Blog
Van Isle Pairs with Tuf-Tite to Help Refugee Family
3/15/2016
by Terry Bain
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
The Canadian Government has committed to take 25,000 Syrian refugees by the end of March 2016, and a further 25,000 by years end. With this in mind, it has been difficult for Sponsorship Groups to find appropriate housing, especially for larger refugee families. Currently, there are over 700 refugees living in 5 hotels in Vancouver, BC that are all waiting housing. Victoria has been asked to take 400 plus refugees over the balance of the year.Satellite Park is a housing development consisting of 60 homes located in Cobble Hill (just south of Duncan). A large 4-bedroom home has been sitting vacant for the past 6 months and the owner has agreed to provide the house for a minimum of three years and possibly longer once the home is prepared for the family as it was badly damaged by the last occupant.
The first major milestone to prep this large home was testing the septic system which was done by Save-On-Septic free of charge. The system failed the test. Van Isle Water has since teamed up with Tuf-Tite to donate Risers and Lids for the upgrading of the septic system.
A family of 7 has been approved by the Citizenship and Immigration Canada program and is currently living in a camp in Turkey waiting for an exit visa. The family could arrive to Canada anytime from two weeks to nine months from now.