A consortium of private companies is contributing $750,000 to launch a pilot project to help Syrian refugees find affordable rental units in Toronto.
Community Foundations of Canada, a national network of 191 community foundations, announced on Tuesday the money will come from the Welcome Fund for Syrian Refugees, an initiative created in response to the federal government’s challenge for more funding from the private sector.
The new money will go towards identifying new reduced rental units for government-assisted Syrian families and bring the landlords and settlement services organizations together to create solutions to tackle the affordable housing gap.
More than 2,000 government-assisted refugees have arrived in Toronto with over 1,000 expected to arrive by the end of the year.
A new partnership has been created by the Toronto Foundation with the City of Toronto, COSTI Immigrant Services and a consortium of landlord and property management groups to implement the pilot project.