Martin C. Barry
When officials in Ottawa were looking for help in welcoming the thousands of Syrian refugees being accepted into Canada, they had no problem finding Agape.
As proof, the Chomedey-based group’s name appears on a three-page list of Laval social service agencies compiled by Immigration Canada and distributed to Syrian refugees arriving here recently.
Seeks government support
But what Agape’s Betty McCleod would like to know, though, is whether the government has plans to provide financial support for the monumental efforts that Agape and other agencies are making and which are depleting their never very plentiful resources.
“Has anyone called and asked ‘How are you doing?’” she said regarding the government’s stance. “I haven’t heard from a soul. Somebody has to do something to support this organization. We’ve always been on our last dollar and this has just made things worse. There’s got to be some kind of government support.”
As most people are probably aware by now, Canada’s new federal government has taken up a leading role in welcoming refugees from Syria into the country.
Resources nearly depleted
“In Laval, a good number of refugees have arrived, and not just in January, but since September,” McLeod, a co-founder of Laval’s largest English-language social services provider, said last week in an interview with the Laval News.
“Over the past week we’ve received I would say pretty close to 35 families. And you know what that means: they have children, some have come in with their parents, brothers, sisters, sometimes even two families as one.”
Agape’s usually-well stocked basement storage area has almost been depleted by the sudden surge in demand, although so far the government has given no indication it will be issuing any kind of compensation. Agape’s list of needs includes decent-quality furniture and household furnishings, men’s and boys’ boots and heavy-duty sweaters.
No furniture left
“Our first 18 or 19 families we provided for no sweat,” added McLeod. “But if you’ve seen our basement we don’t have a piece of furniture left over. We don’t have any mattresses, beds, stoves. Nothing is left. I am honored to serve these people, but even with the greatest good will in the world we cannot serve them properly.”
The people arriving have absolutely no furniture, said McLeod, noting the refugees generally come with just enough money to pay for a roof of their heads for a year. After they rent an apartment, they are forced “to sleep on the floor,” and “this should not happen in this country: there should be enough to go around. We as a population, not only Agape, should make sure that if we are going to accept these people, we are going to supply for their needs.”
Food running out
According to McLeod, Agape was fortunate at the end of 2015 to have an abundance of food for families and toys for kids around Christmas. “But we’re burning it all out right now,” she said regarding the crisis they’re now facing.
“We’re giving everything we have and we’re going to run out of food. It’s just a matter of time. We’re probably going to run out of food within a month.” For those interested in helping Agape at this particular time of crisis, donations can be brought to the organization’s offices at 3950 Notre Dame Blvd. in Chomedey.
