Government-assisted Syrian refugees arrive in Hamilton Monday

The first group of government-assisted Syrian refugees will arrive in Hamilton on Monday.

The number of arrivals on Monday is still unclear. Fred Eisenberger has said that Hamiltonexpects that"a small portion" of the 25,000 refugees coming to Canada.

'The resettlement ofrefugees is not new to Hamilton.- Wesleyexecutive director,DaljitGarry

The biggest concern at the moment is the city's ability to support the arrival of the refugees.

They'll arrive at Wesley Urban Ministries, the local agency overseeing thesupport programs offeredlocally as the refugees transition into life in Canada. The agencysaysit'sbeen a long road since October.

"When we started our planning shortly after the election, we all had many restless nights wondering how we would resettle the large number of refugees by year end," read a statementfrom the agency'sexecutive director, Daljit Garry.

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That was a concern of Mayor Fred Eisenberger, as well. In the past, refugees have had to stay in hotels while they settled down in Hamilton because of the city's shortage of affordable housing.

Garry said that Wesley hasn't been working in isolation, but has in fact been in constant contact withorganizations across thecountry sharing ideas and helping each other resolve problems. The Liberals' decision to extend the time frame for arrivalhas taken some of the pressure off, she said.

City has experience

Wesley Urban Ministry says ithas been focused on the most immediate needs of the refugees. Those needs include housing, health, education and initial settlement supports.

She also pointed out that the settling of refugees is not a new experience for the city.

"The resettlement ofrefugees is not new to Hamilton. We have been receiving refugees for many years so alreadyhave a process in place," she said.

"We are utilizing the existingframework to inform how services and supports will be provided to our newest communitymembers," said Garry. "Most fundamental to us is to ensure we are making effective use of resources."