Vancouver rental units designated to LGBTQ refugees

Queer and trans refugees could soon find some relief from Vancouver’s housing crisis thanks to a new partnership between Rainbow Refugee, the City of Vancouver and a non-profit housing society.

Last week representatives from Rainbow Refugee met with staff from City Hall, and other LGBTQ support organizations, where the groups confirmed that Rainbow Refugee would be given a few units to house LGBTQ refugees in a new affordable housing complex that will be built at the corner of Burrard and Davie Street in Vancouver’s Gay Village.

Sharalyn Jordan, board chair of Rainbow Refugee, said finding housing for LGBTQ refugees in Vancouver is the most difficult part of the group’s work.

“Finding housing, it’s our biggest headache, absolutely the hardest thing to organize,” she said.

Jordan, who is a professor at Simon Fraser University and involved with LGBTQ resettlement work across the country, said she believes this is the first time anyone in Canada has secured affordable rental units specifically reserved for privately-sponsored queer and trans refugees.

Read the rest of the article, originally featured in The Star Vancouver. (May 17, 2018)