who we are

About Us

We are a group of students and professionals who have worked together to build an organization imploring youth to work with the community to help strengthen the refugee and immigrant population through unity and integration.

Founded in December 2015, we embarked on a journey to re-establish the way nonprofits work, and to strengthen the communities they are involved with. We believe that modern day obstacles and problems need modern day solutions, thus the creation of The Refugee Centre and its sister NPO DevBloc.

Aims

To provide a sustainable structure of integration for refugees and immigrants in Canada.
Offering support for students and their families as well as the Montreal community as a whole.
Supporting the community and particularly students through various mediums, not limited to any one particular sector of aid.

Objectives

Provide resources for displaced refugees to access, a place of habitation, access to education, and the right of immigration according to Canadian Law.
Develop policy both domestically and nationally regarding refugees and related issues.
Work hand in hand with local and international organizations to promote and enhance the lives of incoming refugees in Canada.
Create and enhance the economic situation of refugees in Canada by promoting economic integration through grants and refugee run initiatives.
Raise funds and receive contributions where appropriate to finance the work of the Centre.
Publicize and promote the work of the Centre.
Assist refugees with banking and insurance procedures.
Create housing alternatives and initiatives to aid in housing the refugee/immigrant population. Organize meetings, training courses and events.
Work with similar groups and exchange information.
Create different support outlets that economically and socially aid the student population in Montreal at large.
Build business development programs or centres to help strengthen the student population as well as the community including, and not limited to, business accelerators and incubators.
Take any action that is lawful, which would help it to fulfill its aims.
Recognize the unique mental health challenges of the refugee population and prioritize mental health in all the Centre’s services and activities.

What We Hope to Achieve

Create jobs for students, refugees, and immigrants.
Provide a wide variety of services for all incoming and existing refugees in Montreal, with high contribution from our student population.
Empower socially/economically the refugee and immigrant population.
Validate and address common mental health concerns; provide a safe space for open dialogue, self-care strategies, and connections to further psychosocial support resources.
Create legal resources and job banks for refugees and immigrants to use whenever needed.
Create and build educational resources for refugees and immigrants.
Create affordable housing for students.
Lobby and build relations with both the Provincial and Federal government to further aid the existing and incoming refugee population, as well as the large number of undocumented refugees in Canada.