First Contact Ontario Testimonial

"Being a refugee and newcomer to Canada I needed all the help I could get, from finding my way around the city of Toronto to processing my paper work.  It is difficult to a first time visitor to cities like Toronto to do anything especially since so much goes on in the city to the extent that even the residents themselves seldomly know where certain services are, let alone services provided for refugees.

A place that has all the contacts under one roof is of help to refugees who are in most cases scared, and overwhelmed by the site of the city depending on where they come from.  First Contact provides these services.  With a well informed staff and a helpful volunteer service I processed all my paper work with in one week.  The staff provided me  with a package that contained all the office addresses and phone numbers I needed to contact and in some cases the worker called and made the appointments for me.  Those were the services I needed. 

The office is even greater help to people who do not speak English or French.  They provide translators and volunteers to escort some clients to their appointment, this is in addition to providing transportation to client who are in most cases facing money shortages. 

Hooking up clients with shelters and accommodation is by far the most outstanding services.  I personally came from the border without a destination address, got to Toronto at 2:00am and spent hours looking for accommodation until the taxi driver by chance dropped me off at Seaton House.  Not everybody gets a chance to ride with a reasonable taxi driver.  So after seeing how useful First Contact was to me, I decided to give back to the same organization that helped me, and other people like myself.  I became a volunteer and I love my work so far."                                  

-First Contact volunteer