Our Mission
The House of Omeed’s mission is to inspire hope and help in the lives of refugees and newcomers as they face the many adjustments of a new, unfamiliar, and often incomprehensible society.
The House of Omeed’s mission is to inspire hope and help in the lives of refugees and newcomers as they face the many adjustments of a new, unfamiliar, and often incomprehensible society.
The House of Omeed started the Food Refuge Project during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. As the effects of COVID-19 linger on, many newcomers and refugees still have a hard time finding food for their families. The Shelves of Omid is a food distribution center that caters to low-income newcomers and refugees, specializing in culturally appropriate foods for its clientele.
In our food refuge program, we provide culturally diverse food to low-income newcomers and refugees every week.
Food insecurity is a critical social issue that impacts health and academic and economic potential, and disproportionately affects Newcomers/ racialized communities. People are food secure when they have stable access to affordable, nutritious, and culturally appropriate food. People who are food insecure worry about running out of food, compromise on food quality, or skip meals because of lack of access and money for food. It is unconscionable that in Canada, a country of considerable wealth and food resources, over four million people face food insecurity. This is not a food issue – Canada has plenty of food to nourish everyone. It is largely the result of insufficient or increasingly unstable income, worsened by geographic location, social isolation, health and knowledge barriers, and structural racism.
When the COVID-19 pandemic started, we felt a need among low-income newcomers and refugees for culturally sensitive food sources, so we started a food refuge program, in which we have been serving about 200 families with culturally appropriate food every week.
If you are in need of food please Contact us
If you are already a registered client of ours, please book an appointment.
From government applications to resumes, we have volunteers who can help clients with most of their paperwork needs.
As new people come to Canada, there is a great need for lots of paperwork. We have volunteers who help with
If you are in need of any of our services, please contact us.
If you are a registered client, please book an appointment.
We have two ESL classes per week, currently hosted on Zoom because of COVID-19.
If you are interested in joining any of our English classes, please contact us.
We are looking for more volunteers to teach other days of the week to a more basic group. if you are interested in volunteering with us, please.
The journey of a refugee begins with a dream borne of catastrophe. A dream to live in a land of freedom and promise, a dream to live life to the fullest. But the distance between these dreams and reality often covers thousands of miles and years of hardship before they come to pass. From single mothers to young children fleeing the violent landscape of their home countries, our refugee friends often find themselves in great sorrow and fear. There is no place to call home, and the interminable wait for a new country to welcome them is excruciating. All they have ever known is stripped away, and some will never see their loved ones again. The endless interviews and cold applications are daunting, but they have no other choice. Going back would mean death, moving forward would mean a life full of challenges.
When a refugee is finally accepted to a new country after years of agony and uncertainty, fresh hope fills their heart and overflows. This is their opportunity to live again, learn again, work again. However, when they ultimately arrive in this new land, there is no one to help them. They cannot speak the language, their education and careers are not acknowledged, and they have no money. They have nothing but a broken spirit and shattered hope. How does one begin to dream again?
The House of Omeed is a place of refuge for those who have come from distant lands far and wide, seeking sanctuary and a place to be loved and known. We compassionately journey alongside our refugee families each step of the way, caring for and helping them build a new life and home together. We bridge the distance so that one day, their dreams will become reality.