Amara’s Story
This past May, Christie’s outdoor courtyard transformed into some place magical; some place not resembling a shelter in the slightest. Nigerian food was handed out, there was cake and candles, pop for the children, faux champagne for the adults, music and dancing, and families dressed in their finest– laughing, cheering, dancing and celebrating. They were celebrating Amara*, who in the midst of her most difficult days was here, in this very moment, together with her newfound family, celebrating her 50th birthday and revelling in joy.
An unimaginable experience for her just five months prior.
“We came to Canada in December 2024 and had to take shelter in a church,” remembers Amara of her family’s first days in Toronto.
“We were sleeping in the church on the floor for ten days. My son was getting sick, and it wasn’t sustainable. We decided to come to Christie [to see if there was shelter space].”
So Amara and her two children, aged eight and 16, set forth with their few belongings in hand – all of which could fit into 2 suitcases—and turned up at Christie’s doors on a cold January day. With no shelter space available at Christie, Amara and her two children once again had to spend time sleeping on the floor, this time on mattresses in Christie’s Dining Room.
“It was terrible,” remembers Amara, painfully.
“I brought them [my children] all the way from Nigeria, and I kept thinking… did I bring them to come and suffer? Do I actually know what I am doing?”
Amara remembers breaking down crying.
“My son came to comfort me, and Christie staff came to comfort me. Eventually a family moved out and Christie staff advocated with the City of Toronto’s Homelessness Services for my admission into the shelter,” Amara explains. Earlier this year, the City of Toronto had a hundreds-long waitlist of refugee families requiring immediate shelter.
The family’s most immediate concerns after arriving to Christie were shelter and food, after Amara quickly learned that accommodations and food in Toronto were exorbitantly expensive. After sleeping on floors for almost two weeks, the family also became ill and Christie’s on-site health clinic became an invaluable service to all three family members. With a past medical history, Amara also quickly received the health services she needed and was able to settle some of her past medical challenges.
As a single mother, Christie’s After-School Children’s Program quickly allowed Amara to take a load off her childcare burden, specifically after-school when she enrolled herself in training and employment courses. Christie’s Child and Family Worker quickly connected her children to schools in the area.
But Amara’s oldest son, Daniel*, admits the first few weeks at Christie weren’t easy.
“The hardest part [was] adjusting to staying in one room with so many people. Being in a tight corner with everybody was hard to adjust to,” admits Daniel, who describes himself as a social butterfly who loves meeting new people and making friends.
Since arriving to Canada, Daniel – who is in his last year of high school – has joined student council, gotten a summer job at as a Camp Counsellor, and has exhibited his visual art across the city.
Amara too, admits the family’s first few weeks were difficult. Between adjusting to Western world food, sharing washrooms with three other families, and not being able to cook, it was an abrupt and difficult transition from a life she had to leave in Nigeria.
But Amara too has achieved so much in just a short span of time, including completing a full-time PSW employment training course and placement, enrolling in post-graduate studies and being invited to several interviews in her field.
“It’s frustrating all this series of interviews but the Employment Services [at Christie] they’re not giving up on me,” explains Amara, who this past summer enrolled in Christie’s Career Entry Pathway Program, a six-week, on-site employment readiness training program combining workshops, job shadowing, mock interviews, and hiring events.
Through the program, Amara – an experienced banking professional with a postgraduate degree in International Business Marketing—was invited to an interview with TD Bank, among other established financial institutions.
“The most beautiful thing about [Christie] is you get all services in one spot. We are taken care of mentally, psychologically and medically. And I feel safe at Christie,” she says.
“When I had my 50th birthday [this past May] we had it here [at Christie] it was really nice, I felt like I was at home. Christie shelter is home.”
Amara and her family are currently working hard to find employment, save money, and secure their own accommodations, with the support of Christie and community supporters like you.
Thank you for your contribution to our RIDE for Refuge campaign. Your support ensures our programs and services can continue to exist and that we can continue to serve families who have so much to offer our neighbourhoods, our cities and our communities.
*Names have been changed