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Our History
In the early 1980s the number of refugees coming to Vancouver increased as the political strife in Central America intensified. At the time there was no support for refugees in town. Instead, individuals willing to donate food or shelter helped out newly-arrived refugees, as settlement agencies catering to immigrants were forced to turn refugees away. Gradually, individuals who were dedicated to refugee assistance came together to form a group. This ad hoc group was made up of people from diverse backgrounds, and included settlement workers, church members, teachers, and lawyers. As time went on, the group realized that they had to become more organized to provide the level of service necessary to meet the needs of refugees. In 1984 Inland Refugee Society was born. Since the beginning Inland has been very grassroots, always addressing the current needs of newly-arrived refugees.
Inland has recently joined with several other Vancouver organizations (Storefront Orientation Services, Mennonite Central Committee of BC, and Immigrant Services Society of BC) to create an umbrella organization called Vancouver Refugee Services Alliance (VRSA) with the aim of coordinating all local services available to refugees.
The most difficult challenge for refugees in Vancouver is finding safe and affordable shelter. At Inland, we have struggled to find adequate housing for refugee claimants, and have realized that our attention should move in the direction of locating and creating more shelter. In 2005 the CASA (Community and Shelter Association) Refugee Housing Project was born with this goal in mind. The group gained members for its advisory committee from other settlement organizations, as they also knew of this desperate need. |
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