Syrian refugees are arriving in the Sault "anytime now" (16 photos)

It's been frustrating for local groups to get information, but after a long wait the very first Syrian refugees could be arriving in the Sault any day now with one family formally scheduled to arrive early August.

After issuing a press release Monday looking for answers, a 'refugee sponsorship committee' led by Willowgrove United Church and comprised of more than 20 local churches received news yesterday through MP Terry Sheehan’s office that their sponsored Syrian family of four will be arriving at the Sault Ste. Marie airport on August 4.

The family – two adults, an 8-year-old boy, and a baby – is currently waiting in a refugee camp in Lebanon.

They will be flying to Canada out of Cairo, Egypt and arriving in Toronto on the morning of August 4 before arriving by connecting flight to the Sault at 2:15 p.m. where a large group cheering and waving Canadian flags is expected to greet them.

Furthermore, the Sault Community Career Centre (SCCC) said that Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada told them the Sault would be receiving the first of 50 government sponsored Syrian refugees within the next few weeks.

“We were told anytime now,” said Settlement Services Supervisor Jane Omollo who receives information through Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)

Although she doesn’t know exactly when they are coming, Omollo said when the SCCC’s families first arrive, they will be housed at hotels for up to two weeks or until suitable long term accommodations have been secured.

They shouldn’t have much trouble finding other arrangements as she said landlords are constantly phoning her office telling her their availability.

Other groups in the area are also waiting to hear news of when they will be receiving Syrian families, one of them quite frustrated with the delays.

The New Beginnings Interdenominational Refugee Sponsorship Group, a group spearheaded by the Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, is waiting for three families to arrive, one of which was originally scheduled to arrive in May.

Another family is two weeks past their scheduled arrival, and the third is scheduled to arrive in two to ten weeks, although at this point the group is not confident that timeframe will be met.

Omollo said that all regional refugees are supposed to make contact with her office.

Based on her information, along with other sources, the complete list of Syrian refugees coming to the area are as follows:

• 50 refugees and an unknown quantity of families will be brought to the area through the SCCC along with a team of volunteers, the first coming within the next few weeks and the rest coming anytime between now and March
• One family of four is coming through Willowgrove United Church and Algoma Presbytery Refugee Sponsorship Committee (WUCAPRSC) on August 4
• Three families of an unknown number of people are coming through The New Beginnings Interdenominational Refugee Sponsorship Group at an unknown time as one of the families was originally supposed to come in May
• The St. Joseph Island and North Shore Communities Group on St. Joseph Island has been approved for one family of refugees but have not been paired up with a family yet
• The Blind River Sponsorship Group has an application to get one family of four to the area but that is still being processed

Also, two families made up of eight Syrians have already arrived in Chapleau and are being looked after by two unnamed private sponsors there.

The Willowgrove United Church-led group is just happy their family won't be stuck in a refugee camp any longer.

“We’re so excited to finally get them here," said Jeri Pearce of that group.

Pearce’s group recently expressed frustration after renting an apartment for their sponsored family on May 1, expecting them to arrive within a few weeks, and then meeting delay after delay and not getting any answers while paying $1200-a-month rent on an empty apartment the whole time.

Not being able to get an official response through the government, the group reached out to MP Terry Sheehan who said that after a personal call to Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship John McCallum he was able to set up channels of communication between his and McCallum’s offices and eventually get an answer in the form of the August 4 arrival date.

There are currently three ways in which refugees are resettled in Canada: as Government Assisted Refugees (GARs), as Privately Sponsored Refugees (PSRs), and as Blended Visa Office-Referred refugees (BVORs).

The 50 refugees through the Community Career Centre and volunteers are GARs, and they will be fully supported by the government for up to one year or until they become self-sufficient.

Support is roughly equivalent to what a Canadian family on social assistance might receive and will take care of the family's accommodation, food, clothing, help finding employment, and other resettlement services.

The Willowgrove United Church led group and the NBISG are bringing their refugees in as BVORs.

These groups set up apartments and houses for their families and give them income support for at least six months while the government commits to providing support for another six months.

Both groups have fully furnished homes ready to be lived in.

These places include furniture, appliances, and even computers for their sponsored families and the Willowgrove United Church's house even has pre-made Syrian meals in the freezer, ready for when their family arrives.

These groups have really gone all out and invested considerable time and resources for their sponsored families.

For example, NBISG has 70 people working on eight committees for their three families: food and clothing, culture and education, housing and furniture, finances, informational resources, transportation, employment, and health.

PSRs are those families whose support is fully covered by a private sponsor for at least one year and at the moment there are none of this type scheduled to arrive in Sault Ste. Marie though one of the families in Chapleau has been brought in this way.

No matter what program they come through, all Syrian refugees will have access to a number of IRCC services including language training, networking support, and help finding employment.

The New Beginnings Interdenominational Refugee Sponsorship Group said they’re also frustrated by the bureaucracy and lack of information as they wait for their Syrian families to arrive.

Originally they were told that one family was supposed to come in January however, for personal reasons, that family decided not to proceed with the resettlement application however the group had already rented a house for them so they quickly tried to bring another family in.

Six months later the house is still empty and they’ve also been paying rent the whole time.

The group has also started two more applications to bring Syrian families to the Sault but they don’t know for sure when any of them are coming.

“Its not an easy process to come to Canada, under any circumstances. There’s a lot of screening to be done and with the volume of people that are coming in we expect these delays, “ said Jennifer Ardon, Program Officer for Refugee Resettlement and Community Relations with Canadian Lutheran World Relief, NBISG’s overseeing sponsorship agreement holder, who said her group has been working to bring refugees into Canada since 1946 and she has personally been doing it for four years.

“I do understand where (the NISG members) are coming from, the urgency and wanting to bring them here as fast as possible. Unfortunately, with the recent Turkey coup attempt we might see more delays with Syrian refugees (many of whom are waiting to come to Canada in Turkey),” said Ardon.

NBISG Coordinator Helen Christenson expressed that urgency of wanting to help Syrian families who are waiting in countries under less than ideal circumstances, many of whom may be suffering trauma after having to leave their war-torn country and homes.

“We don’t really know where they are now. They may be in refugee camps but (we’re told) most are in small, one room places in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Turkey,” said Christenson.

The Sault Community Career Centre said that if anyone in the Sault would like to volunteer time or other resources to the 50 coming GARs they can connect with them through this website.