Lucy Chaimiti (Hill) is the Executive Director of Adam House, where she has been serving since 2012. She has roots in Lion’s Head, ON, and has remained connected to the EMCC since that time.
This year, the pandemic has created changes in the rhythms of Adam House, including fewer overall residents and less social programming. Of these changes Lucy remarks, “…[having] less refugees allowed us to have people stay here a little bit longer. Normally we would have people hopefully move out within four months of arriving at Adam House and we’ve sort of extended that, which has allowed people to settle a little bit more before looking for long-term housing.”
Adam House’s mission statement includes a service to refugee claimants by:
- providing a welcoming short term home;
- intentionally encouraging refugee claimants to make a personal connection with the church in [Adam House’s] community; and,
- educating churches and the community about the refugee landscape.
There have been a number of lessons and trends that Lucy has seen in pursuing this mission and creating space for refugee claimants, churches, and community members to interact.
“I think there is a lot of misinformation about refugees. So intentionally engaging churches helps us to overcome some of those obstacles. Giving church members an opportunity to know refugees. Because I think it’s easy to believe misinformation when you don’t have firsthand experience with someone who is a refugee. So that was really important to us, for people to know refugees so that they can see that they are people like them, they are families like their families. So that was really important for us. For refugees, what it meant was, that they would get to know local people, that could maybe engage with them in terms of employment or housing or even just friendship. And of course, for us as a Christian organization, the connection also that people can deepen their walk with Christ, if they are Christian or they can get to know Christians if they aren’t Christians and see that these are ordinary people too, that love and care for refugees.”
Some of the results from this type of connection have included long-term friendships for those involved, and for Lucy herself.
“One of my favourite connections is with a Syrian family that lived at Adam House about four years ago. They really struggled initially with a lot of trauma-related mental health issues, especially the wife and mother in that family. They were Muslims but they loved connecting with the church people, especially at the Friday night social which was less spiritually focused. And they have really great friendships with a couple of the churches and church members that were engaged with them. [Sharing our faith] is not always the first thing people in our culture are necessarily comfortable doing but [we] encourage them too. You have this wonderful friendship and take the opportunity to discuss your faith.”
“I am still friends with many of the refugee claimants who have passed through, even friends of my family. I’ve eaten a lot of delicious meals with our residents and going to the homes of our former residents, experiencing their hospitality and amazing cultures and cuisines.”
These friendships all began with a starting point, and Lucy acknowledges the reality of the first steps people take toward friendship and co-belonging with new Canadians.
“Sometimes it can be a bit awkward. It’s like any connection you might make when you’re out, when you’re in church, when you’re in school, when you’re in your workplace, when you’re in the park. You might meet someone with whom you develop just a natural connection and rapport cause you have things in common…So sometimes, they happen so organically and naturally, but it can be awkward when there might not be some of those bridges...There are certainly challenges to that but I think the rewards are so great when you do get involved with people and find a way to help them and also be a friend to a refugee claimant….Sometimes it’s just seed planting and we don’t know the end result, especially spiritually. We just hold out faith that those connections are pouring into the lives of refugees and that they can learn from them. I think even the sense of welcome to Canada that they receive through that is so vital and important.”
As a final encouragement Lucy reminds us, “[t]hose refugees end up being in your community. You might meet refugees without doing so intentionally. But if there are refugee ministries in your community, start to get involved…Don’t be afraid because you might meet your best friend.”
