Catholic Social Services boosts fundraising amid refugee surge

Catholic Social Services is appealing to the generosity of donors due to a high demand for services and an influx of refugees settling in north-central Alberta.

Catholic Social Services CEO Troy Davies said the agency is trying to raise $2.6 million through the Sign of Hope campaign after every limb of the organization has seen an increased demand for assistance.

“The funds raised go to support a whole variety of programs — everything from shelters for women and children fleeing domestic violence to mental health counselling supports, to assistance in the area of overcoming the problem of homelessness,” Davies said.

Services in need include supports for government-assisted and privately sponsored refugees, he added, especially since the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan in 2021, and after Russia sparked a war with Ukraine earlier this year.

Kathryn Friesen, director of immigration and settlement service, said the organization typically expects to serve about 500 government-assisted refugees each year. But after Ottawa committed to take in 40,000 Afghan refugees following the Taliban takeover, Catholic Social Services has resettled 800 Afghans in north-central Alberta in addition to refugees from other countries, she added.

Government funding helps cover basic needs for those newcomers, such as food and temporary accommodation, Friesen said, but enhanced assistance through the agency provides access to mental health supports, cross-cultural counselling, school supplies and even computer tablets.

“To equip people and set them up to be successful in Canada, we need these additional supports through funding such as Sign of Hope,” she said. “It really helps to launch people to be able to integrate into our communities.”

A tablet has helped 17-yearold Nargis Attaiee complete her Grade 12 school work and learn French after arriving in Edmonton in January with a group of 170 Afghan refugees, the student told reporters Wednesday.

In the midst of writing school exams when the Taliban took over Kabul, Attaiee fled to Pakistan and hid there for five months before coming to Canada, she said. Her mother died three weeks before her departure, she said, and it wasn't until she arrived in Edmonton that she found mental health support and the opportunity to resume her education.

“Everything has changed in my life,” she said. “I started school, I met new friends, and besides school, I do some volunteer work,” she added, noting she has served as a junior coach with Free Play, a charity working to lower barriers that keep children from playing sports. But it's not a life she takes for granted, she said, especially after talking to a friend in Afghanistan Tuesday night, where the Taliban has restricted girls' education since taking power.

“Their dreams are being destroyed, they are still at home, they cannot go to school,” she said of her female friends. “I really want the world to hear their voice, and not only feel pity for us, but also help us.”

A year after the Taliban took over in Afghanistan, Canada has accepted more than 17,300 Afghan refugees, federal Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said in August.

About halfway to its fundraising goal, Catholic Social Services is expecting to resettle more newcomers, Davies said.

“We are stretching to meet this demand,” he added. “But now more than ever, we need your support.”