness amid forced displacement is profound.  Your invisible presence makes the community safe, vibrant, and trusting in the midst of uncertainty.

The quest for permanent housing remains important among Kinbrace residents, even though it abruptly stopped mid-March with lockdown and resulting uncertainty.  Three families recently moved into permanent homes, solidifying their experience of settlement and wellbeing. Their move creates vacancy in the Kinbrace transitional housing community, providing openings for those refugee claimants abiding in shelters across Metro Vancouver.  It’s your steadfast solidarity amid their chaos of finding home that brings stability.

Thousands of refugee claimants in BC and across the country have been waiting for refugee hearings to resume. Your support is adapting READY Tours in collaboration with the Canadian government so that each person waiting for their refugee hearing can learn and prepare appropriately.  If you’re interested in more detail, visit www.refugeeclaim.ca. 

I heard Kinbrace’s Tuesday community dinners have started again. Can I come?

Regrettably, no. While your presence is valued, guests/volunteers/neighbours/former residents are currently asked to not attend Tuesday community dinners (which resumed in June) as per guidelines from the health authorities.  Until further notice, community dinners are only for those living in the houses; currently, two staff members attend per week – at a distance – to help with cooking, set up, and clean-up.  

My eyes well-up with tears when loss and unexpected love intermingle.  It’s happened several times to me during this pandemic.  Perhaps you’ve experienced the same.

Most recently for me, at last Tuesday’s weekly Kinbrace community meeting where residents hosted a Sending Circle (a time to remember and bless the person or family moving from Kinbrace).  This Sending Circle was for a senior couple who, after many, many years of forced displacement, finally received permanent, affordable housing.  They moved from Kinbrace to their new home on Friday.

There was laughter around the Sending Circle.  And there were tears.  Mine came when one of the single mothers began to speak her gratitude for “papa” and “mama” but then, putting her hands to her face, cried softly.  Her tears and the strong hugs she gave papa and mama spoke to me about that wordless space where loss and unexpected love mix.

Every family around the circle was only half there, beloved others scattered around the world by forced displacement.  COVID-19 severely amplifies the loss and fear people feel while separated from family.  And, yet, around this circle of unlikely, diverse, fractured families, the words “brother” “sister” “father “mother” were used numerous times. 

This vulnerable place, where loss and unexpected love can honestly be felt and expressed by people seeking refugee protection, is sustained by the wide network of donors and volunteers.  

The fact that “mama” and “papa” secured a safe and permanent home in the middle of this pandemic, is thanks to the persistence and expertise grounded Kinbrace’s champions.

If you’ve not had a chance to support this vulnerability and change, and would like to, you can start now.

By Anika Barlow, as published in the Vancouver Sun.

I live in East Vancouver just off Commercial Drive. My house looks like a nondescript “Vancouver Special” from the street, but it’s far from ordinary by our city’s standards. Over the past two years, I have shared my home with more than 50 people from over a dozen countries.

On Tuesdays, we cook and eat dinner together, and most other days we share tea in each others’ apartments or conversation in the backyard. While Vancouver suffers from a crisis of isolation, my own days unfold within a rich community. I live with refugee claimants.

Continue Reading →

If you didn’t get a chance to read the comic-style posters telling refugee stories at Vancouver bus-stops earlier this year, here’s your chance.

The Mokhovikova family’s story is a powerful witness to the resilience and courage required in the face of forced displacement.  Learn more details in this Vancouver Sun article by Lori Culbert where you’ll also see snippets of the outstanding comic by Anna Bron.

This also points to the profound impact you and I can have in the lives of people running for safety.  A warm welcome creates safety in the moment and hope for the future.

Gratitude to the Mokhovikova family for generously sharing their story.

Thanks also to Cloudscape Comics, the City of Vancouver, and the Province of BC for bringing these remarkable and vulnerable stories to the public’s attention in a dignifying way.

The forced displacement of millions in our world creates an opportunity to welcome, in trust, those who leave their homes and families to protect themselves from persecution.  Trust is a gift we give and receive in a world troubled by fear and suspicion. Continue Reading →

This simple info graphic shows Kinbrace’s response to refugee claimants goes far beyond housing in Canada. Continue Reading →