How Christie Refugee Welcome Centre Helps Newcomer Families Navigate New Beginnings

Helping Canada Feel Like Home: How CRWC Supports Refugee Families

For families arriving in Canada as refugees, the first few months can be filled with uncertainty as they navigate a new community, secure housing and work to meet their most basic needs. Since 1989, the Christie Refugee Welcome Centre (CRWC) has supported refugee claimant families through this transition, providing a safe place to stay and helping families begin building a life in their new community.

CRWC is a Christian organization that provides safe, temporary housing, initial settlement services and ongoing support for refugee families. It also works to educate and engage the broader public through advocacy and community networks.

We spoke with Estela, CRWC’s Basic Needs Coordinator, about the families the organization supports and what the holiday season can mean for families who are just beginning to settle into life in Canada.

Supporting Refugee Families as They Build a New Life

Since opening its doors, CRWC has provided emergency shelter to refugee claimant families from all ethnic, racial and religious backgrounds. Today, approximately 100 families from countries around the world stay at the Christie Refugee Welcome Centre each year, receiving support as they take their first steps toward settling in Canada.

For many families, Christmas arrives soon after they have begun their new lives in Canada. Estela explained that “the refugee families we served have been living in Canada for only a short period of time,” meaning many are still adjusting to their new surroundings and managing the financial challenges that come with starting over.

Holiday Helpers helps ease some of that pressure by providing families with gifts, household items and grocery gift cards during the holiday season. For families who are already prioritizing essential expenses, these items can make a meaningful difference.

Estela noted that some household items are things families may otherwise “stop themselves from buying because they have more pressing basic needs to cover.” By providing these necessities, Holiday Helpers gives families the opportunity to receive items for their homes while allowing them to focus their limited resources on other immediate needs.

For parents who are already balancing the costs of starting over, the support also means they can give their children a memorable Christmas without having to choose between holiday gifts and other essential expenses.

Bringing Christmas Joy to Families Starting Over

CRWC has seen the impact of the Holiday Helpers program firsthand. According to Estela, families who have participated in past years are “always extremely happy and deeply grateful” for the opportunity.

The gifts bring excitement to children, but the impact extends to parents as well. Grocery gift cards can help families cover everyday essentials such as food, while household items can help them establish a sense of home as they transition out of temporary housing.

For families who have recently arrived in Canada, Christmas can offer something beyond the gifts themselves. It can provide a moment of celebration and normalcy during a period filled with major changes and uncertainty.

Through its partnership with Holiday Helpers, Christie Refugee Welcome Centre helps families experience that sense of joy while continuing to provide the practical support they need as they build new lives in Canada.