Here's how the pandemic has affected 2 Waterloo region non-profits

A newcomer family that had been waiting since April to come to Canada is the first to settle into temporary accommodations at Reception House Waterloo Region since the start of the pandemic.

But the welcome wagon looks different than it did before.

Staff at the non-profit resettlement agency said they're learning to accommodate families who are spending their first two weeks in Canada confined to a hotel room for a mandatory quarantine period.

"Self isolating in a hotel is just so much different than self isolating at home," said Chris Hussey, the organization's community engagement specialist. "Families in particular, it's just very difficult to find things to do." 

Reception House has started creating welcome kits with snacks and age appropriate activities. 

Newcomers get meals catered to their rooms three times a day, but staff are also supplying them with hygiene products — the little bottles and soaps provided by the hotel aren't enough for big families — and helping them do laundry. 

"They pretty much arrive with a couple of suitcases, and that's it," explained Emma Jennings, manager of housing and resettlement. 

Jennings said there are three families staying in a hotel right now. Two are self-isolating, and the third is there for mobility reasons. But the first family to arrive finished their isolation period and moved into Reception House's temporary residence last week. 

Capacity at the space — which has shared kitchens, bathrooms and living rooms — has dropped from 42 people to 20, said Jennings, to allow for physical distancing. 

The space has been empty for several months, she explained.

When the pandemic hit, Reception House cancelled the arrival of any new families, she said. Those that had arrived in the region in February and March, and had been living at their David Street location, were moved into permanent housing by April 1.  

From April to the end of August, the transition house sat empty, but in that time staff were able to plan and adopt best practices from other resettlement homes across Canada that were still working with clients. 

Charitable giving down

Lucia Harrison, chief executive officer of the Kitchener-Waterloo Multicultural Centre, said her organization has also faced challenges. 

"I was truly moved by the ability of our staff in very short notice to move their services from face-to-face to virtual, either over the phone or via some form of technology," she said. 

"Statistically, we're serving as many people as we were serving pre-COVID and that blows my mind, knowing that everything is harder, it takes longer when you're not face-to-face."

But Harrison said she has both short-term and long-term fears for the community. 

"People are struggling financially. When people are struggling, not-for-profit and charitable organizations struggle as well," she explained, noting a decrease in charitable giving and how the local United Way wasn't able to meet its fundraising goal this year. 

Although the federal and provincial governments have been "very supportive," Harrison said the centre relies on donations to support people whose needs might not qualify for specific government funding. 

"We've always been able to fill that gap. That's one of my fears, that we won't be able to moving forward, without some additional support," she said. 

"We have always prided ourselves on 'no one gets turned away from our door regardless of what their status in the country is.' But that gets harder if that discretionary pool of funding shrinks." 

Reception House recently launched a campaign to raise money for welcome kits for newcomers.

Hussy says "the need is greater than ever" but, unlike the Multicultural Centre, he hasn't seen a decline in giving. 

"We've only seen [the community's] support increase at this point," said Hussey.