{"id":5551,"date":"2023-02-10T14:33:58","date_gmt":"2023-02-10T18:33:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluedoor.ca\/?p=5551"},"modified":"2023-08-03T16:00:55","modified_gmt":"2023-08-03T20:00:55","slug":"i-never-give-up-on-nothing-mexican-refugee-calls-for-support-for-homeless-charities-in-york-region","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluedoor.ca\/i-never-give-up-on-nothing-mexican-refugee-calls-for-support-for-homeless-charities-in-york-region\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I never give up on nothing\u2019: Mexican refugee calls for support for homeless charities in York Region"},"content":{"rendered":"

Posted on: February 9th, 2023. By: Sheila Wang, yorkregion.com, Original Article.<\/a><\/p>\n

The family-friendly fundraising walk Coldest Night of the Year is taking place in Richmond Hill on Feb. 25<\/strong><\/p>\n

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It was the first snow day of the winter when 27-year-old Jessica was unexpectedly thrown out of a home where she had been couch-surfing in Vaughan.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Cold, scared and all alone, the young woman from Mexico found herself wandering the dark streets of Toronto, looking for a place to spend the night.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The shelters were all full.<\/p>\n

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But Jessica kept trying.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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She eventually got help from the\u00a0Mosaic Interfaith Out of the Cold<\/a>, a program run by an emergency housing provider called Blue Door in York Region.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI was going to be safe and I was going to be warm for the night and I was going to have a place to sleep,\u201d was her first thought when Jessica arrived at Holy Trinity Anglican Church, one of the four emergency housing locations for the Out of the Cold program.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Still remembering her first warm meal of the day \u2014 a chicken casserole served at the church \u2014 Jessica said she knew right at the moment she was saved.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Now, having spent almost two months in the program, the 27-year-old said she wanted to share her story to garner community support for the charities serving people experiencing homelessness ahead of the annual\u00a0Coldest Night of the Year walk<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The family-friendly fundraising walk is taking place in Richmond Hill on Feb. 25, inviting the public to step outside to shine a light of welcome to those in need.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThe face of homelessness, it has changed. We’re seeing a more diverse population that is struggling to make ends meet,\u201d Rehana Sumar, a senior manager at Blue Door, said.<\/p>\n

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Due to the economic situation, rising rents and a global pandemic, the shelters are seeing a shift from chronic homeless individuals to people like Jessica who were forced into homelessness, Sumar said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cShe was precariously employed and precariously housed,\u201d the manager said of Jessica\u2019s experience.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Jessica, a nurse by profession who used to work at a fertility clinic in Mexico, came to Canada last summer, claiming refugee status.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The young woman landed in Toronto with nothing but a dream of practicing nursing again.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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That dream was dashed when she was evicted from her home, as she was unable to pay rent, after having issues with immigration status.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Jessica said she tried to get by while crashing with a friend and helping out around the house until she found herself on the streets all of a sudden, just before Christmas.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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If she didn\u2019t find Out of the Cold that night, Jessica said she would\u2019ve probably been \u201cfreezing to death\u201d or hiding out in a subway.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThat\u2019s my angel,\u201d Jessica said, while pointing at Sumar, at the interview.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It was Sumar who helped get her off the streets and into the program.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI could tell that she was very traumatized. She was crying a lot, scared,\u201d Sumar recalled about meeting Jessica for the first time on her first night.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Jessica has since been moved to a transitional housing facility where she has a warm bed, hot meals, medical attention and assistance with all the paperwork processing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Now that her refugee claim has been accepted and other documents are underway, Jessica is only steps away from landing a job and securing housing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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But even on her first night of the program, Jessica asked how she could help.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI just wanted to give back,\u201d Jessica said, stressing how nicely she was treated by everyone at Blue Door, from security guards to the housing worker.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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And she did.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Jessica volunteers three times a week at the program now: helping out in the kitchen, preparing meals and desserts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Even in her darkest moments, Jessica said she has never gone off the rails and wanted to encourage those experiencing difficulties and hurt in life to come and get help.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI never give up on nothing. Just keep trying,\u201d Jessica said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The refugee will participate in the Coldest Night of the Year walk in Richmond Hill, which starts at\u00a08569 Bayview Ave., to raise awareness of homelessness issues in the community.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Please visit\u00a0cnoy.org\/location\/richmondhill<\/a> for more information about the walk.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Posted on: February 9th, 2023. By: Sheila Wang, yorkregion.com, Original Article. The family-friendly fundraising walk Coldest Night of the Year is taking place in Richmond Hill on Feb. 25 It was the first snow day of the winter when 27-year-old Jessica was unexpectedly thrown out of a home where she had been couch-surfing in Vaughan. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5552,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t