Edmonton's Rainbow Refuge a safe haven for LGBTQ+ newcomers

Basel Abou Hamrah still remembers seeing the rainbow flags at the front desk when he arrived at the Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers.

"This is a safe space for us," says Abou Hamrah, a Syrian refugee who lived in secret until he fled the country in 2015.

Abou Hamrah says he came from a culture where LGBTQ+ people are a topic that no one discusses. It was like "living in a horror movie every day," he says.

"There is no freedom, you can not be who you are, you can go to jail because of who you are, so I left."

The Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers was established in 1980 as a hub for language, employment and immigration services.

At the centre, Abou Hamrah found help learning English and a job as a settlement practitioner. Hewent on to establish the Rainbow Refuge program, supportingnewcomers and refugees.

Rainbow Refuge Program

2 years ago

Duration 1:39

Learn more about the Rainbow Refuge Program as it celebrates five years at the Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers in Edmonton, Alta.

You can see more from the Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers on Our Edmonton on CBC TV and CBC Gem on Saturday at 10 a.m., Sunday at noon and 11 a.m. Monday.

Rainbow Refuge provides housing and mental health support, in addition toimmigration and settlement services.

It also runs a weekly supportgroup, funded with help from thePride Centre of Edmonton.That group has grown from seven people to now more than 150, including individuals from more than 48 countries.

The Rainbow Refuge program has been recognized internationally. Abou Hamrah presentedas part of the Canadian delegations at the United Nations in Geneva this summer.

He notes that about 70 countries around the world have laws criminalizing LGBTQ+ community members, ranging from jail time to the death penalty.

Before theRainbow Refuge program, about 50 to 60 per cent of LGBTQ+ refugee claims were accepted. As of 2021, about 97 per cent of LGBTQ+ refugee claims in Edmonton are accepted.

That's apoint of pride for Sara Buczynski, settlement practitioner with the Rainbow Refuge Program who works with Abou Hamrah on LGBTQ+ outreach at the centre for newcomers.

"I love my job," Buczynski says. "When I started at EMCN I decided I would be more out in my work."

She says she enjoys "trying to help people settle in Edmonton and navigate their new home and [making] Edmonton a comfortable and welcoming place for them."

• In Syria, he lived in secret. Now he's helping other LGBTQ refugees
• Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers opens new home

Before the program there was isolation, now there is a strong and thriving network of people supporting one another and "it makes me really happy when people can be themselves and be safe here," Buczynski says

She says the next step is stable, ongoing funding, including public and private donations, for the work they do with an eye to growing the program.