Flooded Matthew House gets needed repair from Habitat for Humanity

When Windsor was hit with massive flooding in August and hundreds of basements were flooded, Matthew House of Windsor was no exception.

"Unfortunately our basement is where our office, our food room, our night supervisor's bedrooms are, so it was really crippling to the services we provide," said Mike Morency, executive director of Matthew House.

The organization which is primarily funded through donations provides emergency shelter for newly arrived refugee claimants to Canada. And without thebasement, the organization wasin trouble.

"It reduced our capacity... and supporting the refugee claimants that come in through our door has been the difficult part," said Morency.

While it's not our typical build ... having a welcoming first home for newcomers to Canada that's really in line with our mission.-FionaCoughlin, executive director for Habitat for Humanity Windsor-Essex

That's when Habitat for Humanity stepped in to get the job done.

"We have an army of volunteers that are skilled, and coming out and helping with their renovations was a no-brainer," said FionaCoughlin, executive director for Habitat for Humanity Windsor-Essex.

Habitat for Humanity normally builds homes from the ground up to provide affordable housing for those in need. But Coughlin said this project was something her team really wanted to helpwith.

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"While it's not our typical build ... having a welcoming first home for newcomers to Canada that's really in line with our mission."

A place to land

Matthew House opened its doors at1822 Drouillard Road in the spring of 2003 and since then has provided a first hometo 593 refugee claimants who then went on to settle in the community.

"If it weren'tfor Matthew House they would land in a general homeless shelter which, given the trauma they've experienced, is not the best place for them," said Morency.

If it weren'tfor Matthew House they would land in a general homeless shelter...-MikeMorency, executive director of Matthew House

He and his team support refugee claimants by setting themwith local services like a lawyer, or helping them find housing or permanent employment.

"Because they are refugee claimants not yet deemed a person in need of protection, they are not able to access any of the federal or provincial government settlement support services."

Success stories

Morency is happy to tout the stories of people he and his team have helped over the past, but one stands out in particular.

A woman arrived to Matthew House pregnant with twinshaving just lost her husband in her home country, said Morency. The team helped her as she processed her refugee claim and settled in the community.

"Over the last sevenyears she put herself through the University of Windsor for a Bachelor of social work and a Masters of social work, and has recently just moved to Alberta to take a full time position as a children's mental health counselor," he said.