For the first time in its 80-year history, half of Scott Mission's clients are refugees

Scott Mission a downtown Toronto charity thatsupports people who are vulnerable and experiencing homelessness says for the first time in its 80-year history, half of its clients are refugees.

"You can imagine coming to Canada with maybe just the clothes on your back and people are navigating a system they don't know much about, and speaking a different language, and really have very little support around them," said Jonathan Miller, Scott Mission's chief ministry officer.

"They'recoming to places like ScottMission to find shelter as well as food and clothing and access to resources and supports. Everyone is welcome here, everyone matters."

Isaac is one of those clients. CBC Toronto agreed to only use his first name to protect the safety of his family members, who he says havealso been threatened due to his political activism back home.

Isaacsays it was after he was beaten and left in a ditch that he knew he needed to flee Uganda.

"I was living in fear and depression and that's the greatest reason Isaid enough is enough, Ineed to leave the country and be free," Isaac said.

He said the reasonhe found himself coming to Scott Mission was because he needed more supports after landingin Toronto.

"Things like clothing, food and mental health support," Isaac recalled, along withcase management.Months later, as he goes through the process to attain permanent status, he still relies on the organization's monthly food bank.

As Toronto faces a housing crisis and its shelter system is over capacity, more pressure is being put on local organizations like Scott Mission. The city is calling for more help from the federal government, as advocates sound the alarm about a growing number of people with nowhere to go.

Miller says every day, Scott Mission is seeing more and more refugees use services likemeals, grocery support, clinical counselling, case management, and itstemporary shelter.

"We have 66 beds, every single night our shelter is full, every day of the year," he said.

According to the city, refugees now make up a third of Toronto's shelter system.

• Asylum seekers sleeping on Toronto streets as at-capacity city shelters overwhelmed

Miller says there are unique challenges refugees face, andScott Mission is doing the best it can with the resources it has to helpresidents navigate their stay.

"We certainly want to see more opportunities for refugees and anyone struggling with homelessness to find support in their journey so that means more affordable housing in the city and more resources for people," he said.

"Everybody is stretched so we're going to need to see every level of government step up and provide more options and more affordable opportunities for people."

City says it needs more federal funding

On May 31, Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie said the city'sapproximately 9,000-bed shelter system was at capacity nightly, and it could no longer cope with the high number of refugee claimants hoping to access a bed. She saidthe city had no choice but to start referring themto Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada programs though there are currently no federal shelter programsthat provide housing to peoplein Toronto, according to the city.

The city says the current demand for shelter space is so high that every night it isunable to provide shelter to hundreds of people requesting a space, including both refugee claimants and non-refugee claimants.

In a statement, the city said the federal government provided $71.3 million through theInterim Housing Assistance Program last year,covering 98 per cent of the costs for refugee claimants.

"However without notice the federal government in its 2023-24 budget ended the funding for this program. The city requires $97 million to cover projected costs for 2023 and a fair, sustainable funding model to continue to respond to the growing number of refugee claimants arriving in Toronto who are in need of emergency shelter," the statement reads.

For its part, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) says government-assisted refugees are eligible for12 months of income support, as well a range of immediate and essential services under the Resettlement Assistance Program, which includes temporary accommodation and assistance in finding permanent accommodation.

'Where are people supposed to go?'

IRCC spokesperson Matthew Krupovichtold CBC News in an email that the federal government plans to allot around $495 million in 2023-2024 to support organizations delivering settlement services for immigrants and refugees in Ontario.

"This includes approximately $175M in federal settlement funding planned for 2023-24, to support settlement services for immigrants and resettled refugees in the Toronto area,"Krupovichsaid.

Lorraine Lam, an outreach worker and organizer with theShelter Housing Justice Network says while the number of refugees in the systemhas increased,the number of unhoused people overall has also skyrocketed.

Most of the people experiencing homelessness in the cityare from Toronto, andsupports are not keeping up, she said.

"It's in a state of crisis ... we do need more structures and systems in place to support people who arevulnerable," she said.

"At the end of the day the question remains, where are people supposed to go?"