Reception House
Providing a warm welcome to our newest neighbours
Thank you to all the amazing riders, walkers, and donors who supported this year’s Ride for Refuge! A special thank you goes out to United College at University of Waterloo for hosting the Ride! We appreciate the coming together of community to support refugees making Waterloo Region their new home. The funds raised by this event will support Children and Youth programming at Reception House.
Reception House was out in the community this summer raising awareness about refugee issues and the need for affordable housing. We were joined by artist, Pamela Rojas and her giant puppet representing the importance of diversity in our community. We enjoyed connecting with community members and sharing stories of refugee resettlement in Waterloo Region.
April 2021 – March 2022 was a year of transition, growth, and resilience. During the past year, we saw an almost 400% increase in the number of people arriving at Reception House, largely due to the federal government’s Afghan Resettlement initiative that was announced in August 2021. Almost overnight, Reception House had to scale up operations, whilst also navigating leadership changes and the COVID-19 pandemic that continued to place additional stress on staff and clients. We want to recognize the commitment of staff who worked diligently under very difficult circumstances, across multiple locations to ensure that everyone received the support that they needed during this incredibly challenging time. Under the leadership of Lynne Griffiths-Fulton, our interim CEO, and through the hard work and dedication of our incredible staff team, Reception House was able to adapt and respond to this crisis.