Non-profit opens residence for LGBTQI+ refugees in Ottawa

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A non-profit organization founded to support and sponsor LGBTQI+ refugees is establishing a new residence for such refugee claimants in the Ottawa community.

Capital Rainbow Refuge unveiled the LGBTQI+ refugee house on May 17, marking the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia.

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Lenny Emson, executive director of the non-profit, said Rainbow House is a place where people can feel safe and accepted.

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The refugee residence currently consists of a two-unit apartment, accommodating about seven people, according to Allan Reesor-McDowell, executive director at Matthew House, which partnered with Capital Rainbow Refuge for the project.

“We know that the demand is a lot higher, there’s a long waiting list for people that are looking to get access to rainbow houses,” he said.

Emson said Matthew House, a shelter and support organization for newcomers in need of assistance, “did a lot to support us. They are also helping us find a new solution to expand the number of beds to provide more space for refugees.”

Sophia Lowe, outgoing executive director of Capital Rainbow Refuge, acknowledged that there has been an unprecedented number of refugee claimants arriving in Ottawa in the last few years with very little systematized support available, including a lack of available housing.

“For LGBTQI+ refugee claimants, the situation is even more challenging,” Lowe said. “For example, gender non-conforming and trans refugee claimants will typically have to pick (shelters) according to their sex assigned at birth.”

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Lowe says this can make it difficult for people to find a sense of belonging. “We’ve had clients that have said that basically ‘I’m not comfortable staying in any of these (shelters),’ so we really recognize that obviously this is a significant issue … and we decided to try to do something about it,” Lowe added.

Lowe said the Capital Rainbow House partnership with Matthew House to start the housing project for the LGBTQI+ community allowed for a collaborative exchange of knowledge and expertise on transitional housing for refugee claimants.

“The stars kind of aligned and it came together.”

Lowe said the residence is already at full capacity and there is a waitlist for future residents in the transitional house.

Lowe said residents typically stay somewhere between two to six months, but ultimately their stay depends on their situation.

“We intend it to be a sort of stabilizing place where people can make connections with other folks in the community,” Lowe said. “And hopefully find more affordable options, generally typically shared accommodations.”

Reesor-McDowell, the executive director of Matthew House, said the organization’s goal in the partnership is to divert refugee claimants from homelessness.

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Reesor-McDowell said the residence project started in the late summer of 2023 when the two organizations met to hash out the details.

“It all happened pretty quickly,” he said. “I was really encouraging them to consider getting into the housing side because up until now, they’ve worked with refugee claimants and they worked with sponsored refugees, but not the housing side,” he said in an interview.

“Housing and homelessness is a challenge across the board. Just last year, 140,000 refugee claimants came to Canada, and there is currently no program or coordination for what happens when a refugee claimant first arrives in Canada,” Reesor-McDowell said.

“Particularly, for some populations like the LGBTQI+, I would say there’s even more vulnerability and even more challenges.”

Currently in the works, Reesor-McDowell said, is work to find a bigger or additional location to fit more beds for the program.

Emson invites people who want to support the expansion of the housing project to reach out to the partners.

At the end of the day, Emson said, the Capital Rainbow Refuge team understands a lot of the struggles their clients face.

“We’re queer people working to make the lives of other queer people better,” said Emson. “We know the struggle (because), back in our countries, we were persecuted as well.”

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