A month ago, refugees who were camping outside in downtown Toronto because there was no shelter space in the system found themselves being bused to Revivaltime Tabernacle Church in North York, where beds were set up for nearly 250 in their basement. They were able to have showers for the first time in days.
The stunning generosity of this church and dozens of volunteers, as well as Black-led social agencies for immigrants and at least one other church, meant asylum seekers were fed, and received clothing while government argued about who was responsible and the City of Toronto lobbied the federal government for funds. A few days later, a shamed federal government pledged $97 million but the city said that was not enough. However, plans were made to offer refugees hotel rooms.
Revivalism Pastor Judith James showed a remarkable dedication to the refugees, most of whom are from Africa: “We are not going to stop ensuring that our people see that even when Canada turns their back on them our community will always fight for our community.”
She is shocked that now that Black activists and volunteers have taken the refugees off the street, apparently the government thought the issue was solved. It was not. Expenses looking after scores of refugees still not housed ran into the thousands. They waited to see something from the $97 million pledged that appeared to be caught up in the bureaucracy.
James said, “The church stepped in because the state checked out.”
So, volunteers continued to cook and look after the refugees and expenses mounted. It was only on the 25th that finally the city got the funds. A day later, the church said goodbye to the last refugees who now had hotel rooms.
For weeks, the federal government indifference to real need was shameful and the actions of the Black church community were a powerful example of faith in action of which we see all too little from the established churches. But as James insists, they should not have had to do government’s work in the first place.
This untenable situation can be seen as the sharp end of the endlessly debated “housing crisis.” The 5.8 million housing deficit enumerated by CHMC somehow seems disconnected from the homeless on the mean streets of Toronto and all over the GTA . All that people want is a room with a room that locks.
Charities, not developers have been trying to humanize how they are looked after for decades. Now we have churches saving hundreds of people we have allegedly welcomed to Canada but were relegated to camping on the street. Toronto shelters more than 10,000 homeless most nights. Can’t we do better?
It’s ironic that while Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stood proudly in front of his cabinet following the recent retreat in P.E.I. and admitted there was no silver bullet to solve the housing crisis but how seriously they were taking it, all while these churches in Toronto continued to shelter the refugees waiting for support or housing.
Tommy Douglas once said: “We are all in this world together and the only test of our character that matters is how we look after the least fortunate among us.“ Indeed.
Canada will be judged not by how many houses we build for the middle class, but whether or not we can house and rehabilitate the most needy — those with no home at all. This is a moral imperative, as well as a social imperative for our big cities. It is one that was answered by Black church members in Toronto, but must be answered by governments.
