Matthew House and The Furniture Bank help refugees get established

Mary Haskett
Special to Spur Ottawa

When refugees come to Canada, they typically bring almost nothing with them. Various government and private sponsorship programs help provide housing and food security for the first year, but the process of integrating into society is challenging. Often refugees face dire poverty. That’s where Matthew House Ottawa and The Furniture Bank come in.

“Three months ago I came to Canada,” says Louai, a 20 year-old Yemeni refugee. “I didn’t know anyone here. When I arrived, I felt unsafe. By chance, I found Matthew House Ottawa, a nice big house with loving residents and volunteers. Roberta, the host mother, treated me like her son.”

Matthew House supports refugee claimants while they work through the application process. It gets its name from Matthew 25:35, where Jesus says, “I was a stranger and you invited me in.”

“We can house up to eight refugee claimants at any one time,” says Miriam Rawson, Executive Director of Matthew House Ottawa. “They stay anywhere from one to five months. We don’t have live in staff, but we have a volunteer host mother who lives at the house to make sure everything runs smoothly.”

Once the refugees find a permanent residence, they choose furniture from The Furniture Bank for their apartment.

“Working at The Furniture Bank to help others in unfortunate circumstances is a blessing for me,” says program director, David Botha. “Meeting those who walk the path I once walked gives me opportunities to not only ease the burden of material needs, but also to share stories and give hope.”

The Furniture Bank launched in 2008, after a couple from Stittsville visited a group of Haitian refugees their church was sponsoring. The couple noticed that furniture was very sparse. Some of the people were even sleeping on the floor. They decided to collect furniture donations and provide them to those in need in the community. When they moved away from Ottawa, in 2012, The Furniture Bank became part of Matthew House Ottawa.

“For me, being part of this ministry is a privilege,” says Rawson. “I am honoured that God has shown me His favour in calling me to co-labour with Him in this way.”