Housing a challenge as refugee families arrive in Thunder Bay - Action News
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Thunder Bay

Housing a challenge as refugee families arrive in Thunder Bay

In recent months, about a dozen government-sponsored refugee families have arrived in Thunder Bay, and the latest family was welcomed to the city Tuesday night.

Children must be in permanent homes before they can begin school

Thunder Bay is now home for these teens, who came to the city as refugees from Syria. They're pictured here participating at a sports day at Superior high school. (Michelle McKenzie Lander)

About a dozen Syrian refugee families have been welcomed to Thunder Bay, Ont. over the past few months, and are now settling into their new home.

While the first privately sponsored refugees came tothe city last winter, the more recent arrivals are government assisted refugees.

The latest family to arrive flew in on Tuesday night.

"It's been wonderful," said Michelle McKenzie Lander, the resettlement assistance program coordinator with the Thunder Bay Multicultural Association.

"They're a little overwhelmed," she said, adding that some of the refugees have had to leave extended family behind, but most are "enjoying what Canada has to offer," and are "very happy."

Finding homes a challenge

The greatest challenge of resettlement so far has been finding homes for all of the families with children, said McKenzie Lander. In some cases, landlords have been reluctant to rent to large families.

"It's become a bit of a challenge, but ... Thunder Bay has rallied," McKenzie Lander said, "and in the last couple of days I have got phone calls from landlords that were willing to take on that challenge."

All but one of the families now have homes, she said, which means that the children can now be enrolled in school.
Over the past several months, Michelle McKenzie Lander, of the Thunder Bay Multicultural Association has spent a lot of time at the Thunder Bay airport welcoming refugee families. (Amy Hadley/CBC)

Learning English is another challenge for the refugees, she said. The Multicultural Association's adult ESL school is filling up, and overflow will study at an ESL school run through the public school board.

Two more Syrian families will arrive in Thunder Bay soon, she said, including a family of nine expected on Thursday.

A family from Burma also arrived in June, she added.