Stories of the Syrian refugee crisis reach us via television, radio, newspaper and social media every day.  But it’s important to remember that they’re more than just stories; these are real lives and real families who need real help.

Carya’s Urgent Family Care team has been providing crisis support to Calgary’s most vulnerable families for eight years; these include refugees and recent immigrants with no social networks or community support in place.  Often these families have language and culture barriers and generally they’re scared, stressed and tired.

Our team provides in-home childcare and practical help for up to six weeks plus community connections for long-term support.

Rachel Mackay has been an Urgent Family Care support worker with Carya for several years.  She explains the challenges facing families in our city today.

“The families we work with all have young children and our primary concern is ensuring the children are well cared for, settled and happy.  Often families really have nobody to turn to for help.  They might have recently immigrated to Canada and have no family here, they might not speak English, maybe their professional qualifications don’t translate so they’re unable to work; we encounter all kinds of challenges.

We assess the needs of the family and the children and we look at ways to get them on the road to success, while also providing the childcare they need to get themselves there.

It’s hard for many people to believe that there could be families out there with no relatives or friends, no employer, no responsible neighbors and no community around them; especially at this time of year when family and friends are so important to us all.  But that’s the sad truth; and that’s why our work is so important.

Without Urgent Family Care I know a lot of families who would probably have ended up another statistic; they’d have ended up out of work for the long-term, or had their kids taken into care or they’d have ended up being hospitalized. 

It’s a hard job but it’s a rewarding one.  You feel like you get to actually make a real difference to people’s lives every day.”

Find out more about Urgent Family Care here.

You can donate to Urgent Family Care here.